Spark Artists Network

Spark Artists Network Greater Manchester/North West artists who want to intervene in the trajectory towards climate breakdown.

Posted • Further info + stills for screening I've assembled for this Sat Dec 16, 4 - 6pm for .🔗 in bio for free 🎟️ (E...
12/12/2023

Posted • Further info + stills for screening I've assembled for this Sat Dec 16, 4 - 6pm for .

🔗 in bio for free 🎟️ (Eventbrite is limited, so if you try to register and it says ‘sold out’ please email [email protected] to reserve a place)

Film programme notes:

The ‘Observed Ecologies’ programme of short films explore the interconnections between human activity and the natural environment, and have been selected from by the festival's curator & SPARK exhibiting artist Nick Jordan.

Damp Moss, Christopher Thompson, 2023, 4:22
“It’s 9am. You wake up on the forest floor. Gentle rain taps your skin. You are sinking into mud. Bugs begin to crawl over your body…”

Some Things We Tended, dir Mars Saude, 2023, 10:00
The future of food production in a changing climate, through 16mm documentation of two sites in mid Wales: an automated research greenhouse and a small-scale organic market garden.   

The Wool Aliens, dir Julia Parks, 2023, 27:45
A journey into the social, ecological and tactile entanglements between sheep’s wool, migrant plants and the River Tweed. Made during Julia Parks' residency at

**INTERMISSION**

Exoskeletons, dir Mariana Castiñeiras, 2022, 17:49
A filmmaker who struggles with her fear of insects meets a neurologist with a peculiar obsession for beetles.

Guadiana in Four Movements, dir Pedro F Neto & Burak Korkmaz, 2022, 13:45
Explores the present and future of the estuary of the transboundary Guadiana River on the Iberian Peninsula, with data sonification based on current climate models.

Endling, dir Caroline Vitzthum, 2021, 8:44
A portrait of the cultivation and ecological impact of flax, and its symbiotic interconnectedness with many species of insects under threat of extinction.

Programmed to accompany group exhibition:
SPARK: Artist Interventions in a Time of Crisis
Rogue Project Space
2-6 Barrass St, Manchester, M11 1WP

, , , , , , , ,  , ,

15/11/2023

SPARK: Artist Interventions in a Time of Crisis at Rogue Project Space, 9th Dec-13th Jan, is the first exhibition by members of .
The exhibition, curated by Sophy King and John-Paul Brown aims to engender conversation and collaboration and foster the cross-pollination of ideas around the climate crisis.

Featuring: Artist A and Artist B, Chris Alton, John-Paul Brown, Eleanor Capstick, Nerissa Cargill Thompson, Maya Chowdhry, Helen Clare, Louise Ann Clarke, Sara Kristina Davies, Sarah Feinmann, Sarah Grant, Anthony Hall, Jackie Haynes, Tracy Hill, David Jaques, Adele Jordan, Nick Jordan, Lizzie King, Sophy King, Jane Lawson, Helena Lee, Ruth Moilliet, Rob Mullender-Ross, Mike Perry, Sam Pickett, Gwen Riley Jones, Lucy Roberts, Heather Ross, Rae Story, Steve Sutton, TEA, Debbie Yare

A programme of events runs alongside the exhibition beginning with:
PV 8th December, 6-8, with performances by Artist A and Artist B, and Maya Chowdhry
Spark #18 9th December, 11-4: Talks and Q&A by invited speakers Rebecca Chesney, Liz Postlethwaite and Debbie Yare
Keep your eyes open for further events


.city

Message from SPARK Val Murray: Hi AllFriends of Carr Wood in Bramhall (of which I am a member) are holding a Bioblitz on...
21/04/2023

Message from SPARK Val Murray:

Hi All

Friends of Carr Wood in Bramhall (of which I am a member) are holding a Bioblitz on 29th April as part of City Nature Challenge. Everyone is welcome to observe, identify, upload what they find. You’d all be very welcome to join in. See poster. I can also give you a guided tour of the woods if you are interested.
Carr Wood is 10 minute walk from Bramhall Station. We’ll be at the far end.

All the best

Val

Spark #9Amazing moss walk with from Oxford Rd station down to Manchester Museum where we made terrariums. Thanks Tony ...
04/03/2023

Spark #9
Amazing moss walk with from Oxford Rd station down to Manchester Museum where we made terrariums. Thanks Tony for the session and thanks to for hosting us. We looked at mosses and their micro-ecosystems in the urban environment. We had a great turnout of people, all of who want to engage with and intervene in the climate crisis. Thanks so much for coming all of you, our little movement is growing 🙌 🙌 🙌
For some amazing photos of the day head over to 😍

Posted • Keeping with the theme of , after an introduction to my artwork on and the , the group did a session pa...
05/02/2023

Posted • Keeping with the theme of , after an introduction to my artwork on and the , the group did a session particularly thinking about where could by or . Being a group concerned with , most use where possible. There was general frustration that often have to order stuff to be delivered and lack of control in . The admin side was harder to with essentials like pens and tech stuff. Another frustration was sending work to in or but then returned in excessive amounts of brand new bubble wrap and tape. It was great to spend time considering and sharing possible . Thanks to for hosting this month.

Posted • Before this month's meeting, some of the group visited the . I always love seeing her work and enjoyed ...
05/02/2023

Posted • Before this month's meeting, some of the group visited the . I always love seeing her work and enjoyed introducing some members to her work who had not encountered it before.

, SPARK #8 is a seventh in person meeting for Greater Manchester/North West-based artists who want to intervene in the ...
17/01/2023

, SPARK #8 is a seventh in person meeting for Greater Manchester/North West-based artists who want to intervene in the trajectory towards climate breakdown, and is an opportunity to meet other artists and to share information and ideas.
Saturday 4th February 2023

10:00-11:00: Visit to Our Plastic Ocean – meet in Our Plastic Ocean gallery at 10
11:00-13:00: Plastic in my Practice – meet in Our Plastic Ocean gallery at 11

Please register to attend on Eventbrite (linktree in bio)

Photos: Spark flyer; Mandy Barker, SOUP : Bird's Nest; Nerissa Cargill Thompson, Mapping The Issue

Hosted by artist Nerissa Cargill Thompson , SPARK #8 will focus on our relationship with plastic. The session will start with an (optional) visit to Mandy Barker’s exhibition Our Plastic Ocean at Gallery Oldham and be followed by a non judgemental Plastic in my Practice session looking at plastic in our practice: where we can reduce or reuse, substitutions and where it is the only thing for the job.

Our Plastic Ocean spans a decade of Mandy Barker’s work including the series Soup, meticulously detailed composite images of discarded plastic objects; Albatross revealing 276 pieces of plastic found inside the stomach of a 90-day old albatross chick; and Beyond Drifting, which sees Barker trace the footsteps of 19th Century botanist John Vaughan Thompson who collected plankton specimens, the ocean’s most basic life-form.

SPARK #8 follows on from Castlefield Gallery’s SUSTAIN programme focussed on low carbon artmaking and from our first seven SPARK sessions at Manchester Art Gallery, Rogue, The Birley (Preston) and Eccles Friends Meeting House. The SPARK sessions are to help seed a new Greater Manchester/North West-based network of artists with low carbon practices.
SPARK #8 is supported by Castlefield Gallery and Gallery Oldham.



SPARK #7 saw us in Eccles, taking a walk around Alder Forest led by A wide strip of damage along the brook has been cau...
09/01/2023

SPARK #7 saw us in Eccles, taking a walk around Alder Forest led by

A wide strip of damage along the brook has been caused by over-enthusiastic drainage maintenance by the Highways Agency (they apologised). The bare soil could do with coverage to prevent invasive Himalayan Balsam from taking hold, and the trees cut down here have left residents and visitors dealing with massively increased noise from the adjoining motorway.

Spark brought along 11 alder saplings, collected and potted from his allotment and we set about another piece of : Alder Line. This art/ecology/activism/work can take advantage of a still-in-place mycelial network left by the felled trees which recently populated the site.

We will be returning to seed the bank with a mix of annual and perennial native wildflowers, selected to thrive in wet and waterside conditions to cover the soil while the trees grow. This should give a boost to the biodiversity of this area of ancient woodland.

The Alder Forest is ‘s muse and studio. The land ownership is ambiguous and local residents are in the process of trying to get the space recognised as of community and environmental importance. Our meeting after the artmaking involved discussion of ways to do this and how we as a group can continue to participate.

It was great to see so many new faces; Spark Artists Network is growing by the month.

03/01/2023

I really enjoy connecting with others . In 2022 I became part of of in the north west. We've had some great meet ups and discussions and I've met some wonderful interesting creative people. We meet on the first Saturday of each month so that's next Saturday. Do join us if are your thing.

Spark Network] with .repost
• • • • • •
Our first meet-up of 2023 is on Saturday 7th January at Eccles Friend's Meeting House, 13 The Polygon, Wellington Rd, M30 0DS.

We'll be focussing on forest ownership and management and on using art activism to challenge local .

Meet at 9 to Walk and Talk; or join us from 11 to 1 for the Tea and Talk session.

Eventbrite link in Linktree (in Spark Network] bio). It'd be grand to see you there!

Image is from a modified photo by Lisa McCarty, used under a Creative Commons 0 license

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