I Know You, You Can Come With Me

2014 started with a invitation to a social engagement art project.......

I Know You; You Can Come With Me is a collaboration between  artists James Harper and Jo Marsh, and a hybrid of their respective JazzCakes and With Love From The Artist concepts. It will bring together 15 artists, in a participatory project which will  take place across Wrexham County, and culminate in an exhibition at Oriel Wrecsam from June to August 2014.      

Each participating artist will be asked to provide four artefacts to be posited as anonymous gifts in the public realm. To identify potential sites for these, artists will come together for a day long ‘Artists Field Trip’, travelling across Wrexham by coach. This will provide a networking opportunity and will finish with a documented symposium. Later, following the field trip, James and Jo will deposit the artefacts across the borough according to artists’ instructions, documenting each one with a photograph as it  is left. A bilingual note will be attached to each artefact, asking its finder to email  a photograph of the item in its new surroundings, and later to bring the item to Oriel Wrecsam to be exhibited, on a loan basis, as  part of the project.

The exhibition will include photographs of the deposited artefacts, plus all material received from finders,  and documentation of the field trip and symposium. A publication and website will also be created, showcasing each participating artist and the outcomes of the project. I Know  You; You Can Come With Me is  a socially engaging project, aiming to directly involve members of the public, as well  as creating a new and thought-provoking collaborative work by 15 artists. http://iknowyouyoucancomewithme.tumblr.com/

13 contemporary artists/curators/facilitators met on the 22nd of February from all over Britain and spent the day together, the proposed itinerary for the field trip was selected by James and Jo. They chose as many important/interesting sites as they could think we could fit into the time/day. 

1. Oriel Wrecsam (start)

2. Acton Gate (passing)

3. Gresford (passing)

4. Rossett - Water Mill (passing - northern periphery)

5. Holt - Medievil Bridge and Castle (stopping - 15 mins - Wrexham/Cheshire border)

6. Marchwiel (passing)

7. Overton (passing)

8. Chirk - Castle (stopping - lunch - southern periphery)

9. Llangollen - river, canal, steam trains (stopping - one hour)

10. Pontcysyllte Aquaduct (brief stop)

11. Un Deg Un (end - group discussion)

Starting point: Oriel Wrecsam (image courtesy of #ikyyccwm)

End of day talk at Un Deg Un (image courtesy of Steffan Jones-Hughes)

There are exciting things happening in Wrexham from pop-up galleries, studio spaces and of course Oriel Wrecsam, the city is becoming a hub for contemporary experimental art and now social engaging art! I will blog soon images of the artworks I created and their final resting places before (fingers crossed) the public find it.