Suffolk Libraries is inviting six local artists to undertake a week-long residency at Bury St Edmunds Library from 30 March - 3 April 2020. To tie in with the British Library’s newest exhibition, Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights, the theme for the week is gender equality.
This ‘BLOC Lab’ is part of our BLOC - Building Libraries on Creativity programme funded by Arts Council England and is designed to give Suffolk artists the opportunity to explore and develop their practice in a community setting. Previous BLOC Labs have taken place in Ipswich, Hadleigh and Lowestoft libraries.
Artists who took part in the October 2019 Lowestoft BLOC Lab said:
“Suffolk Libraries were outstanding facilitators who understood and challenged us as artists. Being paid to be an ‘artist’ with no specific requirement for and outcome was a breath of fresh air for my practice.”
“The artist talks were brilliant - inspiring, stimulating and cutting-edge - and introduced me to ideas about different levels of participatory work. I particularly valued the self-led creative time, sparked by the tour of Lowestoft which got me started on a rich vein of exploration. I valued being able to follow my interest and also the collaborating with other artists. The meal out was great for some relaxed social time.”
“The residency felt like a ‘master’s in a week’, a crash course in self-value as an artist but also an intensive reboot in the preconceptions of what libraries offer to their community.”
The residency is designed to complement the British Library’s spring exhibition, Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights, which will explore how contemporary fights for gender equality and liberation in the UK have their roots in the long and complex history of women’s activism and campaigning. We will also be hosting exhibition displays from the British Library at Ipswich County, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds libraries, and are planning some exciting events.