24 July 2013

Exhibition encourages artists to reduce, reuse and recycle

Environmentally aware artists have been invited to contribute work to an exhibition promoting sustainability and celebrating recycled materials to be held in Dundee next month.

'RE: Sustain' is being hosted by Skill Share Dundee and will be curated by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) graduate Mary Beth Quigley. The exhibition takes place on Friday, 16th August, and all artists whose work explores sustainability are invited to take part. This will be followed by a fayre celebrating craft and forgotten skills on Sunday 18th.

More than 30 artists have already expressed an interest in exhibiting, with confirmed entries including a sculpture made from dead flowers, paintings done on old tiles, and a dress made from newspapers.

Other artists and makers who wish to take part have until August 2nd to submit their proposals. The idea for the exhibition came about after Skill Share Dundee made contact with Mary Beth during the DJCAD Degree Show in May after recognising that her commitment to recycling chimed with the organisation's own principles.

After visiting the organisation's premises in South Dudhope Mill, Mary Beth then suggested the exhibition and fayre as a way of raising awareness of the importance of artists embracing the concept of sustainability in their work.

'What Skill Share Dundee do is pretty well matched with my own work, and so I thought this would be a great way to work together and encourage other artists who use recycled and found materials in their work,' she said.

'I feel strongly that artists are too often guilty of terrible waste and this is something that needs to be addressed. The invite is open to anyone who celebrates the theme of sustainability in their work and I am looking forward to seeing different interpretations of this.

'We welcome work in any medium that features the reduce, reuse and recycle message and want to hear from amateur artists as well as those who have been professionally trained - the point of the exhibition is to allow everyone to share their ideas.'

Skill Share Dundee is a community-led project helping to inspire, empower and connect members of the student and residential community by sharing practical skills and crafts. It aims to bring generations together, maintain skills and crafts that might otherwise be lost and reduce waste through reuse and repair.

Mary Beth, who will herself be exhibiting at 'RE: Sustain', creates textile sculptures using recycled materials. Most of the salvaged textiles she used for her Degree Show exhibit were provided by Tayside Recyclers, who are lending tables, chairs and other materials for the new exhibition.

'RE: Sustain' takes place at Skill Share Dundee, South Dudhope Mill, Douglas Street, from 7-10pm on Friday, 16th August. RE: Sustain Fayre will be held on Sunday, 18th August from 10am-4pm.

Applications are open until Friday, August 2nd. More information is available by visiting www.resustain.wordpress.com or emailing re.sustain@outlook.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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