Collaboration in the h.Art of the city

10:26am Thursday 4th September 2008

THIS year, just as they have in the previous six, bright pink signs will be the most obvious indication that h.Art is back.

Now, thanks to the initiative of one local artist and the enthusiasm of city centre retailers, art and commerce are joining forces to give the increasingly popular art event added exposure for 2008.

When Susan Milne, a Hereford artist, asked Church Street retailers earlier this year if they would be willing to display one piece of art work during Herefordshire Art Week in September, the answer was a wholehearted “yes” and The Artist Showcase was under way. The work includes fine art and craft, and 15 retailers and 15 artists are involved in the project.

“The idea is to draw visitors and the public to the artists’ studios and exhibitions that will be opening during h-Art week.

“The retailers and Cultural Services have wholeheartedly supported this idea,” says Susan Milne, the artist who initiated the project. She has recently moved from the Welsh Borders into Hereford city and will be opening her studio to the public in Foley Street, Hereford, during h-Art.

As one of the artists whose work will be displayed in Church Street, she said: “The idea is a simple one but, often, simple ideas are the best,”

It is hoped that the idea will grow and include more retailers in the city and other parts of Herefordshire next year.

Details of directions to individual venues and opening times will be displayed alongside each artist’s work in the windows, and it is hoped that members of the public will follow it up by visiting their exhibitions and studios. The artists are from different parts of Herefordshire and the city.

An evening event and late opening is planned in Capuchin Yard for Wednesday, September 17, by Anne Shoring of The Small Gallery.

Joining Susan’s new initiative and 36 other newcomers to h.Art week are father and daughter Paul and Jo Davies, whose very different work – photography and ceramics – will be on display at Pullastone in Aconbury.

In the course of his career as a film editor, working on feature films - “Straw Dogs was probably the biggest,” he says - Paul’s photography was put on the back burner, but his approach to both was similar.

“I tended to take still photos in the way you take shots for a film, where the story comes out of the juxtaposition of pieces of information,” he explains. “The big skill is to tell a story in one frame.” He admits, though, that his experience of telling a story through moving images also plays a part: “I always want shots to be seen together.”

Paul and Jo decided to undertake their joint project at the end of 2007, during Paul’s recovery from a stroke. He has not only had to overcome his nerves about putting his work on show but has also had to deal with the disabilities caused by the stroke two years ago, which has left him partially blind, but he has recently picked up his camera again to produce new work. At the age of 78, he will be showing his work publicly for the first time. Jo’s ceramics, on the other hand, have been exhibited many times and, at 28, she is making a career from her art form, having graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2007.

There will be an opening at Pullastone on Friday, September 12, from 5pm to 8pm, when members of the public can meet both Paul and Jo.