Élodie Alexandre • Elizabeth Ashdown • Juliette Bigley • Rachel Britch

Jessica Coleman • Polly Collins • Brittany Delany • Eva Farkasova • Joanna Fronczak

Jessica Frost • Kerstin Haigh • Ruth Harrison • Anna Collette Hunt • Mirka Janeckova

Anum Khan • Lisa Larcombe • Beatrice Larkin • Anne Laycock • Beth Lewis-Williams

Agnieszka Maksymiuk • Elise Menghini • Kelly Munro • Izzy Parker

Anastasija Pjatnicka • Hajnalka Rezes • Charlotte Stockley • Julia Webster

Simon Wilks • Penny Wheeler • Hannah Rose Whittle • Cristina Zani • Sevak Zargarian

Rising Stars 2014

Hajnalka Rezes, Connected Bowls

8 March - 19 April 2014 New Ashgate Gallery

26 April - 31 May 2014 Milton Keynes Arts Centre

7 June - 12 July 2014 Smiths Row

Ruth Harrison, Colour Strip Collection. Porcelain and Coloured Body Stain

Rising Stars 2014 is a platform to view and collect some of

the most exciting new crafts by emerging makers from

crafts and applied arts programmes across the UK.

This curated, selling exhibition will tour from New Ashgate,

Farnham, to Milton Keynes Arts Centre and Smiths Row,

Bury St Edmunds.

The winner will receive a cash prize, an exhibition and support from a-n The Artists

Information Company. This year’s shortlist consists of:

• Élodie Alexandre

• Elizabeth Ashdown

• Juliette Bigley

• Rachel Britch

• Jessica Coleman

• Polly Collins

• Brittany Delany

• Eva Farkasova

• Joanna Fronczak

• Jessica Frost

• Kerstin Haigh

• Ruth Harrison

• Anna Collette Hunt

• Mirka Janeckova

• Anum Khan

• Lisa Larcombe

• Beatrice Larkin

• Anne Laycock

• Beth Lewis-Williams

• Agnieszka Maksymiuk

• Elise Menghini

• Kelly Munro

• Izzy Parker

• Anastasija Pjatnicka

• Hajnalka Rezes

• Charlotte Stockley

• Julia Webster

• Simon Wilks

• Penny Wheeler

• Hannah Rose Whittle

• Cristina Zani

• Sevak Zargarian

The New Ashgate Gallery also presents new jewellery by Heather Woof, the 2013

winner of Rising Stars award.

Open submissions were invited from undergraduates, postgraduates and

recent graduates.

The judges were:

• Maureen Bampton, Director, Bluecoat Display Centre

• Lucy Day, Day + Gluckman curatorial partnership and professional development

advisor at a-n The Artists Information Company

• Rebecca Skeels, designer-maker and a subject leader for the Post Graduate

School of Craft and Design, University for the Creative Arts

New Ashgate Gallery Trust was originally established in the late 1950s. It has been located in the centre of the Farnham Craft Town in a seventeenth century listed building in Waggon Yard since the 1970s. During the years, the gallery has administered the profits from craft and art sales to create prizes and scholarships, and for the purchase of artworks for local and national museums.

Today, New Ashgate Gallery is the destination for viewing and buying the best of affordable contemporary art and craft by established and emerging artists and makers. The Gallery curates a programme of exhibitions and is dedicated to champion arts and crafts in the market place, providing an unparalleled resource for Farnham, Surrey and beyond. It also fosters emerging artists and makers through professional development events.

Private ViewFriday 7 March, 6-8pm featuring The Intimate Act of Jewellery, performance by Izzy Parker

Symposium Friday 21 March University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, room W612. Free Admission. Booking required, gallery@newashgate.org.uk

Professional development for makers featuring speakers from Crafts Council, Surrey Arts, a-n The Artist Information Company and Making Space. See www.newashgate.org.uk for the programme.

AIRTIME: Supporting artists’ practice through information & networking Wednesday 2 April, 3-5pm University for the Creative Art, Farnham, room W612. RSVP your name & address to airevents@a-n.co.uk with AIRTIME Farnham in the subject box. Limited places available, allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

AIRTIME events are intended to provide a stimulating environment for artists to gain information and tips from artists, arts organisations and other experts on professional matters, alongside opportunities to meet and network with like-minded artists.

Importantly, they offer a route for final-year art and design students to learn how to join into artists’ professional networks as part of helping their transition to professional artist. AIRTIME events are organised by a-n The Artists Information Company as part of the a-n+AIR membership for artists.

New Ashgate Gallery 8 March - 19 April Exhibition hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-5pm, closed on bank holidays

Izzy Parker: The Intimate Act of Jewellery

The Intimate Act of Jewellery is part of Izzy’s Intimacy series which contains a number of interactive installations and jewellery pieces that explore cultural anthropology, each element exploring and questioning our perspectives on social boundaries. Can jewellery provoke intimacy between two strangers…? Royal College of Art graduate and Craft’s Council Hothouse 4 participant Izzy Parker explores just that, with three interactive installations during the touring exhibition Rising Stars.

Intimacy Frame, Pine, steel, Photo Adele Watts

Rising Stars Commission Rachel Britch: Organic Matter (throughout the exhibition)

Talk by Rachel, Wednesday 2 April, 5.30-6.30pm the gallery, no booking required. Free admission.

Rachel focuses on current global issues, specifically on sustainability and growing urban populations, using re-cycled and biodegradable materials connected without chemicals or adhesives sheds a light on ideas surrounding over consumption and waste. This commission is made from bio plastic, paper clips and natural wool, exploring repetition and unit structures. Rachel’s practice straddles both conceptual design and handmade craft sectors, creating products that are beautiful and ethical.

Rachel Britch, RED interior wall piece. This wall mounted piece is made from 100% bio plastic straws, paper clips and wool

Friday 7 March, 6-8pm New Ashgate Gallery

Friday 25 April, 6-8pm Milton Keynes Arts Centre

Saturday 7 June, 2-4pm Smiths Row

Milton Keynes Arts Centre is an independent arts and education charity established in 1974. It offers creative workshops, a gallery space and artists’ studios in Milton Keynes, promoting participation, exploration and learning through courses, exhibitions and events. Through innovative programming and partnerships, Milton Keynes Arts Centre aims to nurture creative talent and encourage a social, cultural and economic exchange of creativity.

Private ViewFriday, 25 April, 6-8pm featuring The Intimate Act of Jewellery, performance by Izzy Parker

Rising Stars Commission: Jessica Coleman (throughout the exhibition)

Jessica Coleman’s practice is an investigation of visual sensations. Her starting points for ideas are formed by play, be it with materials or research matter. Experimental methods are used to develop colour and surface, particularly within weave and embroidery.

Family WorkshopsSaturdays 26 April, 3 and 10 May 10.30am–12.20pm. Free admission.

Join us for an action packed morning of activities in response to Rising Stars. For details see miltonkeynesartscentre.org

AIRTIME: Supporting artists’ practice through information & networking Wednesday 30 April, 1– 3pm RSVP your name & address to airevents@a-n.co.uk with AIRTIME Milton Keynes in the subject box. Limited places available, allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

AIRTIME events are intended to provide a stimulating environment for artists to gain information and tips from artists, arts organisations and other experts on professional matters, alongside opportunities to meet and network with like-minded artists. AIRTIME events are organised by a-n The Artists Information Company.

Jessica Coleman, from left, Diffusion, Diffusion Orange, AV1 Pink, AV1 Blue, AV1 Purple. Merino wool, ceramic and embroidery thread, silk crepe, various dimensions

Milton Keynes Arts Centre 26 April - 31 MayExhibition hours: Monday - Saturday, 10am-4pm, closed on bank holidays

Established in 1972 as Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, Smiths Row is a nationally renowned centre of excellence for contemporary visual art and craft. It is a registered charity and delivers a high quality programme of exhibitions and site-specific projects, and supports artists and makers to reach their full potential. Central to its mission is the desire to engage, inspire and educate people of all ages and cultural backgrounds about visual art and craft through our outreach and education programme.

Private ViewSaturday 7 June, 2-4pm featuring The Intimate Act of Jewellery, performance by Izzy Parker

Rising Stars Commission: Anna Collette Hunt (throughout the exhibition)

Anna uses clay to animate imagined and historic narratives, creating vivid worlds that delight and stir the imagination. Inspired by traditional English grandeur and obsessions for collecting, she creates installations that immerse the viewer in fleeting, magical scenarios.

Exhibition Tour and BrunchSaturday 21 June, 10.30-11.30am. Free admission.

Join us for an informal tour of the exhibition followed by coffee and croissants.

AIRTIME: Supporting artists’ practice through information & networking Wednesday 25 June, 3-5pm. RSVP your name & address to airevents@a-n.co.uk with AIRTIME Bury St Edmunds in the subject box. Limited places available, allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

AIRTIME events are intended to provide a stimulating environment for artists to gain information and tips from artists, arts organisations and other experts on professional matters, alongside opportunities to meet and network with like-minded artists. AIRTIME events are organised by a-n The Artists Information Company.

Smiths Row SalonWednesday 25 June, 5.30-7.30pm Free to Airtime participants and Smiths Row supporters. £4/£3 concessions. Bookings: 01284 762081

Madeleine Furness, Maker Development Officer for the Crafts Council, will talk about how the Crafts Council supports makers to develop their work alongside presentations by makers who have benefited from these programmes.

Anna Collette Hunt, Butterfly Blindness. Ceramic with Platinum

Smiths Row 7 June - 12 JulyExhibition hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10.30am-5pm

New Ashgate Gallery Waggon Yard Farnham Surrey GU9 7PS

newashgate.org.uk gallery@newashgate.org.uk 01252 713208

twitter.com/newashgate facebook.com/newashgate

Milton Keynes Arts Centre Parklands Great Linford Milton Keynes MK14 5DZ

miltonkeynesartscentre.org info@miltonkeynesartscentre.org 01908 608108

twitter.com/mkartscentre facebook.com/MiltonKeynesArtsCentre

Smiths Row The Market Cross, Cornhill Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP33 1BT

smithsrow.org enquiries@smithsrow.org 01284 762081

twitter.com/SmithsRow facebook.com/smithsrow

Rising Stars 2014 is produced by New Ashgate Gallery in partnership with Milton Keynes Arts Centre and Smiths Row, a-n The Artists Information Company and the University for the Creative Arts. It is supported by Arts Council England and Billmeir Charitable Trust.