From our correspondent in...
West Wales
Alicia Miller,
our west Wales
correspondent,
introduces the
people and places
you can find way
out west
One of the Pecha Kucha sessions at ‘Let your Hair Down!’
artist networking event at Narberth Museum, June 2014
West Wales, like so much of Wales, is largely
rural. You spend a lot of time driving
between places and put much effort into
building a network of connections with
other artists and art professionals.
The world definitely doesn’t turn up on your doorstep
– you have be active and out there, as a willing
participant making things happen. But the fact that
many people are busy doing just this makes west Wales
a great place to be and make work.
Turning up at Narberth Museum on a Friday night
in June (a two hour round-trip for me that seemed an
entirely reasonable distance) for ‘Let Your Hair Down!’,
an artist networking event organised by Linda Norris,
I was surprised by a strong turnout of 30 or more
artists who had come for the ‘pecha-kucha’ session
– an opportunity to show work and see the work of
other artists in the region.
Artists enjoying ‘Let your Hair Down!’ networking event
at Narberth Museum, June 2014
It was a congenial and friendly occasion with an array
of work presented by accomplished artists
and makers. Events like these are critical in helping
artists to find and get to know their ‘local’ art
community, especially when its spread covers
a 60-mile stretch and three counties.
Profiled
I’ve lived on the coast of west Wales
for six years now, and for almost four
of those years have had the pleasure of
working for Axisweb as their Associate.
It’s been an immensely enjoyable
experience that has introduced me to
a lively and generous group of artists
and arts organisations around the
country that makes Wales a great place
to live and work for those engaged with
contemporary art.
I’ve worked in the visual arts for
more than 15 years in a wide range
of capacities. I started out as a
photography curator and have an MA in
the history of photography. It remains my
first love. I’m excited to sit on the board
of Ffotogallery here in Wales and to be
a part of such an ambitious organisation
with a rich history. Over the years,
I’ve also worked as a gallery educator,
art reviewer, public events organiser,
strategist and many other things. In
my work with Axisweb, I conceptualised
and ran a range of artist professional
development programmes from symposiums
like this year’s Behind the Scenes of the
Museum at the National Museum of Wales
(with over 200 people in attendance)
to artist commissions such as Real
Institute’s Analogue Web Portal (2012) and
Axisweb’s mentoring programme for recent
graduates, Out and Beyond (2013).
Throughout my career I have written
regularly on the contemporary visual
arts, it is an active and important part
of my practice and keeps me engaged
with current issues and dialogues in the
contemporary visual arts. In addition to
my Axisweb blog, this year I’ve written
essays on Bella Kerr’s Keeper exhibition at
Mission Gallery and Rhôd’s 2014 exhibition
Deall y Lle:y filltir sgwâr.
See Alicia’s Axisweb profile >
NOTES FROM WALES | AUTUMN 2014 15