HAPPY SWICHMAS

We would like to take this opportunity, as we approach the close of 2010, to sincerely thank all the artists and designers that have been involved with our gallery and other projects throughout the year as well as all the kind and wonderful people that have supported us in various ways - loaning us stuff, giving us stuff, building us stuff, washing up for us (thanks Brent), lots of hugs, coming to all of our opening night events and visiting our gallery.

We have thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all and we treasure the new friendships we have made. As always we believe that fostering connections between artists and the wider community is vital in changing perceptions of our environment and identity and we will continue to host regular opening night events and other special events to further to encourage a collaborative arts community in the Ipswich region.

We wish you and your families a very happy and safe SWICHMAS and New Year.

LeAnne & Gil

BIDDING FOR THE SALLY HARRISON PAINTING CONCLUDES 22 DECEMBER

Sally Harrison, Ipswich artist, donated a painting of Rockton House to the Ipswich Regional Arts Council for a silent auction with all proceeds going to the Ipswich Regional Arts Council.

The current bid stands at $400. Should you wish to make a further bid please visit our gallery at 191 Brisbane St, Ipswich and place your bid in the box provided at the entry. The person who bids the highest amount by 22 December will win the auction. The SWICH Contemporary Art Space will contact the winner on Thursday 23 December to arrange payment and pickup/delivery.

Our gallery hours are Tues-Fri 9am-4pm (Thurs until 7pm) and Saturday 9am-2pm.

Ways of Seeing: a photographic study of the Top of Town

Top of Town

HOME GROWN 2010: An exhibition of recent work by Ipswich artists

Home Grown continues until Tuesday 14 December 2010 | Open 7 days 10am-2pm

ARTalk Philosophy Cafe - guest Dr Laura D'Olimpio

Thursday 2nd December 2010

Deann's Coffee House
195 Brisbane Street, Ipswich QLD 4305

Topic:

What can we learn from mass art? 

Guest:

Dr Laura D’Olimpio
School of Humanities, University of Western Australia

Laura’s research areas include aesthetics and ethics, philosophy and education and moral philosophy, specialising in the moral impact of mass artworks, particularly film, in society.

She currently teaches at the University of Notre Dame WA, conducts courses for The University of Western Australia Extension, and is involved with the Association for Philosophy in Schools, WA.

Stay for a brief moment or be the last to leave!

 

ARTalk Philosophy Cafe - Dec 2010

 Thursday 2nd December 2010

Deann's Coffee House

195 Brisbane Street
Ipswich QLD 4305

Topic:

What can we learn from mass art? 

Guest:

Dr Laura D’Olimpio
School of Humanities
University of Western Australia

The café as a public space and forum for discussion and community

You don't need to be a world renowned philosopher, to be endowed with the wisdom of Socrates, or to have read the complete works of Plato to enjoy the stimulating atmosphere of a philosophy café.

Turning city cafés into intellectual nooks for open discussion has a long history dating back to 1947 in Paris. Since then thousands of philosophy café goers worldwide have embraced the idea as a way to enhance thinking about the world around them, and to encourage more airing of opinions and civic debate.

Discover café life at the Top of Town and delight in the good food and drink to order (available throughout the evening) in a vibrant space and listen to guest speakers, ponder provocative topics, and with plenty of opportunity to join in the lively discussion.

Stay for a brief moment or be the last to leave!

Street Art - full colour book by Paul Rollo

"WEST END STREET ART" is a new full colour book by photographer Paul Rollo documenting twelve of the main street artists currently painting Brisbane's town the colour of imagination.

112 pages, A5, of colour photos of Street Art - stencils, stickers, paste ups, graffiti and other media from West End area in Brisbane, Australia.

Only $29.95 

Available in Ipswich ONLY at

Celebrate World Philosophy Day @ Bon Laneway

Thursday 18th November 2010

Bon Laneway Café

17 Ellenborough Street
Ipswich QLD 4305

Topic:

Art and the City

Guest:

Dr Gilbert Burgh

School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics

The University of Queensland

The café as a public space and forum for discussion and community

You don't need to be a world renowned philosopher, to be endowed with the wisdom of Socrates, or to have read the complete works of Plato to enjoy the stimulating atmosphere of a philosophy café.

Turning city cafés into intellectual nooks for open discussion has a long history dating back to 1947 in Paris. Since then thousands of philosophy café goers worldwide have embraced the idea as a way to enhance thinking about the world around them, and to encourage more airing of opinions and civic debate.

Discover café life at the Top of Town and delight in the good food and drink to order (available throughout the evening) in a vibrant space and listen to guest speakers, ponder provocative topics, and with plenty of opportunity to join in the lively discussion.

Stay for a brief moment or be the last to leave!

the SWICH Contemporary Art Space promo video

Promo video

TOP OF TOWN HERITAGE

191 BRISBANE STREET

IPSWICH QLD 435

Gallery opening hours are:

Monday: closed

Tuesday: 9am-4pm

Wednesday: 9am-4pm

Thursday: 9am-6pm

Friday: 9am-4pm

Saturday: 9am-2pm

Sunday: 9am-1pm (2nd & 4th Sundays only)

An Alive in Oz production

ARTalk Philosophy Cafe

Join in the international celebrations of UNESCO World Philosophy Day at Top of Town!

the SWICH Contemporary Art Space presents the inaugural
ARTalk Philosophy Cafe

ART | PHILOSOPHY | COFFEE | FOOD | FRIENDS | COMMUNITY

Where:
Bon Laneway Café
17 Ellenborough Street, Ipswich

When:
Thursday 18th November 2010
arrive 5:30pm | commences 6:00pm | finishes 7:30pm

Cost:
$5 admission at door
+ café menu available

Topic:
'Art and the City'

Guest Speaker:
Dr Gilbert Burgh
School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics
The University of Queensland


PARTICIPATING CAFES:
Cactus Espresso Bar
Deann's Coffee House
Bon Laneway

SIZE MATTERS @ the SWICH CAS 2 NOVEMBER - 27 NOVEMBER

Introducing our new exhibition, Size Matters, which opened to the public on Tuesday 2 November and will run until 27 November 2010. Size Matters is a group show of all original small artworks by contemporary artists from Ipswich, Brisbane and Melbourne.

The artists, working in a range of mediums including photography, painting, installation, etching and illustration are: Tracey Potter, Sally Picker, Donna Davis, Krystal Ingle, Charmaine Davis, Belinda Suzette, LeAnne Vincent, Sandra Kane and Chenaya Bancroft-Davis.

The SWICH Contemporary Art Space is located in the charming Top of Town Heritage Precinct at 191 Brisbane Street Ipswich.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 9am-4pm Saturday 9am-2pm
Ph: 3281 9192 for more information.

Andrew Spark - REVERSE EDUCATION: a commentary

I would like to thank Andrew Spark for his contribution to contemporary art in Ipswich. Reverse Education: Spark 2001-2010 (exhibited 5th-30th Oct) highlighted 10 years of Andrew's creative output as an innovative contemporary artist.

Andrew’s works are playful, have different levels of meaning, and explore identity and culture, some of which are very personal and others political. In his earlier works Andrew has not only paid homage to other artists and genres but he has also engaged in a creative dialogue with the artists who have given him inspriation. In his later works Andrew boldly asserts himself. Rest assured Andrew will continue to create art and to not shy away from experimentation. Indeed, experimentation is not only a feature of Andrew's art but arguably something viewers should expect ... to not know what Andrew will create next is one of his strengths as an contemporary artist.

I thank all those people who visited The SWICH Contemporary Art Space and took some time to comment on Andrew's art. The diversity of critical commentary alone made the exhibition worthwhile.

If you wish to view the REVERSE EDUCATION catalogue or would like to consider purchasing any of Andrew's works, please visit our gallery at Top of Town, 191 Brisbane Street, Ipswich.

Gilbert Burgh

on behalf of the SWICH Contemporary Art Space

New exhibition at the SWICH - REVERSE EDUCATION: Andrew Spark 2001-2010

"My paintings and mixed media work emerge from the temporal world of emotion rather than contained by any perceived realism. For me, this work provides a creative outlet that contrasts sharply with the accuracy of my commercial work demands" Andrew Spark

Andrew Spark is an established contemporary artist, graphic designer and advertising consultant based in Ipswich. He works with a range of mixed media including paint and digital photography.

This is the first overview of Andrew Spark's work spanning a decade 2001-2010, and is exclusive to the SWICH Contemporary Art Space.

Reverse Education is on exhibition from 5 October - 30 October 2010. Gallery hours Tuesday-Friday 9am-4pm Saturday 9am-2pm. Contact the gallery for more information on 07 3281 9192 or email: theswich.info@bigpond.com

TWO IPSWICH ARTISTS SELECTED FOR THE QLD REGIONAL ART AWARDS TOURING EXHIBITION

Laura Phillips and LeAnne Vincent, two artists from the Ipswich Contemporary Arts Network, have had their artworks selected for the 2010 Queensland Regional Art Awards Touring Exhibition, 'Our Place', organised by Flying Arts Inc.

Only twenty-four artists were selected by the curator of contemporary Australian art for the Queensland Art Gallery, Francis Parker. The works selected are 'Standing in the grass', oil painting by Laura Phillips and 'Top of Town', photographic artwork by LeAnne Vincent.

The exhibition will be launched in February 2011 at the Queensland State Library and the works will then tour on to four regional galleries throughout Qld. This is a significant accomplishment and will assist in promoting Ipswich and our artists to the wider Qld communities.

Both artists are currently exhibiting other works at the SWICH Contemporary Art Space, 191 Brisbane Street, Ipswich.

Local contemporary Indigenous artist now on display

We are pleased to welcome local Ipswich artist, Charmaine Davis, to our gallery. Charmaine works with acrylics on canvas and has exhibited in numerous group shows and solo exhibitions and has been selected as a finalist to have her work featured on tilt train.

Charmaine's works are bold and speak of her connection with the land. We have three of her stunning new artworks on display and for sale until Saturday 2 October 2010.

The SWICH Contemporary Art Space is now taking registrations for the Artisan Wonderland Workshop Series

Come to the SWICH Contemporary Art Space to register and pay for any of the Artisan Wonderland art workshops during our business hours - Tuesday to Friday 9am-4pm and Saturdays 9am-2pm.

The workshops continue throughout August, September and October 2010 and all run on a Saturday or Sunday. They are conducted in Ipswich and are a great way to learn a new skill, meet some new people and share in some fun. No prior art knowledge is required and all materials are included in the workshop fee.

There are still some places left in the August Workshops as follows:

Saturday 28 August 2010

Precious Metal Clay (fabulous jewellery making workshop) - $28


Sunday 29 August 2010

Enamelling (another fabulous jewellery making workshop) - $20

Intro to Calligraphy- $24

Art of Illuminated Lettering - $8 (must do Intro to Calligraphy)

Clay Workshop - All ages -$10

ALL WORKSHOPS ARE 3 HOURS IN DURATION


Workshops still available for September and October include:

Life Drawing
Family History Research
Books with Flair (learn various book making techniques - great for artist books)
Writing the Generation Gap
Drawing Animals
Crazy Mosaic
Belly Dancing
Resin Jewellery Making
Drawing

There are limited places in each course so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Article in the Ipswich News

Thank you to the staff at the Ipswich News for again supporting our business with this great article.

Oh what a night...........

The inaugural opening event of our permanent art space was held last night and was extremely well attended by local artists, academics, business people, politicians and councillors. We had people attending from Ipswich, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Holland. Literally standing room only!!

We would like to thank everyone who attended for their support in making our opening night an amazing experience of art, glorious food and wine, and a real social networking event.

The evening was a huge success and we thank all the Ipswich artists and designers involved in this exhibition: Donna Davis, Kate Roberts, Andrew Spark, Laura Phillips, Eva Fritz, Sally Picker, Rebecca Lewis (Little Brown Dog), and Kyla Story (Little Bird), and from Brisbane, designers Kellie Christie and Chrissy Foreman, as well as our guest Brisbane artist, Ros Paton and our international guest artist from Mexico, Dea Arjona.

We would also like to thank the countless people who have supported us throughout our planning and renovating stages: Donna Davis for her untiring support of our projects, advice, organisation skills and of course her amazing installation art, Kate Roberts for her spectacular jewellery artworks, advice and many kind offers of support (and chauffeur service),David Beckett for his carpentry and painting skills and innovative art concepts, Michael Davis for his beautifully designed and constructed steel plinths and Deann Devin for her home cooking delights that kept us going throughout our renovations and for the decadent chocolate cheesecakes she supplied for our opening night event and of course all of our facebook friends who have continued to support and promote us.

We look forward to seeing you all again at our new art space at 191 Brisbane Street, Ipswich and will keep you posted on our upcoming events.

Opening Hours: Saturday 9am-2pm, Tuesday to Friday 9am-4pm.

PREPARATIONS BEGIN ON NEW GALLERY SPACE

Today we have officially started our preparations for our new permanent contemporary art gallery at 191 Brisbane Street, Ipswich. We plan to continue preparing the space over the next couple of weeks and will advise shortly as to when we will be open to the public and our business hours.

Our gallery will display and sell original contemporary art by emerging and established local Ipswich artists including paintings, photography, sculpture, installations, jewellery and textiles. We also plan to feature guest artists from around Australia and internationally.

These premises will also become a base for our photography services, on location photoshoots, event photography and photo restoration, and will allow our clients greater access to these services.

During our preparations we can still be contacted via phone or email and will continue to deliver our photography services as usual.

Quest Business Achievers Award - Finalists!

The SWICH Contemporary Art Space is a Finalist in the Quest Business Achievers Award for New Business of the Year! A huge thank you to everyone who voted for us as well as the artists , local businesses and all our photographic services clients who have supported us throughout our first year.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES IN NEW GALLERY SPACE

The SWICH Contemporary Art Space is opening a new permanent gallery space in the Top of Town Precinct at Ipswich dedicated to offering opportunities to emerging and established local, national and international artists.

We are seeking exciting and innovative contemporary artists working in all mediums. In particular, ceramic artists, painters, art photographers, jewellery artists and sculptors working with various materials - found objects, stone, clay, wire etc for our new art gallery opening in Ipswich.

Please send us an email to theswich.info@bigpond.com asap if you are interested in exhibiting works in our space or you know of an artist who might be interested.

NEW ART GALLERY OPENING SOON - TOP OF TOWN, IPSWICH

The SWICH Contemporary Art Space will be opening a new, permanent gallery space in the Top of Town, Ipswich.

We will be offering opportunities to exhibit art works for emerging and established contemporary artists working in all mediums including: paint, photography, sculpture, installation, video, digital, mixed media.

Stay tuned for further updates over the next couple of weeks.

Cheers
LeAnne

Changing Perceptions - Ipswich News Article

Thanks Ipswich News for printing this article on our exhibition, Changing Perceptions, at the Ipswich Community Gallery. Open daily 10am - 4pm until 18 April.

Changing Perceptions Event Schedule

Please click the events schedule below to view larger:

Changing Perceptions - Art Exhibition 3 April to 18 April 2010

3 April to 18 April 2010
Ipswich Community Gallery,
d’Arcy Doyle Place, Ipswich
10am – 4pm
FREE ENTRY

New works by four artists from the Ipswich Contemporary Arts Network:

LeAnne Vincent
Lyne Marshall
Donna Davis
Andrew Spark

Using paint, photography and mixed media installation these artists take the viewer on a conceptual journey exploring diverse perspectives of Ipswich.

Drawing upon the natural, urbanised, and domestic environments the works invite new ways of seeing Ipswich, and pose the question: ‘Can changing our perceptions of where we live lead to a new awareness or collective change in how we see ourselves and how we are viewed as a community?’

During this two week exhibition we will be hosting a variety of events and activities, including: artist talks and workshops, book launches, and Philosophy ‘n’ Art Cafés within the venue and at surrounding cafés and restaurants. Further details will be available soon.

Transforming Spaces Gallery Closing on Sunday 28 February

We will be open for the last day on Sunday 28 February, 2010 from 9am.

While you're in town for the Markets in the Mall, take a stroll to the Top of Town and check out our gallery and all great cafes and boutiques.

We have Ipswich Art Cards (greeting style cards featuring artworks by LeAnne Vincent), children's books with stories set in Ipswich by Toni Risson, lampwork glass bead jewellery and giftware by Tania Murphy (original designs), art books on the creative process by Lyne Marshall including her new book Invisible Realities: Finding the hidden dimensions in art, framed photographic art by Donna Davis and LeAnne Vincent, paintings by Eva Fritz, Maxene Bennetts, Melanie Slootjes and Alan Saunderson.

Last days of Transforming Spaces Gallery Project No.1

Hi Everyone

Our Transforming Spaces Gallery Project No.1 at 175 Brisbane Street, Ipswich will be closing next Friday 26 February. Thanks to Jim McKee at the Cactus Espresso Bar we have enjoyed 3 months of promoting and selling the artwork of local Ipswich contemporary artists.

This has been the first step in creating a community of collaborative artists in Ipswich where artists can connect with each other and the wider community. We have been approached by numerous artists in the Ipswich region during our time at this space who wish to be involved in our future projects and we have received many positive responses from the general public.

If anyone would like to be involved in our upcoming projects please email us at theswich.info@bigpond.com

Thank you again to all the artists who have been involved in this project and everyone who has supported us.

Cheers
LeAnne Vincent & Gilbert Burgh

Artworks picture - Lampwork glass bead artist Tania Murphy and Art Photographer Donna Davis.

New Artworks at Transforming Spaces Gallery

This week we welcome three new local artists to the gallery. Indigenous artist, Maxene Bennetts, landscape painter, Melanie Slootjes and vibrant oil painter, Eva Fritz.

The Transforming Spaces Project No. 1 will be ending on 26 February, 2010 at 175 Brisbane Street, Ipswich so drop in during our last couple of weeks and pick up some fantastic local artworks.