SEARCH

Building Bridges – Artist residency

Building Bridges 2023 was the first of Artcore’s exchange programs for contemporary artists, connecting creatives from Derby and its twin city, Osnabrück. This two-week international residency, held from 7 May to 22 May in Osnabrück, Germany, provided an invaluable opportunity for artists and creative practitioners from Derby to engage in cross-cultural learning and build international connections.

Artcore Gallery was pleased to offer this opportunity to two Derby-based artists, Caroline Ainsworth and Martin Hyde.

Osnabrück, historically a key trading hub in north-west Germany, has long been an important point of connection in central Europe. Twinned with five cities—including Derby—its relationship with Derby is commemorated through Osnabrück Square, a central landmark in Derby.

Prior to the pandemic, Artcore had been working to strengthen cultural ties with Osnabrück, exploring various possibilities for collaboration between the two cities. Partnering with Kunstraum Hase29, this residency aimed to deepen those connections. The selected artists, traveling with a valid Schengen Visa, explored historical and cultural links between Derby and Osnabrück, using their creative practice to bridge the physical space of Derby Square in Osnabrück with the people who inhabit it.

The residency also saw the participation of 2 Osnabrück-based artists, Vivian Blum and Eva Grüter.

Selected Artists:
  

Martin Hyde Martin D Hyde is an expressive abstract painter whose work reflects his experiences living with depression, his relationships, and his place in the world. Through his paintings, he seeks to represent emotions and inner states, often incorporating abstract figures and landscapes. In some pieces, all narrative elements are removed, reducing the work to pure form based on previous paintings. This cyclical process mirrors the nature of his depression, with the level of abstraction reflecting different points in his emotional journey. The primary themes in Martin’s work explore isolation, belonging, identity, self-worth, contentment, and love, while also addressing the fragility of wellness and the ongoing struggle to maintain it. His life, much like a waveform, oscillates between highs and lows, with an underlying sense of anxiety even in moments of joy. Through his paintings, Martin aims to foster greater understanding and acceptance of depression, highlighting both the personal challenges it brings and the impact it has on those who love and support individuals facing mental health struggles.
Caroline Ainsworth Caroline Ainsworth is a UK-based scientist turned visual artist, living and working from her home studio in Derbyshire. Her practice is primarily ceramics-based, incorporating painting and drawing to further explore her artistic vision. She also creates artist books and finds journaling to be a cathartic way to connect with the world around her. Caroline’s work delves into themes of belonging, examining the interplay of places, cultures, and relationships in an ever-evolving landscape.

Vivian Blum

Vivian Blum is a multimedia artist whose recent focus has been on a self-portrait work series exploring mental health and emotions, offering a therapeutic outlet through painting. Working with acrylic paint on canvases, she creates expressive self-portraits, capturing her feelings and perception of the world in personalized snapshots. Beyond self-portraits, Vivian enjoys painting her surroundings, including nature, buildings, and people, infusing her art with genuine emotions and keen observations. Engaging viewers is integral to her artistic approach, and she achieves this through sculptures that invite touch and wear, providing a deeper connection with her art and fostering a meaningful experience for the audience.

Eva Grüter

Eva Grüter is an artist from Osnabrück, Germany, who bases her art on her surroundings and the experiences she makes. By intertwining her life with her imagination, she creates intimate pieces that help her reflect on and process the events that shape her day.

Her art covers a wide range of techniques, including mainly charcoal drawings, paintings, serigraphy prints and also performances. Within each medium, she approaches different kinds of themes and topics, constructing disparate expressions of her own reality. Thus, she finds an output for a diverse variety of input that she gathers throughout her day-to-day life.

Exhibition

The Building Bridges Exhibition Launch on Friday, 4th August, at Artcore Gallery was a great success.
Artcore partnered with Kunstraum Hase29, a gallery in Osnabrück (Derby’s twin city), to host the Building Bridges residency. In May 2023, two artists from Derby, Caroline Ainsworth and Martin Hyde, spent two weeks exploring Osnabrück and creating artwork. This residency provided an exciting opportunity for intercultural exchange, allowing the artists to share experiences and ideas while developing works that served as a bridge between the two communities. Their time in Osnabrück coincided with the city’s Maiwoche festival, inspiring them to reflect on the connections between Derby and Osnabrück—both existing and potential.

As part of the exhibition, two Osnabrück-based artists, Eva Grüter and Vivian Blum, also participated, bringing their unique perspectives to the collaboration. At the exhibition launch, Eva and Vivian presented an engaging and inspiring performance art piece, captivating the audience.

The artists from Osnabrück visited Derby for two weeks, further strengthening the creative and cultural dialogue between the twin cities. Their works were exhibited at Artcore Gallery from 4th August to 26th August 2023. The exchange did not end there—the Building Bridges Exhibition continued at City Lab, hosted by Marketing Derby, from 29th August for two weeks, extending the impact and reach of the project.