‘Artangel lets artists do what no one else will. It’s as simple as that.’ Jeremy Deller
Artangel and BBC Radio 4 today launch a new Open for artists anywhere in the UK: a call for artists working in any media to share with Artangel and BBC Radio 4 proposals for ground-breaking projects that will transform the UK’s cultural landscape.
Previous Artangel Open calls have led to some of the most iconic projects of the past decade – Michael Landy’s Break Down, the very public destruction in a department store on Oxford Street of absolutely everything the artist owned; Jeremy Deller’s The Battle of Orgreave in South Yorkshire, the re-enactment of a dark day in the conflict between police and colliery workers during the 1984 Miners’ Strike; Roger Hiorns’s Seizure, the brilliant blue crystal council flat in South London; and Clio Barnard’s award-winning film The Arbor shot on the Buttershaw Estate in Bradford.
James Lingwood and Michael Morris, Artangel Co-Directors, say: ‘Artangel is adamant that nothing potentially exceptional should be thought of as impossible. It’s the right time for artists to be as ambitious as possible and for Artangel to be as open as possible. Some remarkable new art will come out of Open and we’re delighted to be collaborating with Radio 4.’
Gwyneth Williams, Controller, Radio 4 says: ‘I want to open up the airwaves and invite artists to bring their talents to Artangel and Radio 4. At a time when political and economic ideas often seem to reference the past, what does culture have to say about the way we live now? I am thrilled to launch this new initiative for artists across the UK.’
To mark the new alliance of Artangel and BBC Radio 4, five artists including Christian Marclay and Susan Hiller will participate in Open Air, a series of short pieces scheduled for broadcast immediately after the Today programme from 25 – 29 March 2013.
12 Open Platforms for artists across the UK are being hosted by some of the UK’s leading arts organisations in cities including Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle between January 28 and February 26. The Platforms are an opportunity to meet Artangel Co-Directors James Lingwood and Michael Morris and artists including Barnard, Deller, Hiorns and Landy.
Open proposals are encouraged from visual artists, filmmakers, writers, composers, theatre makers, choreographers and producers as well as artists working in the digital space. The closing date for 2013 Open submissions is Monday 29 April. Shortlisted artists will have the opportunity to meet and develop their proposals with Open Mentors. A range of influential cultural figures including Andrea Arnold, Felix Barrett, Adam Curtis, Tacita Dean, Ryan Gander, Rachel Whiteread and Penny Woolcock have made themselves available as Open Mentors.
In June the first Open commissions will be chosen by a selection panel including James Lingwood and Michael Morris, Tony Phillips, Arts Commissioning Editor at Radio 4, Clio Barnard and Roger Hiorns. They will be announced in June and presented between 2014 and 2015.
For more information and submissions visit artangel.org.uk/open
