BURIED MOONS - A FINT Art Exhibition

Aim

A multidisplinary art exhibition recounting the lost tales of empowering FINT (female, intersex, nonbinary, trans) characters from the past.

About the Exhibition

‘Buried Moons: Forgotten folktales from beyond the patriarchy’ - A group of 10 multidisciplinary artists recount the lost fables of brave, independant and wise FINT (female, intersex, non-binary, transgender) characters. The exhibition will include a large program of public workshops in numerous mediums.

WHEN? February 23rd - March 8th, with a full-day event on Int. Women’s Day (March 8th)

WHERE? Centrespace Gallery, Bristol

Social media: @buriedmoons_folk

The exhibition gets its name from ‘The Buried Moon’ an English Fairy Tale. In this story the moon rescues a man from the Evil Things in the Carland Bog, but is herself captured. With the Wise Woman’s guidance, the villagers rescue her. This British folktale with strong female characters is an example of the tales we wish to uncover and share.

This exhibition will empower marginalised FINT people through these rediscovered historic figures, posing the question: what brave icons from the past can we embody to tackle the issues of today?

Folk tales are often a tapestry of nature including herb lore, animal shifting and rich depictions of land. In highlighting the subdued characters of folklore we also bring to the forefront a kinship with nature often found in these tales and note this as a fundamental step we must address in tackling climate change today. In celebrating FINT folklore we also celebrate the traditional skills of FINT individuals and their importance in rewilding ourselves and the land.

The Artists

In mid October we launched an open call to FINT artists based in and around Bristol, and have received an incredible amount of responses with varied mediums, and many approaching us asking to perform or hold a workshop. We are currently reviewing all the submissions. Artists will be invited to create a new work, exploring a FINT folktale from their culture. The final selection of artists will be chosen with inclusivity and diversity in mind, as we want to platform as many different types of stories as possible.

Many artists are contacting us expressing their excitement at being part of a show that brings together folklore, environmentalism, and FINT recognition, especially as there is such a historic crossover of these concepts. This is what we want to celebrate and to remind people of on International Women’s Day.

We have the opportunity to exhibit at Centrespace Gallery, a well-known central gallery, that allows artists to sell their work without taking any commission.

The workshops and performances

Alongside the featured artworks, we want to offer free public workshops throughout the two weeks. These workshops are aimed at bringing the community together, and inviting people to interact with folklore and International Women’s Day through creativity and learning.

The workshops will create a safe space for FINT people from across the city to tell their story and make connections while engaging in art based activities. A large number of the workshops will be for children. These will be focused on creating positive role models through the retelling of lost folktales and engaging in nature based crafts.

Why is this important?

International Women’s Day has always been an incredible opportunity to celebrate all things woman - whether that be the experience of womanhood, notable women throughout history, or the continuing fight for women’s rights and recognition. However, to truly discuss gender equality, we must be inclusive of the many other marginalised genders and sexualities (as well as race, class, and ability!). This means more visibility, more acceptance, and more solidarity. 

As we desperately search for new narratives to help us in times of climate crises, it’s essential that we look back on our previous connections to the land, air, water, to our fellow creatures and plants, and to each other. We believe this connection of struggles and revisiting of old tales in a new light can be a stabilising force at a very uncertain time, reminding us of our intrinsic connection to our planet and other beings. We hope that such a reminder can galvanise people into action.

The Organisers

Annie Randall and Emily Unsworth White are both multi-disciplinary working artists with years of experience in planning group and solo exhibitions, facilitating workshops and working on public facing and funded projects alongside large organisations.

Emily held a solo exhibition of her work at Cardiff Made in 2019 and has been a part of numerous group exhibitions prior and since. This year she took part in the Welsh arts council funded exhibition ‘Dreamscapes’ at Cardiff Made for which she displayed visual works and gave an artists talk. She has recently completed a funded multi-disciplinary artist residency at Global Gardens in Cardiff and has work for sale with numerous online art platforms. In August she delivered an ambitious community artwork with the Avon Wildlife Trust. In September she held ‘To The River’ a riverside event to advocate for cleaner waterways with Bristol Poet Megan Trump and Conham River Bathers. She continues to work on her own practice, based at Pennywell Studios in Bristol. Emily graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2016 with an Hons degree in Fine Art. In her creative practice she celebrates community and the natural world through textiles, paint and natural materials. Visit www.emilyunsworthwhite.com or @emily_molineaux

Annie is a self taught British artist and environmental activist. She graduated from UCL in 2016 with a BSc in Anthropology, and continued to develop her creative practice alongside environmental campaigning. Annie has taken part in group exhibitions in London, Birmingham, and Berlin, and has had her work printed in numerous art publications. Last year, she curated an exhibition entitled ‘Ruptures & Resilience’ in Birmingham, bringing together 10 artists to reflect on the impact of HS2. Her work revolves around natural forms - plants, bodies, animals, with a consistent ecological focus. In recent years, her primary medium has been cyanotypes, on both paper and fabric, and creating botanical inks and paints. In 2021, Annie began delivering workshops on how to make botanical inks as part of the Birmingham Environmental Education Project with Digbeth Community Garden. Visit www.annierandallart.com or @artivist_ran

What do we need?

We need £12,000 for practical costs, to pay the artists, performers and workshop leads, to support the organisers and promote the exhibition. A breakdown is below.

We want this to be an opportunity to support each artist to create new work, and the performers, workshop leads and organisers who will all be giving their time to build this incredible event. Bristol does not offer many open call exhibitions, and open-call exhibitions are not always the wonderful opportunity they seem to be: asking artists to pay for entry, and not being paid for making the work. We want this exhibition to be different, supportive and a nourishing experience for everyone involved, platforming new, emerging artists.

Many things have already been sourced or offered for free: furniture, PA, sound desk, sound engineer, projector and stewarding - saving nearly £3500.

For the launch of the exhibition, we’d like to have 100 copies of a zine ready, which will document all of the art and stories, to be sold at £3-£5 each. All the profit made from these will be donated to a local LGBTQ+ support group. Any leftover funds will be sent alongside this.

Funding breakdown

A detailed breakdown of costs is available on request.

BASIC COVER

Hire of building, insurance, electricity & heating, advertising of event.

Subtotal: £1225

SUPPORTING EMERGING ARTISTS

This will help us support a diverse range of artists, performances and workshops, especially those normally without funds to contribute to exhibitions. Each artist will receive £500 to create new work, each performer £164, and each workshop lead £150 for delivering a workshop. Reaching this target will mean we're able to go above and beyond simply displaying artist's work, but also renumerating contributors for their time.

Subtotal: £8370

ORGANISATIONAL COSTS & SUPPORT

This will help us pay for concerete and widespread promotion and documentation of the exhibition and all the work included, as well as a basic stipend to support the two co-organisers in their efforts.

Subtotal: £2476

Total: £12, 072

Timescales

Mid September - Venue secured

Early October - Artist call out 

Mid December - Chosen artists notified

December to February - Artists to create new work for the exhibition

23rd Feb - 9th March - Exhibition dates 

8th March - International Women's Day - full day event of workshops, discussions, music and celebration!

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions! Thank you!

This project successfully funded on 17th January 2023