The
Newspaper House is a multi-layered project, imagined by Creative City ltd, created by Sumer Erek (UpsideDown House, 2001).
It has received
unbelievable support all around. UNltd, Arts Council England, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation funded the R&D. Hackney Council Cultural Team have funded and Sandra Collins been extremely pro-active in getting it off the ground raising the profile amazingly and making the project a reality for all of us.
The Hackney installation will be erected in Gillett Square, hosted by Gillett Squared Partnership.
March 3rd - 9thGillett SquareDalstonLondon N16 8JH
So far so good, information about the project is starting to show:
Wednesday Jan 16th in the
Guardian Society supplement
Wednesday Feb 29th in
Building Design Solutions section
+ Newsletters
& look out for more!
Detailed information about the Newspaper House surrounding activities can be found at the bottom of this post.
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Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation have just announced their support to research moving the Newspaper House to 3 other locations after Hackney! giving a real boost to the long-term value of our work.
Locations, cities, suggestions welcome!
supported by
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Right now, Sumer Erek is primarily focusing on making the best possible public art piece in Dalston. Sumer is working very hard and long hours with the material, techniques.
From Jan 21st, we are moving into our production location.
St Barnabas Hall, Shackelwell Row, E8 2EA (courtesy of the West Hackney Parish) There, we will assemble the structure, test the construction method, present the outer shell that will be moved to Gillett Square on March 3.
We will shortly publicise an Open-House day and evening on Feb 7th in st Barnabas Hall. More soon.
In the mean time, we looking for committed individuals to give support on
¬ Production (Painting the panels of the house, preparing materials for the House (Stixx machine)) + Carpentry (skilled)
¬ Skilled people to move & build the structure Jan 21st - Feb 5th + Sun March 2nd and dismantle March 9th (eve)
¬ Participation & helping on the Open House Thursday 7th Feb
¬ Newspapers collection days (date March 27th TBC)
¬ 1 committed head volunteer to organise the rotas
Production space: St Barnabas Hall, Shackelwell Row, London E8 2EA
Thurs to Mondays from Thurs Jan 31st to Thurs Feb 28th.
It will be a fantastic opportunity to participate to one of the largest project of the year in Dalston and the first Public Art piece in Gillett Square.
From next week, it's all GO! It will be busy and it will be fun!
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Open House Thurs Feb 7th 6 - 9pm ¬ to present the project and make the platform visible to the public.
We would like to see members of the public, artists, educators, critics, architects, engineers, environmentalists, thinkers to come and join and contribute their thoughts
Come and make St Barnabas a hive of activities, with happenings and events every weekends. Be in touch
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Drop-in sessions for young people at the Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, E2 Wed 20th. Thurs 21st and Friday 22nd of Feb - 2 - 4pm. Roll sticks with the Stixx machine. www.geffrye-museum.org.uk
More workshops will be advertised soon as the Newspaper House will develop a school programme with ASpace and EcoActive, in coolaboration with the Learning Trust.
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Walk About Wed Feb 27th in collaboration with Project Freesheet ¬ to collect newspapers across London. www.projectfreesheet.org
The Newspaper House is YOUR project, make it happen
www.myspace.com/newspaperhouse
www.creative-city.co.uk
Creative City ltd is a new organisation that creates projects that engage artists with audiences, and take the arts into different territories. “We believe that Art can be utilised as a tool to raise awareness and to engage people on issues. The emphasis of our work is on creating high quality public art projects that are both participatory and viable as a work of art in themselves".
Creative City ltd
Karen Janody
Karen[@]creative-city.co.uk
07 989 954 414
Press info Gillian Burton
press[@]creative-city.co.uk
Gillian McIver
gillian[@]creative-city.co.uk
/// PRESS RELEASE ///London has a growing problem with the large quantities of free newspapers that clutter our streets and public transport. Tube passengers alone discard approximately nine-and-a-half tonnes of freesheet newspapers a day.
Sculptor and installation artist Sumer Erek will construct a (5 m3) ‘House’ in Gillett Square, out of newspapers brought by the members of the public over the course of 1 week. Erek will ask visitors will insert their own observations, secrets, etc into the newspapers and add them to the structure. In this way, the public will connect with the Newspaper House; their action becomes a contribution to the building of a public project.
The notion of ‘House’ is recurring throughout Erek’s work. It is a repository for memory and imagination, carrying a metaphor for identity and belonging. Erek questions the boundaries between local and global, nationhood and universality, private and public. “My ‘houses’ are temporary shelters, that suits my nomadic existence.” By creating a house, Erek does not only dwell upon his existence in it, he also builds a ‘home’ for art.
UNltd described The Newspaper House as an ‘innovative and imaginative response to a local environmental issue’. Newspaper House artists-led workshops for young people will take place at the Geffrye Museum and in schools with the Learning Trust, ASpace and EcoActive to reach out to the wide audience and make this a truly inclusive project.
Gillett Squared Partnership, the creative management team producing arts and enterprise events for Dalston’s new public space, is hosting the installation.
Hackney Council Cultural Team has played a key role in getting it off the ground. Its involvement demonstrates Hackney's aspirations to increase access to, and participation in the arts for all its communities. Kim Wright, Council Corporate Director, Community Services says: "Hackney is the home of a dynamic and prolific visual arts sector and we are proud to support its continued development. Hackney's Culture Team is delighted to be a partner in the Newspaper House. This innovative project will be the first temporary art installation in the public realm in Gillett Square. Its strong environmental message will engage Hackney's communities in the 'reduce-reuse-recycle' debate”.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is funding the current R&D phase of the project. Andrew Barnett, Director of the Gulbenkian Foundation says: "The Newspaper House presents an innovative, and involving, way of meeting not one but two of Gulbenkian's current funding priorities - raising environmental awareness and art in public spaces. I am confident the project will be a big hit with the public and hope it will be then able to tour the UK, involving the public and making a contribution to environmental awareness in a truly adventurous way. We all need to do our bit for the environment and this gives us an opportunity to do so in a way that's close to home."
Additional information, please contact Gillian Burton
press[@]creative-city.co.uk
