New Ashgate Gallery Partnership Commission

New Ashgate Gallery Partnership Commission

The 2023 New Ashgate Gallery Partnership Commission has been awarded to Kate Kennington-Steer.

This project is part of the Here We Are programme, made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England.

About The Commission

We are excited about this commission, as we support an artist residency hosted by our wonderful partners at New Ashgate Gallery.

Our commissions aim to help artists foster connections with cultural partners across the county of Surrey as well as offer them a bursary and some dedicated studio time.

The 2023 commission awardee is Kate Kennington-Steer.

Kate will be focusing her studio time for this residency on the Brightwell Yard commercial development in Farnham. Kate will be talking to members of the community throughout the residency, as well as experimenting with new methods of combining photography and painting with the written word. She has titled her project ‘bright-+/well’ and introduces her personal connection to the development as well as the techniques she will be experimenting with in her first blog post.

You can find out more about Kate work over at her website, and can keep up to date with Kate’s activity on her residency at New Ashgate Gallery via our blog.

Kate Kennington-Steer

This project, which I am calling ‘bright-+/well’ is allowing me to talk to all sorts of people in Farnham, to hear their stories not only about they regard their historic town and about how the new BrightWells Yard will affect them, but also to talk about wellbeing, and brightness, about emotional, physical and mental health, and how creativity might help express those stories of the past as well as the hopes for the future. I point to my photos and my painting and my prints and my poetry, showing them how I am trying to ‘stay with’ that painful crack in the wall, because I know that is the way healing lies, and possibility, hopefully, not just for me.

Commission Artist:

Kate Kennington-Steer

Kate Kennington Steer is a writer, photographer and visual artist and a member of the Creative Response Arts community.  She will be combining paint, print, photography and poetry to focus on the Brightwell’s Yard development in Farnham:  how does an historic site change over time?; how does changing the built environment affect not only the lives of the end users and local residents it was designed for, but also impact those who are using their different crafts and trades to make a place which incorporates the old with the new.  Kate hopes to hear a wide variety of experiences, recollections, stories and views from the local community, and to integrate them into her work as a way of (re)imagining a ‘bright-well’ at the heart of Farnham.

About New Ashgate Gallery

The New Ashgate Gallery Trust is a charity specialising in the curation and promotion of arts and craft. Established in 1959, NAG has supported emerging artists and encouraged participation in community through free exhibitions, craft workshops and professional practice seminars.

New Ashgate Gallery curate more than 20 annual exhibitions with some of the best artists working on painting, print, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, glass and wood.

Visit the New Ashgate Gallery website

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