PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: July 2013
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Plymouth Arts Centre to showcase promising local graduate in
upcoming exhibition
A recent Fine Art graduate from Plymouth University will benefit from a potential
springboard to promote their work this summer at Plymouth Arts Centre.
Plymouth Arts Centre has invited Hand in Glove to stage its annual PLATFORM
exhibition at the centre in Looe Street, offering a fantastic opportunity for a promising
local graduate.
The PLATFORM exhibition – which is being sponsored by Midas Group, one of the
UK’s largest independent construction companies – involves the Hand in Glove
Directors visiting degree shows around the region and seeking out the work of
compelling new artists they feel could benefit from being re-represented in new
surroundings. These artists are then given the opportunity to exhibit their work in a
different gallery setting with additional support and advice.
Hand in Glove is a nomadic group of artists and curators founded in 2009, which
organises events and exhibitions across the South West. It is currently delivering a 12month programme of projects funded by Arts Council England aiming to bring
emerging artists to the fore.
Hand in Glove said: “Working with Plymouth Arts Centre and Midas Group gives us
a curatorial opportunity that we haven’t had for PLATFORM before. In previous
years we have had a real frustration in finding excellent work that we couldn’t show
as part of a large group show. At Plymouth Arts Centre we are focusing in on one
student to present a great piece of work that will dominate the space and really speak
to the loyal community of visitors, staff and volunteers.
“Selecting from the Plymouth University and Plymouth College of Art degree shows
was not an easy task and there were quite a few artists on our shortlist but Rachael
Gomery’s installation We Are Therefore I Am really stood out. Her work is ambitious
and affecting and she promises to be an artist worth watching in the future.”
The Midas Group became the first ever corporate sponsor of Plymouth Arts Centre
last month, in addition to sponsoring the PLATFORM exhibition. Midas is heavily
committed to supporting arts development in the South West, and is currently
building a £3.75million new Performing Arts Building on the Plymouth University
campus which will benefit the entire community.
Mike O’Neill, divisional director for Midas Construction in Devon and Cornwall,
said: “Having worked on a number of major cultural projects across Devon and
Cornwall we continue to be enthusiastic about encouraging the arts across the South
West region. We are delighted to be sponsoring the PLATFORM exhibition, which
will provide such a vital showcase for new and emerging artists.”
“Arts graduates can find it very hard to get their work seen after they leave college,
and events like this are a fantastic way of promoting their talents.”
A previous success story from the PLATFORM 2012 exhibition is Newport
photographic arts graduate Josephine Sowden, who has since been shortlisted for the
Aesthetica Art Prize, included in the Catlin Guide and selected for this year’s
Bloomberg New Contemporaries exhibition at the ICA in London.
The PLATFORM exhibition will run at Plymouth Arts Centre from Saturday 10
August until Sunday 22 September, and will feature an installation by artist
Rachael Gomery titled We Are Therefore I Am.
The gallery at Plymouth Arts Centre is open between 10am and 8.30pm from Tuesday
to Saturday, and from 4pm to 8.30pm on Sunday. Visit www.plymouthartscentre.org
for more details, or call the box office on 01752 206114.
ENDS
Image: Rachael Gomery’s installation We Are Therefore I Am
For more information contact:
Tom Cowle
DCA Public Relations
tom.cowle@dca-pr.co.uk
01208 77900
07875 719217
About Midas Group
The Midas Group is one of the UK's largest independent construction and property services providers.
The Group consists of six market facing businesses: Midas Construction - a construction services
business delivering innovative design and construction solutions. Midas Retail - a specialist business
providing fast track construction and fit-out solutions to Retail customers. Midas Interiors - a specialist
interiors business providing fit-out and refurbishment services. Midas Developments - a specialist
property development company. Mi-space - a specialist business providing property services to
affordable housing providers. Midas Energy - a specialist business providing energy solutions through
efficiency measures and renewable technologies.
Midas is one of the region’s largest employers, with nearly 400 people, as well as providing jobs for
additional contractor staff. The Midas Academy provides bespoke in-house training to all staff
and staff turnover rate is well below the industry average. For more information visit
www.midasgroup.co.uk
About Plymouth Arts Centre
Plymouth Arts Centre is a nationally-renowned centre for contemporary visual art, independent cinema
and creative learning based at 38 Looe Street in the city. It offers a dynamic arts programme from its
historic building in the heart of the Barbican, and occupies a key part in the cultural life of the city.
As well as an art exhibition space hosting a diverse range of displays, there is a 61-seater cinema – the
only independent cinema in Plymouth – which screens the best in art-house, popular, indie and foreign
language films. The centre also has a lively café, bar and restaurant run by chef Sammy Lounds, a
protégé from Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant school in Cornwall. For more details visit
www.plymouthartscentre.org
About Hand in Glove
Hand in Glove are a nomadic and continually evolving group of artists and curators, which is currently
Leela Clarke, Vickie Fear, Dominique Hill and Cara Lockley. Hand in Glove aim to create
opportunities for emerging artists and a platform to develop supportive networks through process,
dialogue and exchange.
Recent projects include i didn’t see you there, a public sculpture project in Bristol with artist Anne
Deeming, INTERPLAY and TENTERPLAY, events that celebrated and critiqued artist-led practice and
As a Lotus Flower is Born in Water, a commissioned exhibition at Motorcade/FlashParade in Bristol by
artist Josephine Sowden. For more information visit www.handinglove.org.uk.