Northern Arts Tactical Offensive
nATo is a banner organisation , bringing together artists working on a broad spectrum of cultural, social and political issues. We are dedicated to the production of spontaneous, independent and conscious public art.
Jai Redman has now prepared a webspace, to describe what went on, thought I’d tell you all about it.
http://www.uhc-collective.org.uk
Here is the ‘Interactive Gallery of it all.
http://www.uhc-collective.org.uk/agitate/agitategallery.htm
and here is my bit, in it all………
http://www.uhc-collective.org.uk/agitate/pages/tash.htm
Curated by Jai Redman (UHC Collective) with guest curators Kwong Lee (Mart) and Helen Knowles (RadioHalo). Initiated by NATO (Northern Arts Tactical Offensive) as part of the Blitz festival.
Participating artists included: Angel, Mark Cooley, Steven Dickie, Jo Hudson, The Jackofficer, Yuen Fong Ling, Alan Lodge, Monkeyboy, Polyp, Duncan Ross, Squall, Seth Tobocman, Jon Trayner, UHC Collective, Gee Vaucher, Andy Wake, Justine Young.
I contribured to this part of the exhibition:
Agitate Art Exhibition
Date: 20 – 28 July
Location: Great Northern Railway Complex, Central Manchester
AgiTate – Is art the mirror by which we view the world around us, or is it the hammer that smashes the mirror?
The contributors to Agitate are in the main primarily activists and their work is an extension of their politics.
This was the pre-able, for the gig……
AgiTate – An art show from the political underground.
We are pleased to be able to announce that NATO has confirmed the contributors for the Blitz Festival’s AgiTate show. This unique event is the perfect antidote to the corporate spectacle of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
The artists run the full gamut of age, experience and technique: From the untrained street style of the new wave of Manchester grafitti artist, to the seminal collage work of Crass album cover designer Gee Vaucher. AgiTate will also showcase fine artists, photographers, cartoonists, performance and installation artists; as well as a number of slide show lectures, films and performances by contributors. We are also pleased to welcome Mark Cooley and Seth Tobocman over from America.
The following artists contributed:
Seth Tobocman
Polyp
Monkeyboy
UHC collective
Steven Dickie
Gee Vaucher
Alan Lodge [Tash]
The Jackofficer
Mark Cooley
Angel
Andy Wake
Jo Hudson
Nick Cobbing
Jon Trayner
Examples of work and short written statements are available for each artist.
Is art the mirror by which we view the world around us, or is it the hammer that smashes the mirror?
The contributors to Agitate are in the main primarily activists and their work is an extension of their politics. Certainly all the work included in the show is challenging, but we are not seeking to propagandise. AgiTate’s aim is a simple one, we want to ask the question ‘where does passive observation end and how is the particpant/protagonist awakened, in both the ‘exclusive’ world of fine art and the broader spectacle of everyday life?’
The show will of course raise many other interesting questions. About sponsorship in the arts (we have taken no sponsorship money from any company to pay for AgiTate). About interaction between the public and ‘art’: in the face of the new trend for ‘culture-lite’ (witness the new City Art Gallery), does greater involvement in creative activity necessitate a watering down of content?
These are some of the links, earlier in my blog, to describe the progress of work with the Blitz Festival, up there in Manchester.
http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2002_07_07_tash_lodge_archive.html#78897980
&
http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2002_07_28_tash_lodge_archive.html#79699044
http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2002_08_18_tash_lodge_archive.html#80651676
