Bruce Davies
Curriculum Vitae
April 2011 - ongoing | BasementArtsProject: Director | Founder | Curator | Writer | Artist
July 2022 - ongoing | Cockburn John Charles Academy Board of Governors
May 2018 - ongoing | ESOL Group Children’s worker / Artist-in-Residence
Sept 2018 - ongoing | _BLANK exhibition space Leeds City College Artist Selection Committee
2014 | Artist House 45 (East Street Arts) Artist Selection Panel
2011 - 2013 | Peripherique Lecture Series: Henry Moore Institute Curator
May 2014-ongoing | South Leeds Life Newspaper & Website | Co-Director & Writer
Nov 2005 - 2010 | Peripheral Artist Collective | Founder Member, Artist & Project Manager
Education
2000-2003 | Leeds Metropolitan University: BA Hons Art & Design | 1st Class |
1999 | Wirral Metropolitan College: MOCN Life Drawing | Pass |
1996 | Wirral Metropolitan College: GCSE Human Biology | B |
1990-1992 | Wirral Metropolitan College: BTEC OND: Design Crafts | Pass |
1989-1990 | Wirral Metropolitan College: BTEC Art & Design | Pass |
Professional Development
September 2022 | MA Viva Voce Panel
May 2020 | Foundation Degree Art Validation Committee Member Leeds City College.
September 2015- Sept 2018 | Grant to act as personal wage to develop BasementArtsProject
August 2010 | Excel: QA Training, Leeds
March 2009 | Brand You: Dean Clough, Halifax
2007 & 2008 | Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Technical Work (Paid)
Assisted with the preparation of Galleries and Plinths for the installation of Against Nature (2007) and The Object Quality of the Problem (2008)
June 2007 | Initiate: An Introduction to Gallery Education: Tate Liverpool
Feb 2007 | St Luke’s Primary School (Paid)
A three day project looking specifically at Surrealism including 3 classes of year 3/4 children of varying ability
Jun 2005 | Designers into Schools Week - Wetherby High School (Voluntary)
A week long project involving 1st yr A-Level Art, Design Technology and Textiles students; our project was selected as one of twelve, out of more than one hundred and fifty schools that participated, to be exhibited at the Design Centre in London during September 2005
1997 – 1999 | Blackthorn Galleries, Price Street, Birkenhead Volunteer Technician 1997 – 1999
Additional Achievements Funding
2019 | Leeds Philosophical & Literary Society On The Corner (Book)
2019 | Leeds Art Fund On The Corner (Book)
2019 | Henry Moore Foundation On The Corner (Jacob’s Ladder)
2019 | Index Festival On The Corner (Phill Hopkins / Jadene Imbusch)
2019 | Private Donation On The Corner (Jacobs Ladder)
2018 | Leeds Inspired Naomi Gilby | Pleasure
2018 | Leeds Inspired Life of A City -Joint app. w/ Paul Digby & Jon Turner
2015 - 2018 | Seedbed Grant for development of BasementArtsProject
2017 | British Art Show 8 #7second Tour (workshops, newspaper & film)
2016 | Leeds Inspired Ian Pepper (A Feast of Beeston workshops)
2016 | Neighbourhood Committee 30: six short films about ritual w/ Alan Dunn
2016 | Leeds Art Fund Hypogeal 5 years of BasementArtsProject (Book)
2014 | Kickstarter COLONIZE (Exhibitions & Residencies in Jamestown, NY)
2014 | Arts Council England Entropy (event at Eiger Studios)
2013 | Leeds Inspired Entropy (event at Eiger Studios)
2012 | Leeds Inspired Divide We Fall (Multiple Venues, Leeds)
2012 | Leeds Art Fund Alistair Woods: Subjected To Change (Book)
2012 | Leeds Art Fund Speakeasy (Catalogue)
2007 | Health & Wellbeing Peripheral exhibition workshops
2007 | Private Donation Peripheral exhibition
Non-funding related achievements
My performance / installation work ‘Echolocation’ was used to launch a GoFundMe Campaign, run by The Williamson Art Gallery, that successfully raised the £3000 necessary to renovate a Victorian Polyphon in their collection (2019)
Venice Architecture Biennale invited Dominic Hopkinson to supply work that had begun at BasementArtsProject as part of his 2016 exhibition ‘A Study of Aperiodic Tiling with special reference to the 3rd dimension’ and continued as part of his year long residency with the University of Leeds School of Maths for their 2017 exhibition.
Royal British Society of Sculptors invited Dominic Hopkinson to be a member based on our PMSA Journal article about his work
PMSA invited myself and Dominic Hopkinson to write about his work for 3rd Dimension Public Sculpture Journal based on his 2014 exhibition ‘A Harmony of Spheres’ at BasementArtsProject.
Edinburgh Fringe accepted ‘Sweetmud’ by Sara Zaltash as one of the works include in their 2016 programme. This work was originally created for BasementArtsProject as part of Speakeasy exhibition in 2011
PROJECTS
All projects are currently on hold until the government guidelines change with regards to public gatherings due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. In the meantime I have handed over the pages of the online Studio Journal to any artists wishing to present work during the lockdown. The Lockdown Journal posts can be found at https://www.basementartsproject.com/studio-journal
2021
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
All projects as BasementArtsProject happen at BasementArtsProject unless otherwise stated
May
Edward Mortimer TITLE TBC
April
Kimbal Bumstead We Are Still Here | 10 YEARS of BasementArtsProject
Personal projects as an artist
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
2020
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
December
Nicholas Vaughan Title TBC
October
TBC TBC
September
Lina Bentley When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Nurse
August
ArtCouple Basement(in)versions
July
Sharon McDonagh Resonate*
May
Donna Coleman The Screen Will Not Fill The Void *
March
Lou Hazelwood Landscapes Of The (Un)known
Personal projects as an artist
October 19 - July 20
Artist-in-Residence ESOL Group Beeston South Leeds (Term-time)
Working with the children of a group of refugee women from the Middle East learning English.
3hrs every Thursday afternoon with children whose ages range from 2 to 10yrs old.
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
June
BasementArtsProject: View From The Corner - Notes On A Pandemic 2 (Night)
BasementArtsProject: View From The Corner – Notes On A Pandemic 1
February
SLUICE Website Write up on ‘What we Don’t Talk About When We Talk About The Artist Led’ Symposium
January
SLUICE Magazine Breakdown, Persevere, Rinse, Repeat, Breakdown… In Print Magazine only
2019
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
October
ESOL Group Interlude II: What Makes A House A Home*
June - September
Various On The Corner (Index Festival. YSI 2019)*
June - Early 2010*
Keith Ackerman Jacob’s Ladder (On The Corner)*
June - early 2020*
Dominic Hopkinson Nature of Balance (On The Corner)*
June - September
Phill Hopkins A House Within A Home (On The Corner)*
June - Sept
Jadene Imbusch Pitched (On The Corner)*
January - June
Phill Hopkins & Jadene Imbusch Collaborations On The Corner*
May
Claire Bentley-Smith Unmanaged Reproach
April
Paul Walsh Mellifluous Arcana
March
Yol | Posset | Lloyd Between Gas Canisters & Personal Identity Lanyards
Personal projects as an artist
June
Echolocation Williamson Art Gallery, Oxton, Wirral
Audio Installation / Performance / Reading in aid of restoration of Victorian Polyphon that is part of the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum collection - fund raising was successful
July - Oct
Artist-in-Residence ESOL Group Beeston South Leeds (Term-time)
Working with the children of a group of refugee women from the Middle East learning English.
3hrs every Thursday afternoon for 8 weeks with children whose ages range from 2 to 10yrs old.
Workshops centred on themes of YSI / Index related ‘On The Corner’ project and culminated in exhibition entitled ‘Interlude II: What Makes A House A Home’
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
February
Paul Digby Material-Process-Object (Exhibition Publication) In Print Only
Writing for catalogue to accompany Digby’s exhibition at University of Norwich
*Public Sculpture Commissions linked to Index Festival & Yorkshire Sculpture International 2019 - This included work presented off-site at the Index Festival Hub in Leeds City Centre.
All projects featuring Phill Hopkins & Jadene Imbusch happened during the 100 days of the YSI / Index Festival. The two public sculptures are ongoing an I see them as pre-cursors to whatever Leeds decides to do for LEEDS 2023.
2018
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
December
Beyond Photography Alchemy (Cafe 164, Leeds)
October
Michael Borkowsky & Emilia Telese Desire & Alchemy
September
ESOL Group Interlude I: Tree *
August
Naomi Gilby Pleasure
May
Depot Art Studios Artists A Tale of Two Cities (Leeds)
April
Sharon Mossbeck Forgotten Spaces
April
BasementArtsProject Artists A City of Two Tales (Manchester)
March
Sohail Khan The Way You Are Is The Way You Are (The Soft Rains of England)
Personal projects as an artist
July - October
Artist-in-Residence ESOL Group Beeston South Leeds (Term-time)
Working with the children of a group of refugee women from the Middle East learning English.
3hrs every Thursday afternoon for 8 weeks with children whose ages range from 2 to 10yrs old
*At the end of the project we produced an exhibition of the work that they had produced
June - August
Interlude I: Life of A City Workshops, Website, Newspaper
Produced in collaboration with Paul Digby and Jon Turner, Vale Circles, Stocks Hill and Lovell Hill Community Centres
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
South Leeds Life
November
BasementArtsProject takes part in Beeston Christmas Trail 2018
September
BasementArtsProject: Beeston. New York. Venice. Est 2011
August
Art Life: South of the River | Life’s A Beach (Keep It Real)
July
July
2017
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
December
Josh Hart & Jill McKnight Josh & Jill & their Dead Petz
November
Hypogeal BasementArtsPublication #2 Book Launch
October
Sluice Art Fair Various Artists (Hackney, London)
August
Stephanie Ballantine The Hysterical Oracle
June
Naomi Gilby Now We Have Met
April
Paul Digby Cityscapes | At Home and At Work
February
SCOPE+* Various Artists (Bates Mill Huddersfield)
*Scope+
This project was the 10th instalment of a project conducted over 5 years alongside Dr Alan Dunn & Martyn Rainford and numerous collaborators. The project began as No4 - Variations-Mutations-Adjustments-28 a 5:1 surround sound installation at BasementArtsProject in 2012 and finished as a 12” vinyl dub-plate; having been through 6 venues, 3 continents and the hands of a dozen collaborators.
Personal projects as an artist
January
The Eighth Wonder &Model Leeds
Commissioned by Alan Dunn to create 2 minute clip of King Kong soundtrack, edited and treated to form part of a larger 20min soundtrack for the original 1930’s film. Was presented as part of The King & I exhibition at &Model Gallery
November
Four Words: Technology Platform House
Contributed to a project curated by Alan Dunn and commissioned by Bruntwood looking at feelings surrounding ideas of technology
BasementArtsProject Publications
September
Hypogeal: Underground with BasementArtsProject
Documented all projects from 2015 leading up to BasementArtsProject’s five year anniversary as an organisation in April 2016
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
February
Open Depot (Review) Corridor 8
South Leeds Life
December
Art Life: South of the River | Life Art
November
Pavement Parking Puts Lives At Risk
February
2016
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
December
Ian Pepper & Friends Welcome to my World
October
Pippa Eason Set In Stone
July
Samela Otoviç What Goes Around Comes Around 3/3
June
Michael Borkowsky Speculative Studios
May
Lloyd & Wilson The Pub and The People
May
Ian Pepper A Feast Of Beeston
April
Dominic Hopkinson A Study of Aperiodic Tiling . . .
March
Sohail Khan Unspeakable Acts. Work One. Beyond The Pale
Personal projects as an artist
Running workshops alongside Ian Pepper as part of A Feast of Beeston and Welcome to My World
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
October
STEAM Ahead | South Square Gallery Review Corridor 8
February
Alistair Woods | Common Denominator Review Corridor 8
South Leeds Life
December
Art Life: South of the River | Welcome To My World
September
An Invitation to Take Part In An Art Workshop
March
Art Life: South of the River | The Way You Are Is The Way You Are
February
Desolation Row
January
2015
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
November
Lens & Chisel MantlePiece
October
Ryan Riddington Home Address
September
Phill Hopkins Daily
July
Samela Otoviç Counterplay 2/3
May
Alan Dunn & Students 30: six short films about ritual
April
Dominic Hopkinson A Harmony of Spheres
January
Saturation Point Other Rooms
Personal projects as an artist
Ambassador for British Art Show 2015 | #7SecondTour
Officially designated as an Ambassador for BAS08
Co-ordinated a newspaper project that tied into the British Art Show 8 at Leeds Art Gallery with a community group from South Leeds that also involved East Street Arts and Leeds Beckett University. The project included guided tours of the BasementArtsProject, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery.
The project culminated in a newspaper produced by, and with contributions from, six members of the community six artists from east Street Arts and six artists from Leeds Beckett University.
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
South Leeds Life
November
Newspaper Project Seeks Participants
November
2014
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
December
Various Artists Showcase Spectacular (Corn Ex, Leeds)
July
Samela Otoviç It Will Come To Me 1/3
May
Various Artists DWF: Entropy (Eiger Studios, Beeston)
May
Alistair Woods Subjected To Change
April
Various Artists COLONIZE (Jamestown, New York)
Personal projects as an artist
April
Unsentimental Journey Part of the COLONIZE project
25minute sound collage (MP3) and sculptural installation at 3rd on 3rd Gallery; Reg Lenna Centre, Jamestown, New York, USA
BasementArtsProject Publications
May
Alistair Woods: Subjected To Change
Produced as a catalogue with three essays to mark the completion of Wood’s residency and his first post-degree exhibition
DWF Programme 2014 Design by Dan Dowker.
2013
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
October
Richard Taylor Epigone
June
Luke Drozd Ditch The Eggs! She Screamed
May
Alisia Casper Homolonius II: Lost in General
March
Various Artists Divided We Fall DWF Leeds Various Venues
BasementArtsProject Publications
DWF Programme 2013. Designed by Dan Dowker
Peripherique Lectures
June
Richard Taylor Give Me Your Rhombus I Want To play
March
Tom Railton Here Come The Apocryphal Swords
Curatorial Commissions & Lectures
February
Vantage Rez Art Prize Judge
2012
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
October
Various Artists INHOSPITABLE I.I Leeds
June
Various Artists INHOSPITABLE Liverpool Biennial
May
Alan Dunn & Martyn Rainford No4 - Variations-Mutations-Adjustments-28
March
TEN Gig
March
Philip Gurrey Responding To The Beeston Series
February
Various Artists Stockholm Independent Art Fair Supermarket
Personal projects as an artist
January
Boredom Leeds Library
Exhibition curated by Michael Jenkins.
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
April
XO: An Arrangement in White Review Corridor 8
April
In Absentia Introduction for Woolgather Art Prize Catalogue (Print only)
March
Blog Post Leeds Inspired
Curatorial Commissions & Lectures
November
Leeds College of Art & Design Lecture (1st Yr BA Fine Art)
October
University of Leeds Lecture (2nd / 3rd BA Cont. Art Practice
March
Leeds College of Art & Design Lecture (Creative Development Talk Series)
March
Leeds Metropolitan University BA Arch. Live Project Judging Panel
March
Leeds Metropolitan University Visiting Lecturer Series
February
Leeds Metropolitan University Inaugural Talk / Discussion BA Arch.
February
Factory 4 Lecture on building a domestic art project
2011
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
September
Sara Zaltash Sweetmud (commissioned for Speakeasy)
September
Various Artists Speakeasy: art in an age of prohibition
July
Allan Antliff Attacking Gentrification (HMI post-doc Lecture)
June
Community Fun Run Art Run (10k run between Leeds Art Venues)
May
Unravel Longest hand-painted film in UK (workshop & film)
April
Kimbal Bumstead This Is Our House
Peripherique Lectures
June
Millpond Debate Blurring Boundaries: Artists, Curators and . . .
May
Ryan Riddington Chesterfield
Personal projects as an artist
Bring Your Own Art Weekend. Curated by Woolgather.
Performace: Took part with my children (ages: 8,6 & 1) under the guise of ‘Opposable Thumb Collective’
Woolgather 24hr Exhibition. Curated by Woolgather.
Exhibited as an artist
Woolgather Art Prize: Leeds
Shortlisted for Woolgather Art Prize, exhibit as a short listed artist
Trade: Small Projects; Tromso, Norway
Exhibited as part of this group exhibition organised by SOUP Collective
Curatorial Commissions & Lectures
February
Lucy Velvick & Mike Thwaite North Bar, Leeds
Organised and installed an exhibition by visual artist and Peripheral Collective Member Lucy Velvick and her current collaborator
Woolgather Art Prize: Talk
Writing for Non-BasementArtsProject Publications, Exhibitions & Websites
January
The Wire Global Ear: Leeds (Issue 322)
2010
Personal projects as an artist
October
The Plaza Principle Site of ex-TK Maxx, Leeds
Group exhibition curated by Derek Horton
July
Drawing Time Corn Exchange, Leeds
Group project curated by Art in Unusual Spaces
Curatorial Projects & Lectures
Clare Osborne Island Life The Midnight Bell, Leeds March
2009
Personal projects as an artist
December - March
How We Live The Midnight Bell, Leeds
Work by Sarah Dale, Bruce Davies, Richard Taylor
January 2009
HOTDESK
Group project curated by OutofOffice
Curatorial Commissions & Lectures
October
Daylight Saving Group Exhibition Holy Trinity Church, Leeds
Audiences Yorkshire Commission Jan 09 - July 2010
Featured individual exhibitions in the boardroom by Stephanie Ballantine, Kimbal Quist Bumstead & Richard Taylor
2008
Curatorial Commissions & Lectures
September - November
North by Northwest Liverpool Independents Biennial / Leeds: Various Venues
Curated, organised and exhibited in fifth Peripheral Exhibition. A collaborative project with the SOUP collective based at Tate Liverpool;spread over 13 venues in Leeds and Liverpool it was also included as part of the Liverpool Biennial 2008. Previews were held on consecutive nights in each city and involved interactive performance pieces by Kimbal Quist Bumstead (Peripheral) and music by associated Peripheral member Jonny Fryer as These Mountains. Some venues played host to more than one exhibition as part of this series of events and these are indicated by * on the list
North by Northwest Shorts Hyde Park Picture House
I was also able to program a month of short artist films before the main features at the Hyde Park Picture House
Bring Your Own Pencil The Carriageworks
Collaborative performance piece by Kimbal Bumstead and Richard Taylor
LEEDS Exhibitions
23rd Sept - 19th Nov Design Innovation Centre, 42 The Calls, LS2 7EY*
30th Sept - 16th Oct Red Eric, 47 Westfield Road, LS3 1DG
30th Sept, 6pm–9pm Red Eric Private View
30th Sept – 11th Oct Holy Trinity Church, Boar Lane, LS1 6HW
30th Sept, 5pm–7pm Holy Trinity Private View
Nov / Dec/ Jan Borders Coffee Shop, Briggate
21st Oct – 20th Nov North Bar, New Briggate
LIVERPOOL Exhibitions
29th Sept - 16th Nov Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock
29th Sept, 6:30–8:30 Private View
25th Sept – 16th Oct Red Wire
26th Sept, 6pm–9pm Red Wire Private View
30th Sept – 30th Oct Lewis’s Department Store and Café
30th Sept – 30th Nov Puschka Restaurant, Hope Street
20th Sept – 30th Oct Coffee Union, Bold Street
6th Sept – 29th Nov Clayton Square Shopping Centre, Upper Food Hall
21st Sept – 29th Sept Nov Andrew Collinge
Other exhibitors: Frances Bickerdike, Kimbal Quist Bumstead, Wendy Cook, Faye Edwards, Gareth Griffiths, Madeline Newman, Janis Rafailidou, Tom Railton, Rebecca Scheel-Edelmann, Richard Taylor, Lucy Velvick, Stephen White and from SOUP: Mike Aitken, Steve Ashton, Ray Carney, Cathy Hibbert, Alice Roberts, Sarah Stilwell, Nick Sykes, Roger Synek, Christine Taylor, Wendy Williams
2007
Curatorial Projects as BasementArtsProject
September
Saltaire Art Trail Shipley Shipley Glen Tramway (outdoor)
Curate, organise and exhibit in fourth Peripheral Exhibition with 9 other artists.
This exhibition took place out of doors over 2 weekends
Other exhibitors: Frances Bickerdike, Faye Edwards, Madeline Newman, Tom Railton, Rebecca Scheel-Edelmann, Stephen White
View From Nowhere Holy Trinity Church, Leeds April
Curate, organise and exhibit in third Peripheral Exhibition with 7 other artists. ‘View from Nowhere’ was a collaborative project between Peripheral and Leeds LadyFest.
Other exhibitors: Holly Antrum, Stephanie Ballantine, Lina Bentley, Wendy Cook, Faye Edwards, Gareth Griffiths, Madeline Newman, Amelia Wood, Stephen White, and from Leeds LadyFest: Chris Daniels, Karen Constance, Yohei Yashi, Bridget Hayden, Clare Carter, Mz Sojourn, Lauren Naylor, Kagami Shinohara, Miho Matauda, EXP24, Jessica Thomas, Lotte Shaw, Sarah Gillian, Emma Dexter, Anna Peaker, Anna Keane, Ellen Burroughs, Cathy Russell, Kristian Goddard
RISE St Luke’s Church, Beeston, Leeds March
Solo project (1hr looped DVD)
Peripheral Collective Whitehall Waterfront February
Curate, organise and exhibit in the second Peripheral Exhibition
Other exhibitors: Holly Antrum, Lina Bentley, Alicia Casper, Frances Bickerdike, Nic Burrows, Alisia Casper, Wendy Cook, Faye Edwards, Gareth Griffiths, Madeline Newman, Tom Railton, Rebecca Scheel-Edelmann, Selflove, Lucy Velvick, Stephen White
2006
Peripheral Design innovation Centre Sept
Curate, organise and exhibit in the first Peripheral Exhibition
Other exhibitors: Frances Bickerdike, Alisia Casper, Wendy Cook, Jon Cronshaw, Emma Dexter, Richard Goforth, Gareth Griffiths, Madeline Newman, Janis Rafailidou, Tom Railton, Rebecca Scheel-Edelmann, Lucy Velvick, Stephen White
BasementArtsProject | Mission Statement
Born, partly out of the frustration of trying to find post-graduate exhibition spaces, BasementArtsProject came into being in 2011. At first, using the basement of a terraced property was a practical solution, but over the years it has become the cornerstone and foundation of an expanding practice that thrives through its interactions. Exhibiting at BasementArtsProject has become, mostly by chaotic accident, more than a gallery experience, it is about becoming part of a family, a real one that resides in and around a permanent art space.
A family is based on relationships, and both artist and audience have no choice here but to interact. Here the hushed polite tones of a white-walled space are absent, instead the domesticity of tea and biscuits and free lunches encourage questions, discussion and curiosity from all sides, including those who may not have previously experienced art. This exhibition space has a direct interest in and understanding of the community in which it lives, acquired from living, working and raising children among its citizens. It is BasementsArtsProjects intention to offer art hospitably to Leeds and the rest of the world, but especially to its locality.
BasementArtsProject develops relationships with undergraduates, graduates, and established artists, some from the UK and others from much further afield, none are exempt from the hustle of working within a family home and this warm chaos extends to those who come to engage with the art works. It is through the unique relationships that we build with artists offering advice, assistance, a place to work and exhibit, and often a place to stay that we are able to create lasting and meaningful partnerships.
BasementArtsProject has an Open Submissions policy alongside that which is commissioned by ourselves. The programme is determined by the relevance of projects to the space and the ability of the artists to work under challenging circumstances. The basement is a very singular environment that promises great rewards to those that can think laterally about their strategies for exhibiting. The ground floor of BasementArtsProject stands as a living testament to the work that has happened here over the years, with works by many artists adorning its rooms and hallways. The collection often provides many interesting secondary stories for visitors to the main exhibition. Because of the intimate nature of the environment visitors gain great insight into the work of the artists through direct contact and a familiar environment.
Eventually BasementArtsProject hopes to be able to convert the basement into a space that can be lived in whilst still being used as an exhibition space. This would allow us to bring artists from further afield for longer. We also conceive that the Leeds BasementArtsProject could be just one of many similar spaces located in different parts of the country (world?) sharing resources and connecting communities and artists whilst providing a supportive environment in which artists can progress.
BasementArtsProject may be small in scale but its ambitions are grand.
Bruce Davies | January 2018
Artist. Writer. Founder. Curator. Director
Peripheral | Mission Statement
The Peripheral artist collective was formed in November 2005 and is comprised of information assistants past and present from the Henry Moore Institute. The group was convened with the intension of presenting exhibitions of work spread across a variety of media, promoting the individual practice and agendas of those involved, whilst acknowledging their group status brought about by a shared occupation.
Although the work usually being exhibited is wildly divergent in both style and subject matter, our underlying principle is to create a context in which the work is complementary rather than in conflict with each other. In effect we are seeking a curatorial strategy for our exhibitions that will present a sense of cohesion and coherence.
Bruce Davies | February 2005
Artist. Writer. Founder member. Curator. Principle Organiser.
Peripherique | Mission Statement
Peripherique was an occasional Wednesday evening series of talks, screenings, performances and debates that took place at the Henry Moore Institute. Its remit was to highlight the work of members of the Information Team past and present, a large number of whom are artists in their own right. I curated this programme of events between June 2011 and June 2013.
Bruce Davies | February 2011
Artist. Writer. Founder member. Curator. Principle Organiser.
Personal Statement
My work looks, primarily, at the relationship between artist, gallery and viewer; how environments can shape the perception and understanding of an artwork and how a space can alter the nature of the work itself. In my practice I utilise whatever means necessary in order to achieve a particular end this has included pencil, pen and ink drawings, photography, processed sound works, sculpture, films, CCTV loops and built environments.
My work is often, but not always, site specific for matters of aesthetics and practicality. The mode of presentation is always relevant to both subject matter and space. The nature of my practice as an artist has been the driving force behind my curatorial practice.
Bruce Davies | September 2005