Derry artists return home for art exhibition this weekend

Ten artists will be showing their work at the third annual CCA exhibition, which seeks to present a snapshot of some of the many preoccupations of early-career artists working today with a connection to Derry and the surrounding area.

This is the first time Yasmine will be showing her art in a Derry exhibition and she says she ‘can’t wait’ to be returning to homeground. She said: "I was born in Claudy, outside of Derry, and I studied Fine Art in Belfast School of Art. I graduated from my BA in 2017 before going on to study my masters in Chelsea College of Art. I got a scholarship for that funded by Frank Bowling. I was there for five years and I’ve recently moved back to Belfast to work as a lecturer in Fine Art at Ulster University.

"This year, the CCA put out an open call to see what artists are working with today and what they consider in their own practices to be ‘urgent’. Personally, my investigation was looking at sustainability and working towards creating a sustainable painting practice. The different artists each have different concerns and are responding different ways to the theme of ‘urgency’.

“My practice is painting but it’s knitted together with different types of fabric. What’s nice about my work for Urgencies is that my pieces are smaller scale and are quite intimate. I’ve used a lot of knitted wool to frame the pieces, which is something I am relating to my late grandmother who was as a factory worker in Tilly and Henderson in the late 60s. I am connecting that material to her as well as thinking about sustainability. My grandmother really enjoyed her time working in Tilly and Henderson; she spent her days sewing and the nights partying I think! That whole industry has collapsed now so I’m also responding to that in my work.

"It feels really special to be returning home and to be showing my work in the CCA. Returning home as made the thinking behind the work more personal and intimate. I’m delighted that I got asked and I’m really looking forward to the opening night now.”

Richard Magee is also looking forward to returning home to Derry. He said: “I was introduced to painting through the Void Art’s School, which was run by the Void Theatre more than ten years ago. I started going there after school and in the summer, before going on to study in London and Helsinki in Finland. Now, I study and live in Hamburg in Germany.”

"This is the first time I’ve shown my art in Derry since the Void Art exhibitions. I think the last time I was in one would have been around ten years ago.”

Richard says one of the main issues preventing him from coming home to work is the lack of artist spaces in Derry. If there was an artist space where artists could rent a studio and come together to make plans and work. It’s also easier to get funding for artists spaces as opposed to individual studios. He says this would work especially well in Derry considering the thriving art scene.

"For a city of its size, Derry has so many things going on<” he said. ”I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly why that is but it’s amazing to see.”

Urgencies open on Saturday, January 21 from 7pm to 9pm in the CCA until Saturday March 18.

To see more of Yasmine’s art, search @YasmineRobinsonArt on Instagram or visit www.yasminerobinsonart.com. To see more of Richard’s art, visit https://www.richardmagee.org.