The Herbert Gallery and Museum

Image Courtesy of the Gallery

MEDIA RELEASE

Banksy comes to the Herbert …

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum will host the UK public premiere of

Street Art: Contemporary Prints from the V&A a new touring exhibition

including works by celebrated street artist Banksy…

The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry will be taking inspiration from the street this autumn as it showcases work from some of the best, freshest and most controversial street artists around.  The UK premiere of the new temporary exhibition Street Art: Contemporary Prints from the V&A opens on 9 October, 2010 and is completely FREE to see.

This brand new touring exhibition explores the ways street art has moved away from the painted wall into the medium of printmaking, creating distinctive, exciting visuals along the way. Drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s internationally renowned collection of prints, Street Art: Contemporary Prints from the V&A showcases established and emerging street artists, both British and international, including names such as Banksy, D*Face, Eine, Miss Tic, Swoon and Shepard Fairey.  A piece of Eine’s work was recently gifted to Barack Obama from David Cameron.

The Herbert has commissioned six emerging artists on the UK street scene to create new works of art that will be displayed in a second complementary exhibition Fresh Paint.  Pahnl, SPQR, Lucy McLauchlan, Ben Slow, AsOne and Newso have all created pieces that have not been seen before, and will not be seen together again.

Contextual images showing street art in its original settings have been provided by Very Nearly Almost magazine.

Dominic Bubb, Exhibitions Officer at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum said “Being the first venue to show the V&A’s exhibition is amazing for us especially with the Banksy pieces.  We wanted to add an extra element to make this exhibition unique to Coventry so we’ve commissioned six works from up and coming Fresh Paint artists.  Add to this the street images supplied from the VNA Magazine and you’ll see that this is a wholly exclusive exhibition that will never be seen anywhere else again.”

Street artists produce work in a variety of media, including the works on paper seen in this exhibition. Street art prints offer the opportunity to collect and preserve this otherwise ephemeral art form, which now moves between the street and the gallery. Street art prints are an interesting development, both within the medium of printmaking and within urban art. Although street artists produce work for exhibitions and galleries, most still continue to work outside the gallery system, or in some cases, creating galleries of their own. This exhibition explores the recurring themes within the genre, such as historic and current subjects, traditional methods of image-making and styles familiar from art history.

The art will also be heading out of the gallery and spilling over onto the street through a range of special events, activities and unique artworks hidden around Coventry.  Shoppers in the city centre and the bus station should keep their eyes open and look out for miniature scenes and artworks which can then be photographed and shared on the Herbert’s Flickr site.

Between 11:00am and 4:00pm, on Saturday 11 September visitors can meet some of the artists taking part in the exhibition and see demonstrations of live spraying, painting, pasting and stencilling at Street Art Saturday, they will then have the opportunity to  walk away with a FREE new and unique artwork in Take it, it’s yours.

Street art is a growing world-wide phenomenon where artists have taken their art outside of the traditional galleries and exhibitions and created a new platform with which to showcase their work.  Walls, doors, derelict buildings, pavements, rivers and railings have all been used creatively to display an artist’s work.

Whilst most street art is produced illegally and without permission, it is a movement which has developed into recognised art form with street artists becoming well-known and respected among their peers and within the art world.

For further information on these and other FREE family events, exhibitions, talks and activities visit www.theherbert.org or join our family mailing list at www.theherbert.org/mailing-list.

Exhibition Extras

If you want any further information, images or interviews please contact Sally Johnson on 024 7629 4735 or email sally.johnson@theherbert.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. V&A collects new forms of printmaking, and the museum’s Print Collection continues to add to its existing collection of contemporary street art on paper.
2. This touring exhibition has been organised by the V&A and all the works are drawn from the museum’s collection.
3. The exhibition tours various venues in the UK from autumn 2010 until the end of 2012.
4. The exhibition is accompanied by a book, Street Art: Contemporary Prints (V&A Publishing, 2010).
5. The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum redevelopment project has been jointly funded by Coventry City Council, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Renaissance West Midlands, the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) Wolfson Foundation Fund, Advantage West Midlands and English Heritage.
6. The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is managed by The Coventry Heritage & Arts Trust. The trust also manages the Lunt Roman Fort and Priory Visitor Centre
7. The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has been nominated for the Guardian Family Friendly Award.
8. The gallery has welcomed over 300,000 visitors through its door in the past year.
9. The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum’s mission is to bring history and the arts to life for the people of Coventry; this is done through the many projects and initiatives run by the Learning, Social Inclusion and Media departments.  For more information please visit www.theherbert.org.

MEDIA RELEASE

WANTED: ART

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum seeks artist donations for

Coventry’s First It’s Yours, Take It event

Donations of art works are being sort by the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum for a one-off event taking place on Saturday 11 September at 12:30pm.  It’s Yours, Take It gives visitors to the museum the opportunity to leave with a piece of artwork for FREE.

The Herbert is asking for artists to take part in the worldwide phenomenon of It’s Yours, Take It by donating a piece of their work to the event.  Works can be produced on any material including canvas, reclaimed wood and cardboard, they can be of any style, shape or inspiration but need to be of a quality standard.

Work has already been donated by up and coming street artists Pahnl, Newso and AsOne, and has been sent in from as far as St Louis, Missouri and Tehran in Iran.

Donated items will be included either during this one-off day, or, it may be hidden somewhere in Coventry during the Street Art exhibition for passers by to pick up and take home.  By submitting pieces of work, artists will be given the opportunity to have their work and name seen by everyone visiting the Herbert on that day.

Work needs to be sent to Dominic Bubb, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well, Coventry, CV1 5QP by Friday 10 September.

It’s Yours, Take It is a great way for people who wouldn’t generally think about owning art to get a piece for FREE.

Jamie Perry Head of Marketing and Communications at the Herbert commented ‘This is a great opportunity for local people to get involved with the Herbert, see some ground breaking art and have the chance of walking away with a piece to hang on their walls. The kind and generous donations of artists worldwide ensures that everyone has the chance to become a collector, appreciator and owner of truly inspirational art. I would urge everyone to take advantage of this unique opportunity’.

It’s Yours, Take It has been organised to complement the Herbert’s new exhibition Street Art: Contemporary Prints from the V&A which opens on 9 October.  Street Art: Contemporary Prints from the V&A explores the ways street art has moved away from the painted wall into the medium of printmaking, creating distinctive, exciting visuals along the way. Drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s internationally renowned collection of prints, this exhibition showcases established and emerging street artists, both British and international, including names such as Banksy, D*Face, Eine, Miss Tic, Shepard Fairey and Swoon.

As an addition to the V&A exhibition, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has commissioned six emerging artists on the UK street scene to create new works of art that will be displayed in Fresh Paint.  Pahnl, SPQR, Lucy McLauchlan, Ben Slow, AsOne and Newso have all created pieces that have not been seen before, and will not be seen together again.

Contextual images showing street art in its original settings have been provided by Very Nearly Almost magazine.

For further information other FREE family events, exhibitions, talks and activities visit www.theherbert.org or join our family mailing list at www.theherbert.org/mailing-list.