Gloucestershire Digital Arts Forum/In Our Element
'Short Film £1000 Prize’ | Commissioned 2006

Gloucestershire Digital Arts Forum is working in partnership with 'In Our Element’ the Cotswold Water Park Arts programme, offered an artist the opportunity to make a short film in the Water Park.

The Cotswold Water Park consists of 40 square miles and 143 lakes located in the old flood plain of the River Thames. By 2050 it will be the largest man-made wetland complex in Europe – created from sand and gravel extraction. The Cotswold Water Park Society has been working for 10 years to highlight and work with public authorities and private companies to enhance the biodiversity of the water park, help create opportunities for the enjoyment of the water park through recreation and sport, and to provide local inspiration for land recovery. Following the adoption of an artist led strategy “In Our Element’ funding is being raised to enable artists to contribute to this extraordinary ecology, and to the enjoyment of its communities and visitors.

For the purposes of this commission brief there is a range of sports activities available in the Water Park. These include canoeing, kayaking, waterskiing, swimming, sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, Dragon Boat Racing, and enhanced biodiversity means that there are several fisheries for different forms of angling. Long held plans for an Olympic quality-rowing course at Cleveland Lakes are beginning to come to fruition.

The Commission
Artists were invited to propose an idea for a short film that can be projected in a public space, and possibly an exterior location. The piece will therefore need to be developed in such as way so that, should one of the eventual projection/installation locations be outside, it is not wholly reliant on a sound track for its aesthetic integrity. Currently the intention is that the screening(s) will take place in the Water Park, possibly in the Gateway Visitor Centre, but also in an urban centre such as Gloucester or Swindon, in order to reach an entirely different audience. The film should be about the lakes, and the relationship between one (or some) of the water sports that that take place on the lakes and the ecology of the lakes. One artist Lou Hamilton was awarded the prize of to develop her idea into a film.

Artist Support
The artist was supported throughout the film by the CWP ‘In Our Element’ arts team with advice, local contacts and general advice. GDAF supported the artist with technical advice and specialist digital/media contacts as required.

Screenings
The locations and venues, details and dates for the screenings, will be discussed with the prize-winning artist at the time of the award.

Digital Symposium | September 06

As a part of GDAF’s continuing programme of digital developments, six Gloucestershire based artists recently attended our Five day ‘Symposium' held at Cirencester College. Our aim was to develop skills in digital media practice, especially image production for 'works on paper'.

The participating artists came from a variety of different creative disciplines including painting, video, graphics and photography and most were new to the creative use of computers.
Artists were encouraged to experiment, to push the medium and their own creative responses to the maximum. They focused on the production of original works, building on their own existing creative experience and newly acquired digital skills.

GDAF received funding support from a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Arts Council England, South West. This also enabled GDAF to offer each artist a small bursary towards expenses.
The Symposium was facilitated by Kel Portman MA, a digital artist and educator who has considerable experience of working with groups from different arts backgrounds.

Each artist's innovative and exciting printed works contributed to a ‘Final Show’ at Cirencester College and will be shown in county-wide exhibitions which are currently being planned.

You can also view the artist's eGallery by clicking the links below:
(thanks to Cyril Laffort for the portraits)

Tara Downs  |  Cyril Laffort  |  Bryony Leatherbarrow
 Ken Hugill   |  Fiona Kam Meadley   |  Nikki Simpson