livin cool

Giuseppe Alagna has been working with livin cool to produce a tasty online magazine for you to feast your eyes on: http://www.livincool.com/magazine

Editor in Chief, Emanuele D’Angelo says “I moved to London on september 2009. I arrived here alone, looking for a job. At that time I didn’t have any contacts for work, friends or people to hang out with. I just wanted to make it happen. After few months that I was living there I decided to put together my works and my experiences into this magazine that I built with Giuseppe Alagna, an art director friend of mine that I have met last year through another friend in a bar in Shoreditch. At that time we were planning the first editorial shooting for this magazine. After a lot of work and many adventures we have finally released this issue number 0 of this magazine about Fashion, Art, Design, Photography and anything else we love and we consider of quality…”

Samir Ceric & Robert Strang at 176

TESTING GROUND

We had a great time attending Future Map’s Special Preview on Wednesday evening organised by our collaborators on the DEBUT Contemporary programme, University of Arts London, and hosted by Anita Zabludowicz and her amazing gallery space in Chalk Farm. It was great to see, StrangMacfarlane, one of DEBUT Contemporary’s ambassadors impressive display of ‘1 To 10’ piece we featured in our Summer show last August as well as other 27 incredibly talented artists who were selected for the exhibition from 400 initially shortlisted and 10,000 that graduated in 2010 from 6 arts schools that make UAL one of the most powerful creative universities in the world. A number of artists we have worked with and will be working through DEBUT Contemporary already feature in Zabludowicz Collection. Medeia Cohan-Petrolino, UAL Chief Curator of the Emerging Artists Programme and one of DEBUT’s mentors, gave a great introduction to the event which was attended by hundreds of people. A number of high profile art critics, curators and gallerists were also amongst the attendees. Hence if you get a chance, you’ve got to go and see the exhibition before it ends. On another note, DEBUT Contemporary will soon be announcing the list of the artists that have made it onto the mentoring programme for the launch. We are thrilled with high quality of applications and will soon be starting a waiting list for the May and August entries. Many artists who presented their work also enjoyed the fact of being filmed in the process. Once more thank you for spreading the word around and look forward to seeing you at the official launch for press and industry scheduled for Wednesday, 2 March 2011. 

INTERVIEW > GIUSEPPE ALAGNA
CREATIVE DESIGNER FOR DEBUT CONTEMPORARY WEBSITE

I am an art director/ graphic designer who lives in London. I’m deeply influenced by Art, Fashion, Movies. I’m curious and very passionate about what I’m doing. I don’t like the labels and labelling my work, it's just a way to express myself.

MY INSPIRATION COMES FROM...movies, art, fashion, photography, architecture, music, theatre, flowers, opera, 60’s (I should have been born in the 60’s)

I WOULDN’T WAIT FOR…a movie! I’m actually obsessed…

I FLIRT WITH…the Autumn, it is my  favourite season, a mix of beauty and sadness, I love the sound of leaves under the feet

SOCIAL INFLUENCES… the timeless elegance, people’s faces, the street, tube, the supermarket…

I GOT WHERE I AM… Where?

ART CAN BE... Everything and nothing, meaningful and meaningless, life’s breath

MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS…is being too distracted while I’m walking on the street // to have too high expectations.

COFFEE IS… My drug…Espresso of course…I’m Italian

THERE'S A NEW... thing to learn everyday 

LIFE IS FOR...designing the life…

MY FIRST WIN... express myself through my work

ONE CHANGE... Why just one?

I GET EXCITED BY... everything new

I LIKE GOING...to exhibitions on my own. The V&A’s Baroque Café. Walking outside the Barbican Centre…

THE WORST THING...is closed minded people

TOP TIP...Minimal Baroque!

Educating the Educators: Engaging with Gallery Education
Tuesday 22nd February
Salon Contemporary
6.30-9.00pm
Cost: £5
This event, organised by Emerge and taking place at Salon Contemporary in West London, is intended as a first stop for artists to get to grips with how their practice could connect with, and be developed by, a variety of approaches to working within gallery education. The session is based on a practical workshop by artist Emma Hart and curator Leanne Turvey. Participants will be offered additional advice from Jane Sillis, Director, engage, the national gallery education organisation.
The evening will be informal and driven by practical exercises based on artists' practice and the current exhibition at Salon Contemporary. Emma Hart, an artist working with video and live art actions, has worked with Camden Arts Centre, Whitechapel Gallery and Tate Modern amongst others. She will be showing new work in a solo show at Matt's Gallery in 2011. Leanne Turvey is a curator and educator and has worked in arts education with a number of galleries including Chisenhale Gallery and is currently part time Curator for the Schools and Teachers CPD programmes at Tate. They will lead a hands on session looking at keeping your practice at the core of your work as an educator.
Emerge is pleased to be running the event at Salon Contemporary during their 'Debut Contemporary' residency. Salon Contemporary has been scouting and representing emerging artists for over 5 years and has recently developed a new mentoring and exhibition platform 'Debut Contemporary', specifically for ambitious emerging artists looking to further develop their career and engage with new markets for their work. Visit their website www.debutcontemporary.com to find out how you can apply for this unique opportunity.
Spaces for the event are limited. Please book via the Events section of the Emerge website. * If you would like to discuss any access requirements related to the event please contact Mhairi Leaver at Shape on 020 7424 7358 or mhairi@shapearts.org.uk.


Links:
Emma Hart – www.emmahart.info
Salon Contemporary - www.saloncontemporary.com
engage - www.engage.org
Artquest - www.artquest.org.uk
Shape - www.shapearts.org.uk

DEBUT CONTEMPORARY NEW YEAR MASTERCLASS

Our top 5 tips posted daily to inspire you for some New Year creative drive.

1. GET OUT THERE

Are you still sitting in your studio waiting to be found? There’s no excuse – get out there and make your own success! Start by networking at exhibition previews and be sure to maintain contacts. It’s not easy to get picked up by a gallery until you’ve been spotted so have a group pop-up show. You can share the cost and each others networks, promoting yourself in the process. One exhibition often follows off the back of another in art circles so getting involved becomes easier. Find a mentorship scheme where you'll get an insiders guide to the art world > see www.debutcontemporary.com. Hold networking events with other artists you know and expand on each other’s ideas. If you see an opportunity to get your art noticed take it. Speak to the council about proposing a public art piece. See if that hotel/ cafe/ bar/collector is interested in your work (although make sure it is an appropriate place for your work to be seen). That said, there’s a lot you can do from your bedroom computer too. Make a website or find a budding student designer who can design you one as a course project. Create online profiles on artist networking sites and look out for opportunities on websites like Jotta, a-n, ArtQuest, Axis and ArtSelector. Your profile can be greatly increased by a bit of social media too. Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter keep you noticed by a vast and growing online arts audience.

2. BULLS EYE

Know your target market. Taste in art is as diverse as personalities. Draw out the categories surrounding the theme and content of your work and discover the types of audience who will be most interested. After a few showings you’ll start to get a feel for this but bear in mind that trends change and particular events can affect interested parties (if your subject matter is suddenly all over the news you may see a new type of audience following your practice). Additionally, learn how to approach different audiences. Be aware that galleries, curators, members of the public, universities and other artists will be looking for different things.

Pin-pointing your style also helps develop a loyal following who love what you do and know what to expect. Try not to camouflage yourself by getting swept into art trends and stick to your roots. Your unique selling point is the thing that will get you noticed in the herd.

3. IT'S PERSONAL

You can make a great impression by remaining personal with the people you’re dealing with. If you meet someone of interest at a preview event make sure you get their contact information and follow up the next day with a short message. Keep a list of contacts with the relevant information about them as you never know when it might come in handy. If you don’t like a comment you hear about your work you’ve either got to take it on the chin and forget about it or note that it’s a valid point and do something about it – wanting to give up, carrying a grudge or drastically adapting your work to suit others won’t get you anywhere. No matter what kind of mood you’re in, remember that when addressing people about art, this is your business. Always act appropriately and sell yourself without bad-mouthing others. The art world is close-knit and built on trust and reputation. Where possible send personal invites to the people you’d like to attend your exhibitions as they’re much more likely to attend than when they receive a mass mail-out. Also remember that in such a saturated industry, given the option, galleries, curators and writers will choose to work with artists that are professional, personable and efficient. If they ask for some information they expect it pronto and clearly laid out (this will help you too in making sure the information is correctly transferred on their side). 


 4. ATTENTION TO DETAIL

So you have a concept...now what do you do with it? Presentation is key to your success. Think carefully about the materials you use and how you use them. Where often a lack of skill and lazy finish is found in the end product, a considered high quality effort will be noticed and you’ll reap the rewards. Once you’ve created a piece, find an appropriate place to document it, and, if you don’t feel you’re up to the job, get someone else in to do it for you. It is essential to have high quality images of your work possible in all formats for opportunities, attracting the right people and developing a good body of promotional materials, so have it at the ready. Also, a few great images will have much more impact than lots of average ones. Remember to keep a record of each works title, date, medium and dimensions for future use. Take care in everything you send out to the public realm and make sure it’s of a standard that represents how greatly you value your artwork. Beautifully presented work (in any industry) is a pleasure to review and doesn’t need to be caked in art jargon to feel sophisticated.

5. BEAT THE BLOCK

Lost your creative mojo? Don’t let that temporary dry patch get the better of you. A bit of routine balances out the more ongoing, involved elements of being an artist so keep a daily book of ideas to stay on track. Get out and see other artists work to keep yourself up-to-date and inspired. Read books surrounding your subject matter to become more knowledgeable about the things that have interested you and to add weight to your practice. Arrange a critiquing session with artists to discuss each others work and find out what they suggest. Revive your working space by cleaning it out and putting up some new images for inspiration. When it comes to your practice, no-one knows it better than you do. Artists tend to get so involved with the process that it almost feels quite hard to explain what you’re doing, but never loose sight of the initial concept. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing you can’t expect others to, so refresh your passion and put on your war paint. Imagine someone put you on the spot and asked you what it’s all about. Re-visiting your artists statement is both a good way of keeping it current and a way to clarify what you are saying with your work which might just spark off something great.

So...here is the end our NEW YEAR tips and the start of a NEW YOU!

We look forward to hearing how you get on. If you’re ready for the challenge apply to become a DEBUT Artist and launch your career. 

Got your own top tip to pass on to other artists? Been inspired? Email us at info@debutcontemporary.com