372: #BLANKSPACE Chinese Whispers & #TheTitleArtPrize - @CreativeTransit @BlankMedia

The artists of Creative Transit are working on their open studio/exhibition Chinese Whispers at BLANKSPACE, Manchester. (I wrote that clunky sentence just so I could get all the links in together.) Open to the public, they are filling up BLANKSPACE with all kinds of art, working in the 'SPACE to create new work. You can pop down and watch the work being made, discuss it with the artists, put them on the spot with difficult and confusing questions, perhaps even influence the work as it progresses, and then on 25^th August join Creative Transit and Blank Media Collective for drinks and brand new art from 20-ish young talents. (Excuse the overlong sentence, but I'm not really concentrating. There appears to be fireworks outside, and I'm listening to Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast. Pretty distracting.)

I had a bit of a chat with Enya Koster, one of the Creative Transit artists, whose work seems to be coming along very well. She makes puppets, ranging in size from tiny to larger than life-size, draws odd little characters, likes Betty Page, and collects scraps and scrapes of paper ephemera. Sometimes I'm not particularly good at describing art, especially when I'm listening to a podcast (remember them, podcasts? We used to listen to them on our pods, didn't we?), and in such cases the best thing to do is shut up and look at the pictures:

The rest of the show is very early days, but I intend to keep updating here most days with new photographs of the work in progress. More intersting for you would be to head down to BLANKSPACE yourself, see the artists at play, at work, and at rest, talk to them, pester them, etcetera, etc, &c... I command you, comand you, comend you...?

AOB? Yes, THE TITLE Art Prize:

To celebrate 5 years of supporting emerging practitioners, Blank Media Collective is launching an important new art prize in Manchester. We are looking for exciting visual artists from the UK working within any medium, concept or scale to submit new works.

Who: Emerging visual artists / practitioners residing in the UKLocation: BLANKSPACE, 43 Hulme Street, Manchester, M15 6AWWhen: Exhibition launch: Thursday 27 October 2011 | Exhibition continues: 28 October – 27 November 2011 | Awards Evening: Saturday 12 November 2011Accepted media: 2D works (painting, photography, collage, printmaking etc.) | 3D works (sculpture, installation [including sound] etc) | Video works

Prizes:

1st Prize: £500 + Solo Exhibition Curated and Supported by Blank Media Collective | 3 other prizes and People’s Choice award TBA

Selection procedures:
All shortlisted works will be shown within The Title Art Prizeexhibition forming Blank Media Collective’s fifth birthday celebrations. Four winners will be selected by a panel of established artists, curators and directors, with each artist receiving prizes to help benefit their future creative practice. A fifth winner will then be selected through the People’s Choice Award. The Title Art Prize exhibition will be shortlisted and curated by the Blank Media Collective curatorial team.

How to apply:
1. Read our Terms and Conditions
2. Download and complete Entry Form
3. Include at least one image for each individual submission or if a video a URL link to view the submission online (please ensure images are in jpeg format and clearly labelled with name and title of work).
4. If you would like to provide supporting information such as a C.V or artists statement with your application please feel free to do so. Please keep all written information to 500 words (maximum) in Word (.doc) or PDF format.
5. To pay, please follow the PayPal link below. (£5 for the submission of 1 piece and £10 for up to 5 pieces). Blank Media Collective will automatically be sent confirmation from PayPal once you have paid. Please remember to include your transaction reference in the application form.
Blank Media Collective follow an online entry process therefore all submissions should be sent via email to:exhibitions@blankmediacollective.org clearly stating ‘Submission: The Title Art Prize FAO Mark, Rose & Sophie by the closing date: Friday 9 September 2011 (midnight).

Submission Fee:
£5 for the submission of 1 piece and £10 for up to 5 pieces.
This fee is a non-refundable administration fee.
Submissions should be paid via the PayPal link on the Blank Media Collective website.
Please contact Blank Media Collective for alternative methods of payment if necessary.

Timetable:
Friday 9 September: Deadline for submissions (midnight)
Friday 23 September: All artists will be notified
Friday 7 October: Deadline for receiving artwork
Monday 17 – Wednesday 26 October: Installation period
Thursday 27 October: Public Preview
Thursday 27 October – Sunday 6 November: People’s Choice voting & Exhibition
Saturday 12 November: Evening Reception & The Title Art Prize Winners announced
Sunday 13 – Sunday 27 November: Exhibition continues
w/c Monday 21 November: Winning artists and Curators talk

For further information contact: Mark, Rose or Sophie at exhibitions@blankmediacollective.org