London-based contemporary art gallery, Pipeline has announced a gallery exchange with non-profit gallery Slugtown, in Shieldfield, Newcastle with the aim of helping to develop the region’s wider arts ecology.
This July, Pipeline will present Sheffield-based artist Conor Rogers in Newcastle and his site-responsive work to Shieldfield, exploring the local history and landscape of its community, whilst Slugtown will showcase Rachel Adams and Hilda Kortei in a joint exhibition in London. By dedicating its London space to Slugtown, Pipeline becomes the first London gallery to commit to a national gallery swap, seeking to promote and foster cross-regional artistic collaborations.
To dedicate my London gallery space to Slugtown in July aims to generate more meaningful collaborations and conversations across the UK. Newcastle is an exciting city to begin this with and specifically Slugtown who are one of the few exhibition spaces in the city focused on early career artists and therefore a powerful partner in this endeavour.
Tatiana Cheneviere, Founder of Pipeline
Building on its foundation as a collaborative platform for a deeper appreciation of artistic practises, Pipeline’s gallery exchange marks a significant step towards a more ambitious and collaborative future for other galleries and artists alike. Pipeline is dedicated to challenging the existing gallery system through innovative cross-collaborations, questioning traditional perceptions of creativity tied to specific locales. By integrating with Slugtown, Pipeline extends its impact beyond London, supporting the growth of Newcastle’s burgeoning art scene and dispersing creative concentration across the UK.
Pipeline will present new works by Sheffield-based artist Conor Rogers whose practice reclaims derogatory stereotypes and transforms them into defiant expressions and cross-cultural dialogues. Rogers’ site-responsive work to Shieldfield, places council estates, domestic spaces and communities at the centre, using materials such as betting slips, rizla paper and drug baggies to transform their narrative. The title of the show, Renegade presents an altered worldview that seeks liberty and an abandonment of common belief. Running in parallel, Slugtown will present recent work by London-based artist Hilda Kortei and Glasgow-based artist Rachel Adams, including painting, sculpture and installation. The artists explore concepts of value and labour, transforming everyday objects and experiences into narrative-rich materials that offer fresh interpretations and meanings.
Slugtown comments:
We are thrilled to be working with Tatiana at Pipeline on this ambitious gallery exchange across cities. As two galleries that began at similar moments, we have always followed Pipeline’s ambitious programme. We greatly admire Tatiana’s generosity and her dedication and commitment to working with artists outside of the capital. For younger galleries like ours, a spirit of collaboration is key to growing and supporting artists, and we believe that this exchange can contribute to our shared goals of a more interconnected arts scene across the UK.
The gallery exchange will complement and be a counterpoint to a studio swap that will run at the same time. London-based multidisciplinary artist, Leon Scott-Engel will be swapping studios with Manchester-based artist Nicola Ellis, to be able to experience the unique Manchester warehouse studio, thanks to the initiative of Pipeline.
Rachel Adams and Hilda Kortei, 12th – 27th July, 2024, Pipeline
Private View: Thursday 11th July 2024
Conor Rogers, Renegade 19th July – 3rd August 2024, Slugtown
Private View: Thursday 18th June, 6 – 8 pm
About the artists
Conor Rogers (b.1992, Sheffield) lives and works in Sheffield, UK. Since graduating from Sheffield Hallam University, Rogers has been shortlisted for the John Moores painting prize 2014 and selected to exhibit in the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2015 at Primary Gallery, Nottingham & ICA, London. He has since exhibited work both nationally and internationally in group shows, arts festivals and biennales. He was twice shortlisted for the John Ruskin Prize in 2017 and 2019. In 2018 represented Great Britain at the Mediterranea 18 biennale in Tirana, Albania. In 2019 Conor was named as the 1st Prize winner of the UK Young Artist of the Year Award held at the Saatchi Gallery, London. More recently, he became the recipient of the 2024 March Selection of the DYCP Grant provided by Arts Council England.
Group selected shows include ‘Me Myself and I’ Collyer Bristow Gallery, London (2020), ‘Fully Awake 6.6’ Holden Gallery Manchester (2021) ‘En’Ger’Land’ OOF Gallery, London (2021. In 2019 he was selected for the Freelands Foundation programme at Site Gallery, Sheffield. The programme allowed Conor to exhibit in his debut solo exhibition ‘Manor Boy’ Yorkshire Artspace, Sheffield (2021). In 2022 he was commissioned as the leading artist for the National Portrait Galleries ‘Creative Connections’ project to create an exhibition of socially engaged portraiture. Most recently he has had a body of his paintings selected for acquisitions by the Arts Council Collection 2023 round of selections.
Hilda Kortei’s research-based and intuitive practice explores strategies of refusal and modes of care used as disruption, and in response to, organised and systemic violence. Composed of analogies and associations, she takes painting, sculpture and installation as methods of making. In search of body and kinship, she takes from her surroundings to explore the complex codes of social, political and economic networks, letting gestures of tenderness sit amongst clumps.
Hilda Kortei (b.1994, London) is a visual artist based in London. She graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Painting in 2023. Recent exhibitions include, In Praise of Black Errantry, Palazzo Pisani S. Marina, Venice (2024); Stellatundra, Sim Smith, London (2023); Charlie, Let’s Go!, Harlesden High Street, London (2023); Plastic Stars, Tara Downs, New York (2023); Manifold (Deluxe); Frieze No.9 Cork Street, London (2023); On The Verge of Its Own Disappearing, Wilder Gallery, London (2023). Awards and residencies include, Villa Lena residency, Tuscany (2023); Sir Frank Bowling Award (2021), Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarship (2021); London Creative Network at SPACE (2021).
Rachel Adams’ practice is concerned with lying: material lies, the lies we tell ourselves, and the lies institutions tell us. These lies could equally be described as trompe l’oeil, cultural values, or social constructions. By examining and drawing from labour and its histories the premise of dishonesty is examined across sculpture, print, and decorative objects.
Rachel Adams (b.1985, Newcastle upon Tyne) is an artist based in Glasgow. She graduated with an MFA from Ruskin School of Art in 2017 and is currently an AHRC Doctoral Researcher at the University of Edinburgh and Dundee Contemporary Art Print Studio. Recent exhibitions include, Storage Tokyo, Yoshimi Arts offsite project, Tokyo (2023); Damp, domobaal, London (2022); Hothouse, Hospitalfield, Arbroath (2019); Noon, David Dale Gallery & Studios, Glasgow (2018); Lowlight, Bloc Projects, Sheffield (2018); Right Twice a Day, Jerwood Project Space,
Jerwood Visual Arts, London (2017). Awards and residencies include, Sainbury’s Scholar in Painting and Sculpture at the British School at Rome (2015-16); Creative Scotland Artist Bursary (2014); Henry Moore Foundation Project Funding (2014). Permanent Commissions include, Tatha Bar & Restaurant, Victoria and Albert Museum Dundee, Dundee (2021); Observatory House, Collective, Edinburgh (2021).
