Published: 15 Mar 2016
As the call for entries for Scotland + Venice 2017 opens, it's been revealed that Graham Fagen attracted record numbers to the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. A reinterpretation of the work is also about to open at Hospitalfield.
Graham Fagen’s exhibition at Palazzo Fontana attracted over 33,000 visitors, a record high for the Scotland + Venice project. The exhibition, which was commissioned and curated by Hospitalfield Arts, ran from 9 May - 22 November 2015 at Palazzo Fontana, a new venue for Scotland + Venice - located on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district of Venice.
The exhibition included a new body of work from Glasgow based artist Graham Fagen, including sculptures, drawings and a five channel audio-visual installation for Scotland + Venice 2015.
Fagen will reinterpret the body of work he made for Scotland + Venice 2015 to be exhibited at Hospitalfield in Arbroath, on the East Coast of Scotland. The exhibition opens this Friday and runs until 17 April 2016. The original exhibition, which was made for the four noble rooms of Palazzo Fontana on the Grand Canal, will be installed, with some changes and additions, within the impressive historic arts and crafts rooms of Hospitalfield House.
The exhibition opens on the same week that the Scotland + Venice partners begin preparations for participation in the 57th International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale, in 2017. The partnership is seeking notes of interest from experienced curators and/or visual arts organisations who will work with them to deliver an ambitious and imaginative project that will run during the Biennale in 2017. For further information and to apply please visit the Scotland + Venice page.
Amanda Catto, Chair of the Scotland + Venice partnership, Creative Scotland, said:
"Since 2003 we have been proud to present the work of Scotland’s leading contemporary artists at the Venice Biennale, the longest-running and most prestigious international art biennial in the world. In 2015 we presented the work of Graham Fagen to great popular and critical acclaim. We are delighted to have attracted such strong attendances to his exhibition at Palazzo Fontana.
"It is very exciting for us that Graham’s work will now be available for audiences in Scotland through the re-staging of the exhibition at Hospitalfield House in Arbroath. This is a unique and inspiring setting and we would encourage people to visit, especially those who have never visited Hospitalfield before – we believe it will be a very memorable experience.
"This is a great week for us to promote the Open Call for Scotland + Venice 2017 and we look forward to establishing our plans for that project over the coming months. The venue Palazzo Fontana has demonstrated that an easily found location within Venice ensures a greater footfall and therefore a stronger opportunity to engage a wider audience with the exhibition. We are exploring the possibility of retaining the Palazzo Fontana for 2017 but this decision will be made in partnership with the selected curatorial team for 2017."
Lucy Byatt, Director at Hospitalfield, said;
“The invitation to curate Scotland + Venice in 2015 gave Hospitalfield the opportunity to work closely with, Graham Fagen, an artist that we are really committed to. Quite apart from the platform that the Venice Biennale provides, this was a rare opportunity to make the sort of investment that artists need to make ambitious new work."
Scotland + Venice 2015 presented the work of Graham Fagen, curated by Hospitalfield in Arbroath, at Palazzo Fontana, Cannaregio 3829, Venezia (access via Strada Nuova, Calle Fontana; Vaporetto stop Ca' d'Oro).
Scotland + Venice is a partnership between Creative Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council. Representatives of these organisations sit on the Steering Group that oversees the successful delivery of the project. For more information on Scotland + Venice, please visit the partnership’s new website www.scotlandandvenice.com or follow on Twitter @Scotlandvenice, www.instagram.com/scotlandvenice/ and www.facebook.com/scotlandandvenice
Scotland + Venice 2017
The Scotland + Venice partners are beginning preparations for participation in the 57th International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale, in 2017. For the artist/s selected Venice provides a significant opportunity for the development and presentation of new work. For the partners Venice is an important project that helps to build Scotland’s profile and reputation as an international centre for the visual arts. They are now seeking notes of interest from experienced curators and/or visual arts organisations who will work with us to deliver an ambitious and imaginative project that will run during the Biennale in 2017. See full details and information on how to submit a proposal.
Hospitalfield, an artist’s house based in Arbroath, Scotland, hosts a programme of residencies, commissions and curated projects devised at Hospitalfield with the aim of negotiating and inspiring an interplay between the heritage and history of the site and contemporary cultural ideas and practices. Hospitalfield works with many partnerships and individuals to ensure that the organisation plays a significant role within the national cultural ecology of Scotland and wider international context. Hospitalfield was the 19th century home of collector and artist Patrick Allan-Fraser. Left in Trust in 1890 to become the first residential art school in Scotland, the organisation is currently working on the first phase of a 21st century ‘Future Plan’, led by architects Caruso St. John. For further information on Hospitalfield, please visit: hospitalfield.org.
Sophie Bambrough
Media Relations & PR Officer
Creative Scotland
E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
T: +44 (0) 131 523 0015
M: +44 (0) 774 760 6146
Switch Board: +44 (0) 330 333 2000
