Six new organisations join the CVAN South East network
19th Jun 2018
CVAN South East is expanding its network to include a wider range of visual arts organisations from across the South East region, including those that encompass artists’ studios and higher education. In May we welcomed six more network members:
HOUSE Biennial – a curated contemporary visual arts event, taking place biennially in October across Brighton and Hove.
Jerwood Gallery – situated next to the fishing beach in Hastings Old Town, the gallery is home to the Jerwood Collection and a changing exhibition programme which celebrates the best of British art.
Open School East – an alternative learning and social space for artists and the broader public, based in Margate.
Outside In – an arts agency based in Chichester that provides a platform to the artworld for artists who find it difficult due to health, disability or social circumstance.
Phoenix Brighton – the largest artist-led arts organisation in the South East of England, providing more than 100 studio spaces, and a public gallery and education programme.
Reading International – Reading’s new contemporary visual arts organisation promoting and commissioning exhibitions, events, talks and offsite projects, led by the Reading School of Art at the University of Reading.
Paul Hobson, Director of Modern Art Oxford and Chair of CVAN South East, said:
We are delighted to welcome six new member organisations to CVAN South East that will both refresh and strengthen our network. Each already plays a significant part in enriching the quality, reach, and distinctiveness of the visual arts in our region. This is an exciting period of change for us at CVAN South East, and we look forward to working together with our new members on bolstering the thriving visual arts ecology in the South East.
Susanne Clausen, Director, Reading International said:
We are delighted to join the CVAN South East network and are looking forward to working with other institutions across the region. The Reading International team is growing and we are heading into a busy season of exhibitions and events working with artists, curators, partners and students, and we are exploring the role of the art school as a catalyst for self-determined, co-operative, flexible and site-specific art production in a regional context. Our upcoming programme includes a series of new commissions organized by NOVEL, a residency with Lada Nakonechna for the Abbey Ruins, a new digital publication with Lozana Rossenova and Rhizome and a new commission by Steve Claydon for The Museum of English Rural Life. As part of these projects we are keen to involve students and recent graduates as much as possible. In this context it is important to highlight that the Platform Graduate Award has been a key opportunity and a springboard for our graduates over the last few years.
CVAN South East has also restructured the organisation’s steering group to better reflect the mix of venue and non-venue institutions, festivals, and artists in the region. The current steering group continues to be chaired by Paul Hobson (Modern Art Oxford) with Joanne Bushnell (Aspex) as Deputy Chair. The steering group includes: Joseph Young (Artist), Stewart Drew (De La Warr Pavilion), Liz Whitehead (Fabrica), Alli Beddoes (Lighthouse), Shoair Mavlian (Photoworks) and Kate Adams, (Project Art Works).
If you are interested in being part of the future plans for the CVAN South East network please contact CVAN South East Manager, Oliver Sumner at info@cvansoutheast.com. Beyond the member network, we continue to develop our engagement with individuals, particularly artists and other arts professionals, and with non-member organisations.
Image: reading in Reading by David Raymond Conroy, Ghislaine Leung, Jesper List Thomsen, Cally Spooner at Central Library 2017, courtesy Reading International.