Press: ARTISTS DONATE ARTWORKS

Four high-profile British artists have joined ART ACTION @ THE STATION, an upcoming auction comprising of a collection of more than 30 artworks by local, national and international artists in Bristol.

Organised by the Creative Youth Network and Art Action for Kids, the latest artists to join the ART ACTION @ THE STATION roster are Ian Francis, Tom Bagshaw, D*Face and Conor Harrington. The entire collection will be auctioned off starting on Thursday 18 October as part of the corporate launch celebrations at The Station, Bristol’s £5.75million youth hub currently being developed in the city centre. 

   
The latest four artists join local illustrator Rose Sanderson and acclaimed graffiti artist Nick Walker in offering support. 

D*Face is a multi-media street artist, whose work explores themes of life, death, love, loss and conspicuous global consumption. D*Face said: “Being able to live and support myself and family as an artist is a privilege. I wake up every day thankful and amazed that I get to do what I love, if I can give back, help or even inspire just one child that’s more than I ever dreamed of from my art.”
Bristol-based Ian Francis, a past student at the University of the West of England, takes popular culture as a central theme, exploring how it relates to a sense of impending apocalypse and societal collapse. Ian said: “I have donated a small drawing based on a corrupted frame taken from a video of a girl walking along a beach. There's something I find fascinating about re-interpreting the kinds of marks and artefacts you get when digital video corrupts in hand crafted media like paint and charcoal.”

Bath-based Tom Bagshaw’s distinctive digital painting style centres around figurative feminine beauty, mystery and folklore and has been used in campaigns for Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony, the BBC and Random House. Conor Harrington’s work exploits both fine art and street techniques, often depicting historical scenes. 

Sandy Hore-Ruthven, CEO of the Creative Youth Network, said: “Encouraging creativity and expression among young people is a key aim for The Station and through this auction and exhibition we’re hoping to inspire Bristol’s impressive young artistic talent. The auction will be raising money for some of the creative projects that will run at The Station and we’re incredibly grateful to all the artists that have donated work.”

Young people will also have the chance to see their own artwork hung alongside the professionals, by entering The Station Artwork Competition. To enter, young people should take a digital shot of their artwork and upload it to the ‘Art Auction & Competition’ event on The Station’s Facebook page.  Artwork must be 2D but can be in any medium including painting, graffiti, digital, illustration, textile, print and photography.

The competition will be split into two age groups, 11-14yrs and 15-19yrs. The final three of both age groups will be decided on Facebook, but the overall winners will be judged by a special guest art panel. To see the collection of professional artworks set to be auctioned in October, visit the event page on Creative Youth Network website.

ENDS 

Editor’s Notes:

The Station is a £5.75m partnership project to deliver a world-class, 32,000 sq ft facility for all young people in Bristol. The Station will be a safe, neutral place, accessible by public transport that links young people to the services and activities they need to develop creatively and emotionally. 

Creative Youth Network provides creative opportunities and challenges to unlock young people’s talent and personality.

Art Action for Kids is a Bristol (UK) based venture and aims to get young people exposed to and involved in art and culture within this vibrant city.  Bristol is renowned for its proud creative heritage and a thriving arts scene and with the emergence of The Station the youth agenda is really being put in the spotlight.

Key partners of The Station include: Bristol City Council, Young Bristol, Business West, Brook, Basement Studios & Bristol YMCA.  The Station is partly funded by the myplace scheme: myplace is a multi-million pound government programme to deliver world class places for young people to go. More details available on www.thestationbristol.org.uk. 

Creative Youth Network’s aim is for young people to excel. We help them grow and succeed through the inspiration of the arts. Our work takes place across sites in Bristol and beyond, with the aim of reaching as many young people as we can. The Charity owns and maintains a 29 acre site in East Bristol where all projects take place.  

www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk

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