Behind Closed Doors

Only a few days until Claudia Borgna’s first public showing of her work created at The Rea Garden. To keep us warm on Friday evening there will be a small bonfire, mulled cider, hot chocolate rum and not forgetting our trusted wood burner.

Friday 6pm – 9pm, all welcome.

The Rea Garden is also open Friday 12th , Sat 13th and Sunday 14th 11am – 4pm for Claudia’s interim show.

The Rea Garden is now host to the second of four artist residencies over a 12 month period.  Claudia Borgna, is now residing at the site and will be with us throughout January, February and March 2010.

Claudia’s  work ‘entails the investigation of what she calls the “evolution of landscape”, a process started and effected by modern life-styles and consumerism. Her installations are the materialization of an ongoing observation and questioning of how the “plastic” and the natural realms interact with one another and thereby come to create new ephemeral orders’.

Throughout her residency Claudia expects to create a series of installations from recycled plastic bags, which will be temporary and evolving over the next 10 weeks. There will be an opportunity to meet Claudia,  each Friday at The Rea Garden, where she will be on site along with Behind Closed Doors and Ian England of Project Pigeon.

Claudia’s residency will have two public openings, giving the audience the opportunity to see the work transform during her residency. The first private viewing takes place on Friday 12th February 6 – 9pm. From that point the installation will remain in situ, and available to view until Sunday 14th February @ 4pm.

The second of the private viewings takes place at the end of Claudia’s residency – Thursday 11th March 2010, 6pm – 9pm.  The work will continue to be on view for a further two weeks.

i- Park Connecticut

i Park Connecticut

Hannah Hull - The Site

On 29th November  a funeral was held at The Rea Garden, the ceremony marked the death of the industrial use for the site. Hannah Hull spent three months researching this site of ‘No Special Interest’, in order to give it a dignified and highly personal farewell.

The service, officiated by Ben Waddington, revealed the personality and rich social context of the site. Contributions from local dignitaries included: a song by folk musician Paul Murphy of The Destroyers; a reading from architect Joe Holyoak; a soundtrack by Chromatouch; and an ale commissioned by Gerry at The Anchor.

You are invited to come and pay your respects and view articles from the service at The Rea Garden, 1-8 Floodgate Street, Digbeth, B5 5ST, open daily from Monday 30 December until Sunday 13 December, 11am-4pm.

We would also like to invite you to join us for the following talk:

‘A Certain Kind of Death – Rebirth in Digbeth’

Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Birmingham, B9 4AR on Tuesday 8 December, 6.30pm

In conversation with Alberto Duman, Hannah Hull will expand upon the rationale behind the funeral, and take the opportunity to relate it to the recent and imminent changes in the Digbeth area. Drawing from their personal archives, they will explore notions of ritual and memorial in the context of urban regeneration.

Hannah Hull recently appeared on the STRAX show on www.rhubarbradio.com to talk directly about her current work in the Garden:

STRAX Radio Show 2009-10-28 1700 with Hannah Hull by chromatouch

We are currently recruiting for our second resident artist at The Rea Garden.

The residency will begin  January 2010 and runs until the end of March 2010.

For further details about the residency and  how to apply  see  ‘Opportunities’

The ‘Artist In Residence Programme’ is funded by Arts Council England and The National Lottery

We are really excited to announce that ‘The Rea Garden Artist in Residence Programme’ has begun. Over the next twelve months four artists will have the opportunity to spend three months each at The Rea Garden creating artworks in response to the site.

The first artist in residence is Hannah Hull. Hannah is a public artist, curator and project manager, who will be spending time the garden researching the site and making works in response to her findings. Hannah will begin her time at The Rea Garden from Friday 11th September and will be on site along with myself and Paul each Friday during her residency. The site will be open to the public on Fridays from 11am – 4pm each week.

For more information on Hannah Hull’s artworks go to http://www.hannahhull.co.uk

watch, originally uploaded by the rea garden.

surveillance in the garden

code, originally uploaded by the rea garden.

more hidden messages

hey! listen to me, Anne, tonight (wednesday 29th July) on rhubarbradio.com with Leon Trimble discussing my part in the Unnatural Selection Project in The Rea Garden, Floodgate Street, Digbeth

emerge, originally uploaded by the rea garden.

blank canvas not what it seems