The 19 international artists who have been commissioned to create new works for the Folkestone Triennial 2011, which will take place from 25 June – 25 September 2011, were announced today.
The Folkestone Triennial is one of the most ambitious public art projects ever to be presented in the UK. The selected artists have been invited to develop new works for Folkestone’s streets, squares, beaches and historic buildings to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition in the public domain.
Andrea Schlieker conceived and curated the inaugural exhibition in 2008 and will direct the second Folkestone Triennial, A Million Miles From Home, in the summer of 2011.
Participating artists are:
Tonico Lemos Auad, Charles Avery, CAMP, Martin Creed, Smadar Dreyfus, Latifa Echakhch, Hala Elkoussy, Ruth Ewan, Spencer Finch, Hamish Fulton, Cristina Iglesias , Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, Hew Lock, Cornelia Parke, Olivia Plender, Zineb Sedira, Erzen Shkololli, Strange Cargo, Paloma Varga Weisz.
The 2011 Triennial aims to bring the wider world to Folkestone, while highlighting its status as a gateway to and from Europe and its isolation on the edge of Britain. The focus will be on social and political issues, particularly those arising from migration and exile, colonialism and its aftermath, and questions of place and language. The selected artists either live or have biographical background in countries as diverse as Algeria, Morocco, Kosovo, Israel, Egypt, Guyana, India and Brazil, as well as Denmark, Spain, Germany, the US and the UK. They will bring their stories and experiences to Folkestone, finding elements of shared ground and connecting threads.
Curator Andrea Schlieker:
"It is both a great privilege and challenge to continue the work we started in 2008 and curate the second Triennial for 2011. We hope that A Million Miles From Home will build on and extend the success of the first Triennial. The theme will take visitors on a very different journey this time, exploring Folkestone’s relationship with the wider world by recognising the town’s geographic position close to continental Europe, and its location on the edge of Britain. A Million Miles From Home will articulate the sense of being between worlds, of displacement and separation, of transience and orientation. It alludes to a sense of unease as well as wonder."
Cllr Robert Bliss, Leader of Shepway District Council:
“We are looking forward to the second Triennial with great anticipation. It was hard to know what to expect before the first exhibition took place, but it had a marked effect on Folkestone and helped to put the town on the map. I am sure that we shall all seize the tremendous opportunities that are coming our way, and we shall do everything possible to make visitors feel very welcome.”
Four commissions were also outlined in further detail: Cornelia Parker will be casting a life-size bronze statue of a female Folkestone resident in the pose of Copenhagen’s famous Little Mermaid. Cristina Iglesias will create an architectural structure on the overgrown ramparts of one of Folkestone’s historic Martello Towers, which will give the illusion of an entrance into another world. Hew Locke is suspending around a hundred model ships collected from around the world in the nave of St Mary and St Eanswythe’s church, the oldest building in Folkestone. Zineb Sedira will make a film about an extraordinary lighthouse in Algeria. The film will be housed in the former deckchair storage hall in the cliff-face under the Leas, which has not been accessible for years.
Eight artworks from the 2008 Triennial remain on permanent public display around Folkestone. The permanent collection features work by Adam Chodzko, Nathan Coley, Tracey Emin, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Mark Wallinger, Richard Wentworth, Pae White and Richard Wilson.
The Folkestone Triennial 2011 is supported by
The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, Arts Council England, The Co-Operative Membership, Henry Moore Foundation, Inspiring Communities (DCLG), Shepway Find Your Talent, Outset, Jerusalem Trust, Goethe-Institut, Bernard Sunley , The Folkestone Estate Foundation, Kunststiftung NRW, SEACEX, Mondriaan Foundation, Danish Arts Council and Shepway District Council.
The Folkestone Triennial is a key element of the arts and education-led regeneration programme being driven by the Creative Foundation. For more information contact the Creative Foundation at 65-69 Tontine Street, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1JR, call 01303 245799 or visit www.creativefoundation.org.uk.