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Profile:
Steve Messam is an artist and curator based in the north of England. In 2002, he co-founded Fold – an artist-led organisation established to provide and promote access to contemporary art in the rural environment. He has overseen the daily management of the organisation and been the lead curator of its 4m-cube gallery in the remote market town of Kirkby Stephen, which has been host to work by over 200 artists from around the world. Exhibitions include ‘snowcase’, ‘Off the Wall’ ‘Paper Cut’ and the debut solo show for Barrie J Davies – ‘Barrie J Davies is an Artist’.
He has developed a particular interest in the cultural reference points inherent in the work of artists living in rural communities and exploiting the assets of landscape, agriculture and community for challenging the preconceptions of contemporary rural arts practice. He is also interested in space, the interaction of art and audience within those confines, the role of aesthetics and the physical experience.
He is co-founder of FRED – an annual art invasion in Cumbria and one of Europe’s largest annual festivals of site-specific work which since 2004 has laid the blueprint for contemporary arts provision in rural areas across the UK. He also has knowledge and experience of managing and devising opportunities for audiences to engage with contemporary art and design in non-gallery and rural environments, including initiatives for the Design Council, the Tate, Yorkshire Forward, ONE North East, Arts in the Peak, the Newlyn Gallery, Dumfries and Galloway Council, South Tyneside Council, Durham County Council and the British Council in China. He is currently working with other rural artists and curators building a rural artists network to promote critical dialogue around contemporary land art, Eco-art and rural issues and facilitate a greater understanding of contemporary rural art.
As an artist Steve Messam has worked primarily outside the gallery environment for the past 15 years.
"Much of my work has been inspired by the experience of living in a sheep farming market town and focusing on the cultural reference points of rural living in contrast to mass media urban clichés, challenging the relevancy of contemporary art and design on the world as a whole."
Experience:
Senior Producer - DOTT07 - 2006-2007
Senior producer on the sustainable tourism programme for the Design Council and ONE North East, incorporating an international design camp in collaboration with the RSA Design Directives and ‘Urban Campsite’ - a live camp site beneath the Byker Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Curatorial Advisor - Axis Arts - 2006
Part of a national panel advising Axis Arts - the artists’ database - on new directions in contemporary art, on behalf of Arts Council England, Scottish Arts Council and Arts Council Wales.
Part-time Tutor - Lancaster & Morecambe College. 2002 - 2010
Specialising in Photography, Design, Multimedia and Fine Art for 2nd year HND and Foundation.
Mentor - Bolton University - 2008-2010
Course mentor for Public Art programme
Selected Exhibitions:
Sentinel
Site-specific landscape installation transforming a remote hill barn in the North Pennines, UK. Self-funded piece for Wool Week
Signs of the Times
Exhibition on signage. Mobius, Boston MA. USA. September 2010
Tatton Park Biennial
Site specific installation ‘Lily’. Tatton Park, Cheshire, UK. May - September 2010
Beyond Pattern
Off-site piece ‘Clad’. Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys.
November 2009 - January 2010
Fleur de Sel: Inspiration & Documentation
Brantwood, Coniston, UK. September 2009
Aphrodite: Water + Art
Floating installation. Art Life Gallery, Venice, Italy. June 2009
Scope London
Installation at largest space at London art fair, courtesy of Saatchi Gallery. Lords Cricket Ground, London. October 2008
Hung
interactive installation. Gallery Mwldan, Cardigan. October 2008 and Woodside Cattleshed, February 2009
Beached
18,000 sandcastles on the beach at St. Bees, Cumbria. October 2007
Eurasia One
Outdoor installation as part of exhibition marking the EU presidential visit to Shanghai. June 2007
Nuit Blanches
interactive installations. Exhibition Centre, Shanghai. June 2007
Landscape Bubbles
7 metre diameter inflated bubbles over redundant architectural curios in the wide open landscape of the North Pennines – October 2006
Souvenir
site-specific installation made from 120 umbrellas across wasteland in central Shanghai (supported by the British Council China, Arts Council England, and Island6) July – October 2006
FRED – the book
design of documentary publication of the first FRED event – pub. Aug. 2005
Here Be Dragons
border posts along the length of the Cumbria Pennine border. October 2005 • “FRED” – Cumbria-wide festival of site-specific work, October 2004
Contemporary Surrealism
international touring exhibition starting in Brighton, August 2004
Hebden Bridge Sculpture Trail
fairy nature reserve outdoor installation at Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire, June – July 2004
Roadshow
multiples in touring show at Grizedale, Cumbria, Ikon gallery Birmingham, Lickey Hills, Real Institute, Blaneau Ffestiiog, Vilma Gold, London, Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee.
snowcase #2
multiples exhibition, Foldgallery, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
Punctuate!
interactive installation with Richeldis at Foldgallery, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
Baa Codes
installation at Foldgallery, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
Do Good
group show in warehouse in Glasgow’s East End. – September 1999
Kiss My Ass
site specific group exhibition in the toilets of 13th Note Club, Glasgow – August 1999
Altered Images
contemporary portraits of ‘lost’ ‘80’s pop stars in windows of Fopp Records, Glasgow, Edinburgh & Sheffield – June – September 1998
Battersea Contemporary Arts Fair – 1997
Selected Residencies:
Resurgence
working with members and users of the Darlington Media Workshop – June 2001 – March 2002
Real Tea
exploring concepts of reality with a common experience of mental distress – March 2001 – April 2002
DeafViewSheepfolds
exploring Andy Goldsworthy’s sheepfold project with Barrow Deaf Club – July – August 2000
Distington 2000
working with 3 other artists and writers and young people from West Cumbria – February – March 2000
The Rest of My Life
working with writer Vicki Bennett and Mental Health projects around the Eden Valley, Cumbria – June – October 1999
Recent Commissions:
PaperWork
A series of site-specific installations around the Lake District and a 2.4m sculpture in layered paper for James Cropper paper manufacturers. Premiered at Luxepack, Monaco. Oct 2010
LawnPaper
landscape etching of William Morris wallpaper patterns on the formal lawns at Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House, Lake District UK. June 2010
Clad
traditional building clad with fleece from local rare-breed sheep, for Oriel Davies, Wales. November 2009
Signs of Adventure
road-sign based artworks for Cumbria Tourism. Now a permanent art trail in Grizedale Forest, UK. September 2009
Drop
reflective inflatable sculpture at Thomas West’s Viewing Stations around the Cumbrian Lakes, for Cumbria Tourism and Culture Cumbria - September 2008
Ploughed Up
geometric drawing ploughed in a 30 acre field to be seen from passing trains. Beal Farm, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumbria to raise awareness of landscape management for Natural England and the Design Council. November 2007
Landscape Camper
projection installation in derelict VW camper-van, Baltic Square, Gateshead Quays for ONE North East / Design Council. October 2007
Flagged-up
redundant buildings and quayside wrapped in 3,800 signalling flags and building projection spelling the lyrics to ‘When the Boat Comes In’ for the Customs House Museum, South Shields and Port of Tyne Authority to welcome the QE2 to the Tyne.
German Souvenir
eight red balls made from recycled umbrellas at the German Trade Centre, Pudong, China to commemorate the German Presidential visit to Shanghai. June 2007
Explore-able Sculpture project
designing a rural alternative to urban concrete skate-parks, using land-form sculpture, experimental materials and the potential for cross- discipline gravity sports use (parcour etc.). Due for construction March 2009
Dotted Line
a large-scale installation in the Robert Stephenson Building to launch DOTT 07 programme for ONE North East and the Design Council - December 2005
Balls to Grasmere
a 1⁄2 mile long installation on Grasmere, Cumbria for the Cumbria Tourist Board – March 2005
New Landscapes
limited edition policy booklet for the North West Development Agency
Rural Regeneration Cumbria 2005
Limited Edition book-work for the North West Development Agency
Curation:
Lighthouse Lullaby (Maryport 2009)
Site-specific sound installation in Maryport Lighthouse by composer Ailis Ni Riain.
FRED (2004 - 2008)
Europes largest annual festival of site specific art across rural landscapes in Cumbria. Featuring over 100 artists annually plus special commissions by established artists including Graham Rawle and Jenny Holzer (for Cumbria 2005)
I’ll Tell You Where You Can Stick Your Modern Art... (Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria)
exhibition of stencil and sticker graffiti art on a rural bus shelter, featuring over 50 international artists including Banksy (UK), Goin (France) & Sprays Poeticos (Brazil)
Snowcase#2 (Foldgallery Dec 2002)
multiples by Steven Barrett, Kate Brundrett, Kate Calico, Lawrence Cassidy, Adam Clarke, Claire Fell, S.Mark Gubb, Susie MacMurray, Steve Messam, Kate Robinson & Christine Stringfellow
Snowcase#3 (Foldgallery Dec 2003)
multiples by seven leading Cumbrian artists: Paul Scott • Russell Mills • Maddi Nicholson • Conrad Atkinson • Jac Scott • Malcolm Mitton • Ian Walton
Snowcase#5 (Foldgallery Dec 2005)
multiples exhibition displayed in bespoke cabinet. Featuring work by: Samantha Allan, Helen Snell, Lesley Halliwell, Zara Picken, Jon Ford, Tanya Axford, Sally Barker, Emma Bolland, Glen Boulter, Sarah Doyle, John Hall, Erin Hensley, Este MacLeod, Brenda Oakes, Anne Redmond, Richeldis Messam, Christine Stringfellow, Steve Messam, Tinsel Edwards, Victoria Burgher, Breeyn McCarney, and Milly Frances
Off the Wall (Foldgallery August 2004)
seven artists exploring the physical function of a gallery space. Featuring work by: Andrew Bracey, Arabella Harvey, Carl Colley, Debby Akam & Gary Power, Lee Cavaliere, Niki Russell, Tobias Sternberg
Barrie J Davies is an Artist (Foldgallery August 2005)
debut solo show by rapidly rising talent from Cardiff
Awards:
Shortlisted for Art’08 award for ‘Drop’
Nominated as Fellow of RSA for rural engagement in the visual arts - Dec 2008
Bibliography (Publications):
'Artist Links 2002-2006'
224pp Colour Publication (English/Chinese). Edited by Simon Kirby. Published by the British Council, China and Arts Council England.
'FRED - the story of an art invasion'
88pp colour publication. Edited by Kate Brundrett and Hilary Thorn. Published by FoldPress. ISBN: 0-9549960-0-3
'Sculpture Trail at Hebden Bridge 1995 - 2005'
40pp colour publication. Trudi Entwistle, Lisa Blezard and Paula Chambers. Published by The Sculpture Trail at Hebden Bridge / Dean Clough. ISBN: 0-9553587-0-1
'Forward / Backward / Reloading'
32pp colour publication (English/Chinese). Edited by Thomas Charveriat. Published by Island6.
‘Eurasia One’
160pp colour publication. (English / German / Chinese) Foreword by Andrea Neidhoefer. Edited by Rolf Kleunter. Published by Timezone 8.
‘Wouldn’t It Be Great If...’
100 pp colour publication (English), John Thackara. Published by Design Council.
ISBN:1904335152
‘Art of England’ - January 2009
4 pp article and interview. ISSN 1744-1930
Websites:
www.stevemessam.co.uk
www.stevemessam.wordpress.com
www.foldgallery.co.uk
www.fredsblog.co.uk
www.axisweb.org/curator/stevemessam
www.axisweb.org/artist/stevemessam
www.dott07.com/go/designcamp
