Curators: JEN WIGGLE BEM & KATE ENTERS
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts – 1 Queens Wharf, Wellington, NZ
6th – 18th June 2023
ArtCan is delighted to present ‘AMPLIFY’ the first exhibition for ArtCan in New Zealand, and first in the southern hemisphere!
The exhibition showcases a striking video installation collating multiple contributions from ArtCan members globally, enabling us to cross multiple timelines and bring the ArtCan community together.
The video artworks combine as a series of short films to be projected in the Annex Gallery in the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington, NZ. Artists explore the theme of ‘Amplify (verb) – to make greater (in amount / importance / intensity)’.
Amplify seeks to share, speak out and magnify. By bringing together multiple works through the medium of film, the collective work of our artists will reach across geographical boundaries, amplifying their accumulated voices.
Film advisors:
Heather Britton & Evelyn J
The final film will be uploaded to the ArtCan YouTube channel to run concurrently.
Participating artists:
Agnieszka Laskus, Andy Farr, Anna Walsh, Cat Coulter, Catherine Jacobs, Christian Gastaldi, Claudia Tong, Elspeth Penfold, Garfield Of London, Geraldine van Heemstra, Hamish Macaulay, Howard Hannah, James Bristow, Jean Gillespie, Jen Wiggle BEM, Julie Brixey-Williams & Libby Worth, Lawrence Mathias, Luana Asiata, Lyndsay Martin, Mandeep Dillon, Meriliis Rinne, Molly Lambourn, Patricia Bidi, Phillip McConnell, Richard Nicholls, Sabatin Bascoban, Sal Jones, Sarah Bird, Sarah Pooley, Sumit Singh, Svetlana Atlavina, Uta Feinstein, Victoria Sills.
A Virtual Private View will take place on Friday 9th June, 06:30 BST | 17:30 NZ – Register via Eventbrite
Live streaming on Instagram @artcanorg from 07:00 BST | 18:00 NZ
About ArtCan
ArtCan is an artist-led, non-profit arts organisation with members across Britain and internationally.
ArtCan’s work is supported by the efforts of artist-member volunteers and contributions from donations and Friends of ArtCan. ArtCan works with galleries, but also seeks new spaces where art becomes a part of everyday life and with the aim of involving audiences in an organic and personal way.
ArtCan’s artist-centred ethos means that the model does not involve charging membership fees or commissions on sales, to help artists focus on developing a sustainable practice.
About The Academy Galleries, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
The Academy is sited within a cultural precinct and popular visitor and tourist destination between the Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Wellington.
The Wharf Offices began life as a mix of office, wool store and display space and are a Frederick de Jersey Clere design, built in 1896. This stunning example of late Victorian architecture is now known as the Queens Wharf Apartments (converted in 1994), and since 2000, has also been home to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts.
www.nzafa.com/Exhibitions/Amplify
About The Curators
Jen Wiggle BEM is drawn to the arts through various mediums as an observer; a director or curator; as a collector; and as a participant. Connecting with the arts as a young person created balance for other aspects of her life. After finishing her BA in education and theatre, Jen completed a Graduate Diploma in Theatre Studies at Otago University. These early experiences influence her curation style where she draws on composition and directing to curate, interested in the narrative created by artworks interacting within a space.
Jen joined the ArtCan Advisory Group in 2019 and became an Artist Member in 2020 after being inspired to reconnect with her love of the lens. Since her return to New Zealand at the start of 2021 Jen has pursued her passion for the arts joining the Council at New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, where she is Vice President. She remotely curated ArtCan exhibition ‘Set in Stone’ in Bath, England in 2021.
Kate Enters is passionate about supporting artists and is the founder and director of ArtCan, an international arts organisation providing opportunities and fair payment for artists. She creates an annual exhibition programme at venues in the UK and overseas, honed through her background in events management for high end art museums, celebrity charity events and arts PR. Over the last decade she has developed this community of artists and art supporters across 26 countries, built international corporate partnerships and during the pandemic worked with a designer to create a bespoke virtual art gallery. ArtCan has been awarded Most Empowering Artist Opportunity Provider – UK for the past two years and is a member of Social Enterprise UK and the Global Climate Coalition.
Kate works at the prize-winning London architecture practice, Stanton Williams, is an experienced curator, a figurative artist and regularly writes about art.
