Pitt Studios in Worcester plays home to the final fabrications of the HCA MA Curators’ research studies. With four dedicated sections, audiences are invited to explore South Florida swamp monsters and the archives of seminal 20th Century artist Sidney Nolan, as well as a dose of fairground whimsey and amateur art from the walls of queer clubs.
The four-storey show in the heart of Worcester highlights the diverse and exciting possibilities of different curatorial practices – from traditional methods of archiving and display techniques to social interventions and interactive, experience-led processes.
Curator Q&As from 4pm – 5.30pm on July 16.
Our exhibiting students
@ridgebank
Caroline Lisa Allen
For Majid and Newby the primordial ooze of the swamp is a fertile space for exploring collaboration, collectivity and diversity. Their interest in the DC comic character Swamp Thing stems from the notion that its physical form is rendered fluid – enmeshed within the biologically diverse space of the swamp. Much like the theorist Donna Haraway’s call to make kin with non-human species as a means of mutual future survival, Majid and Newby’s work also looks speculatively towards the potentiality of a new non-binary world.
@florasketches_
Flora Maycock
My curatorial practice stems from ideas surrounding immersion and accessibility. The (Art) Fair is a culmination of these interests that provides a unique, experience-led avenue of enjoyment of artwork. Appealing to a sense of nostalgia, childlike whimsey and desire to play, this curatorial exploration challenges our expectation of artistic viewing experiences.
“ Curating is the chance to produce a welcoming way for people from all backgrounds to experience art and culture. Inviting audiences to freely lose themselves within artworks, leading to invaluable connections between work, viewer and producer that is unique to art. Flora Maycock
@beth_spicer_photography
Bethany Spicer
Throughout this degree, my curatorial practice has narrowed down to a specialist interest in history, heritage, and archiving. This exhibition is the culmination of a research residency at the Sidney Nolan Trust. From discovering these artworks from around 1988, documenting and archiving, to displaying them to an audience. I have grouped and chosen specific photocopies from these uncovered works to create an exhibition showing another side of Sir Sidney Nolan which has not yet been portrayed, through self-portraiture, and the medium of the photocopy.
@Ollie_childs
Ollie Childs
Over the past year my curatorial practice has centred around social issues and specifically focusing on the LGBTQIA+ community.
This exhibition will feature LGBTQIA+ artists in response to the idea of “Queer Junk”.
Ladislav Zikmund-Lender defines Queer Junk as ‘non-professional paintings and erotic photographs hanging in gay clubs and cafés…they do not seek to join the art world, nor do they offer any social subversion or transgression’.
This exhibition aims to use the term of “Queer Junk” to subvert the separation of queer culture and the gallery, by creating a make-shift bar experience within a gallery space. Featuring artworks that are more than just erotic imagery, but instead carry messages of inclusivity and empowerment.
Join us for a special MA Fine Art Open Evening at Canwood Gallery on Thursday 21 July at 5pm. This years students will be exhibiting their work in the Canwood gallery based in the inspiring countryside of Herefordshire. Come along to meet the course tutors and ask any questions you may have about the course at Hereford College of Arts
Click below to book your place
Pitt Studios, 4 Edgar St, Worcester WR1 2LR
16th - 17th - 19th - 20th - 21st - 22nd - 23rd July 11am - 4pm
MA Student - Caroline Lisa Allen
MAniFest at Canwood
Running as a sister exhibition the MA Fine Art students are exhibiting simultaneously at Canwood Gallery.
Click below for all the details.