NTU Festival; Stories in the Dark

About

NTU FESTIVAL: Stories in the Dark
20th–24th Feb & 6th–10th March 2015
Launch parties: 7-9pm Thurs 19th Feb & Thurs 5th March

The launch parties are open to the public and will feature a bar in each space offering locally brewed ales from Springhead. 

Stories in the Dark is Surface Gallery’s fourth series of exhibitions in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University, and succeeds last year’s The Collective Individual. Made up of four week-long exhibitions, Stories in the Dark will see NTU Fine Art students using a critical or reflective approach to group exhibitions in response to the Festival’s theme, each uniquely interpreting and considering concepts such as storytelling and the power of the imagination in contemporary art practice.

This open submission format offers NTU Fine Art students the opportunity to curate an exhibition that establishes their practice outside of the university, and to do so alongside the practices of their peers. Surface Gallery aims to support students and emerging artists with programmes such as the NTU Festival, offering professional experience in a supportive environment.

Lost in the Gloss – Georgia Day, Hannah Tolmie & Jade Williams
Launch party: 7-9pm Thursday 19th February 
Exhibition: 19th–24th February in the Main Gallery
Spinning facts into fiction on a daily basis, the media glamourises and degrades the lives of those they write about, creating fabricated paradises and nightmares that consume us. This immersive exhibition features light and sound, video, sensory sculpture and performance.

Scraping the Bottom of the Bargain Bucket– Reece Straw & Aaron Clixby
Launch party: 7-9pm Thursday 19th February 
Exhibition: 19th–24th February in the Project Space
Drawing on the visually compelling aesthetic of the copycat KFC, this exhibition will respond to anecdotes, stories and legends, from the world of the fried chicken. For those venturing into our top-floor project space, be prepared to cross the threshold into the unique world of the chicken shop kingdom. 

The World is Round – Matthew Collins, Amy Payton Edwards, Francis Madders, and Charlotte Walsh 
Launch party: Thurs 5th March 
Exhibition: 5th–10th March in the Main Gallery
The state of being in the dark signifies unknowing and uncertainty, which this group hope to instil in the audience. By embracing ambiguities and using Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of the Rhizome, this exhibition presents a non-hierarchical approach to critical analysis.

Khepri – Verity Heald and Anthony Fletcher
Launch party: Thurs 5th March
Exhibition: 5th–10th March in the Project Space
This theatrical and playful performance will largely take place in the dark, with a projection of moonlight leading the narrative to the point of sunrise. The exhibition is based on the ancient Egyptian story of Khepri, who each night would push the sun down into the underworld.

16, Southwell Road, Nottingham, NG1 1DL

Contact Details: For more info, high-resolution images, or interview opportunities, please contact:  Aaron Persaud or Harry Ennis on 0115 947 0793 / Surfacegallery@gmail.com

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