Aspex commissions artists for the Exchange summer programme

Artists Rhiannon Armstrong, Monica Bonomo and Susan Stockwell have been commissioned to undertake Aspex’s 2019 summer programme Exchange.

From 5 July to 22 September the three artists will complete a series of residencies, generating new artwork in response to the theme of ‘exchange’ and its potential meanings. These residencies run alongside an exhibition of the artists’ work, exploring the exchange of skills, knowledge and experiences; ownership and the trading of items, as well as currency and value.

Susan Stockwell is an internationally acclaimed artist who has shown at the Tate’s Turbine Hall and last worked with the gallery on Boîte-en-Valise: Generator, presented at the Venice Biennale in 2017. For Exchange, Stockwell will present Rumpelstiltskin, a new installation comprising hundreds of meters of cloth feeding through sewing machines, making clothes, inspired by fairy tales and their roles as metaphors for humanity. During her residency Stockwell will share sewing and mending skills with local people and create a flotilla of money boats which appear in surprise locations across the city.

Rhiannon Armstrong is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist with over a decade of experience making works with empathy, interaction, and dialogue at their core. Armstrong’s residency will take place in Portsmouth’s libraries, where she will invite library users to write their own poetry to add to the library’s special collections and be translated into animations on digital screens across Portsmouth.

Monica Bonomo’s artistic practice utilises the colours extracted from plants. Her interest centres our ever-changing relationship with earth’s resources. Bonomo will share and exchange this passion through sensorial and experimental botanical workshops, taking place at Aspex and throughout Portsmouth.

Creative events and workshops will be held at the gallery, as well as locations throughout the city, including the Tennis Pavilion and Victorious Festival.

This is the fourth incarnation of Aspex’s Exchange summer programme, engaging over 40,000 members of the public.

Image: Exchange at Aspex, featuring work by Susan Stockwell, Rhiannon Armstrong and Monica Bonomo.