31 January 2013
'Fun-A-Day' project returns to Dundee
Photo opportunity: 7.30pm on Friday, 8th February at Roseangle Arts Café.
Students from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) will once again join artists from around the world in holding a collaborative exhibition of work that seeks to put the fun back into art while strengthening creative communities.
Morgan Cahn, a fourth-year Fine Art student at DJCAD, is leading the Fun-A-Day Dundee project following the success of the inaugural event held in Dundee last year. This builds on the work of the Philadelphia-based Artclash Collective, which has been organising Fun-A-Day shows in The City of Brotherly Love since 2004.
Participants choose a project and produce one piece of artwork every day for the entire month of January, with the resulting 31 pieces creating a narrative outlining each artist's journey through the first month of the year. This year, there will be 20 shows held in the United States, along with five international shows.
A celebration of the Dundee branch of Fun-A-Day will be held at Roseangle Arts Café on February 8th when all the participating artists bring their artworks, documentation, or plans for performance together for a one-night exhibition.
The Artclash Collective organise projects and shows that aim to be fun, inclusive and participatory, and the Dundee event sees DJCAD students come together with students from other parts of the University, and other local artists.
Morgan, a member of the DJCAD student Curatorial Team, said the ethos of Fun-A-Day meant it was possible to break down the barriers that sometimes surround art.
"The premise is simple. Pick a fun project and take a photograph, write a song, draw a picture, bake a cake, etc, do it every day in January, then show your work the following month in a big group show," she said.
"The point is to have fun while creating a welcoming forum for people to share what they do, strengthen existing communities of artists, and kick-start new ones. Projects vary from the lighthearted to the serious, high-brow to low-brow, and this year's list of mediums includes photos, drawings, videos, textiles and more.
"When we put the exhibition together it will be packed with art of all different types. Last year's event was a great success with performance, video, comics, painting, music, and more than 15 participants and this year we're expecting twice as many artists with an even broader range of subjects.
"A lot of the people taking part have been blogging and tweeting about their projects and there's some great stuff that I really look forward to seeing in person.Fun-a-Day is an open invitation to foster a daily creative practice. It began as a way for the originators of the project to keep each other motivated and maintain their creative practices through the month of January."
The Fun-A-Day Dundee celebration takes place at Roseangle Arts Café from 6-9pm on Friday, 8th February. An afterparty will take place at Redd on Session Street from 9pm-2am. Entry to both events are free and open to the public, although only over-18s will be admitted to the afterparty.
More information is available at www.funadaydundee.wordpress.com or by emailing funadaydundee@gmail.com.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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