CHESTER VISUAL ARTS LAUNCHES CHESHIRE-BASED ARTIST COMMISSIONS AND NEW WEBSITE

Chester Visual Arts (CVA) today announced two new commissions for Cheshire-based artists, alongside launching an exciting new website for the charity.

CVA is inviting proposals for creative activities to use for its Learning Programme, and which are loosely inspired by the V&A exhibition Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers, which CVA brought to Chester in 2019.

Chosen proposals will be accessible through CVA’s new website. These activities will support the organisation’s ongoing work engaging families, young children and older adults in Cheshire and beyond. CVA is focusing on delivering original digital learning opportunities while social distancing is in place.

The commissions demonstrate CVA’s long-term commitment to developing original education activities and supporting local artists.

Ian Short, Chairman of Chester Visual Arts said:

“Since the beginning of the year, the CVA team have been working hard behind the scenes planning future activities. In light of the COVID-19 situation, we refocused our plans with the intention of resuming our public activities in Chester as soon as it’s safe to do so. We are delighted to announce two new artist commissions as part of our Learning Programme. This shows our commitment to developing digital learning opportunities and supporting local artists in the long-term. Our exciting new website will support this work as we move into the next phase for the organisation.”

Melissa Dilworth, Learning Programme Manager for Chester Visual Arts, explained how the commission builds on the recent work of CVA’s Learning Programme:

"Over the last few years, the CVA Learning Programme has grown to reach out to the community in unique and engaging ways. We’ve brought our exhibitions out to the schools, with our Travelling Presentation and brought even further opportunities to engage with the artwork, with our Exhibition on Instagram. We’ve also developed curriculum-based activities and workshops and a wider programme for adults and other organisations. Our goal is to continue to provide our community, creative outlets and with our latest endeavour, we aim to keep striving for more."

For the full commission brief, please visit: www.chestervisualarts.org.uk

Chester Visual Arts (CVA) is a registered charity established to bring visual arts in all its forms to the people of Chester and the surrounding region.

CVA aims to make its work a permanent part of Chester and to enhance the city and the region as a better place to live, work and visit.

To achieve this, we have established a regular programme of quality events and exhibitions which will lead to Chester becoming recognised nationally and internationally for the visual arts. CVA’s ultimate aim is to secure a permanent home within the city, as a creative visual arts centre and public art gallery of international standing.

Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers

CVA brought the major V&A exhibition Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers to Chester in 2019, with the support of principal funder, The Tyrer Charitable Trust, and Arts Council England.

Since the 1960s, artists and programmers have used computers to create prints, drawings, paintings, photographs and digital artworks. Chance and Control drew on the V&A’s rich international collection of computer-generated art and includes work by pioneering digital artists such as Frieder Nake and Georg Nees – who produced some of the earliest computer art – through to the younger generation of artists practising today.

It offered viewers the rare opportunity to trace the chronological development of digital art, exploring how aspects of chance and control shaped the creative process and produced vivid and original artworks.

Featured works included techniques such as repetition, patterns, reproduction, printing, line drawing and much more. The title, ‘Chance and Control’, referenced the process of creating art using computers at a time when artists couldn’t see the outcome of their programmed work.

Cheshire-based artists criteria Artists must be based in the Chester, Cheshire West, Cheshire East or Warrington area.