Jerwood Encounters

Jerwood Visual Arts (JVA) warmly invites you to make use of “NOW I GOTTA REASON”, a Jerwood Encounters exhibition co-curated by Marcus Coates and Grizedale Arts that focuses on art production as a useful and productive activity.

For further information about the exhibition and weekly events please visit: nowIgottareason.co.uk

Participants include: Amy Feneck and Ruth Beale, Michael Davis, Fernando Garcia Dory, Steve Ounanian and An Endless Supply.

Coates’ work as an artist often uses ritual to offer insights into unresolved questions in society. His interest lies in how art can actively explore and answer valuable questions. Grizedale Arts’ approach, as demonstrated in their recent display at the Frieze Art Fair, sets out to ‘reconnect with the role of artists pre 1850, when arts practice in the UK diverged from its link to functionality and moved toward a self-referential culture, characterised by the making of art for art’s sake’.

As well as being a useful entity in itself, the exhibition will reflect on a significant shift in artists’ practice in recent years towards an activity whose primary concern is not one solely of aesthetic sensibility and the production of esoteric artefacts for the art market, but of a purposeful practicality; an attempt to create a relevance and genuinely useful role for art, culture and artistic activity in society.

“NOW I GOTTA REASON” showcases artists who place themselves within communities as enablers, adding creative solutions, answering questions and creating sustainable and valued projects. The participants will come together to jointly create a series of architectural wooden structures, housing activity which will happen during the exhibition including artist critiques and participatory events as well as active installations.

The exhibition content and events programme will build and develop over the course of the exhibition, exploring the activity and economy of exhibition making and systems of use value and exchange. The galleries will be turned into practical and usable spaces where the audience can participate, both as contributor and recipient.

The exhibition will include:

Honest Shop - Endless Supply's Honest Shop offers both a sales place and a shopping experience. Visitors can sell their own handmade useful items and/or buy other peoples.

Library – Visitors can contribute to an onsite library with books that they feel will be useful to other readers. The library will be built up from contributions by the participants and the public.

Lunch Club – Visitors can join the communal lunch; an opportunity to eat with exhibition participants taking place every week day between 1-2pm from 7 November – 9 December. Lunches cost £5 each and must be booked in advance.

Print Shop - An Endless Supply will working in the gallery two days per week and will be on hand to produce online and print flyer/poster material for exhibition participants and visitors.

Life Tutorials – For anyone seeking advice, bring your life questions to artist Marcus Coates as part of a Life Tutorial every Monday afternoon during the exhibition. Booking required as places are limited. 

“NOW I GOTTA REASON” is a Jerwood Encounters exhibition from JVA. Jerwood Encounters aims to support emerging artists, curators, designers and makers to progress their practice, gain exposure and benefit from new commissioning and exhibition opportunities. Through the Encounters programme, Jerwood Visual Arts looks to identify, nurture and champion talented individuals whose practice has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to a thriving sector and artistic community.

“NOW I GOTTA REASON” will be open from 7 November – 9 December 2012 at JVA at Jerwood Space, London. Further details about the exhibition and to book a place at Lunch Club or the Artist Tutorials will be available shortly.

Download the PRESS RELEASE

We are seeking volunteers to assist with the exhibition. For further information please visit the Artist Opportunities page. 

Lunch Club time lapse film by Hydar Dewachi can be viewed here:

http://youtu.be/7wNih4j6cI0