World Art Collections Exhibition
Join the Caribbean Celebration!
at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

On Sunday 16 October 2011, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia is marking Black History Month with a celebration of the Caribbean. The free event will run from midday to 4pm, with a variety of creative activities on offer throughout the afternoon, including a Quadrille dancing workshop for families. The event will close with a special performance from the Januka Quadrille Dance Company for visitors to enjoy.

“We are delighted to welcome the Januka Quadrille Dance Group to the Sainsbury Centre and promote the cultural heritage of Jamaica and the Caribbean as part of our contribution to Black History Month. It is a fantastic opportunity for the whole family to get actively involved in workshops and see it performed to learn more about this traditional dance.” Emily Ward, Education Officer for Adults and Young People and Charlotte Peel, Education Officer for Families and Children.

Januka promote Quadrille dancing across the UK as a positive part of their Jamaican heritage. Quadrille is one of Jamaica’s most vibrant traditional dances and has become symbolic of African slaves’ wisdom, free-spiritedness and will to survive. Although forbidden from and often punished for dancing Quadrille, they cleverly and defiantly used this dance as a way of communicating and keeping their spirits up in the fields.

Developed from a European ballroom dance and mixed with African rhythms, Quadrille is now danced throughout the Caribbean as part of its historical and cultural heritage – making it an ideal activity to celebrate Black History Month. Januka Quadrille Dance Company will be wearing costumes in the colours of the Jamaican flag: black, green and gold, signifying, “hardships there are, but the grass is green, and the sun shineth”.

Throughout the afternoon, visitors will also have a chance to take part in a variety of creative activities around the Centre. Families can take part in a Quadrille dancing workshop and try out the steps and rhythm for themselves, or learn traditional Jamaican songs and actions. There will also be Calypso storytelling and singing sessions with Casper James of Culture Crossroads.

 

There will be a further opportunity to mark Black History Month with an African Lullaby Workshop on Friday 28 October. Young children with their parents or carers are invited to learn African lullabies, movements and actions with Anna Mudeka and will receive a free CD to take home after the workshop. Anna is a Zimbabwean artist based in the UK and has established herself as a well-respected workshop leader and performer. Sessions run from 1.30pm – 2pm and 2.15pm – 2.45pm and cost £3 per child (£2 concessions). This event is free for accompanying adults and booking is essential.

During the Caribbean Celebration event there will be free admission to the Sainsbury Centre’s two special exhibitions (usual price £4, concessions £2, family price £8, concessions £6). The Face of the Artist is an exhibition of portraits by renowned photographer John Hedgecoe from the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of works by the artist, acquired earlier this year, while Journeys in Colour features striking abstract works by Mary Webb, a Suffolk based artist who taught in Norwich for nearly 25 years.

Admission to the permanent collections at the Centre is free

Special exhibitions
Free entry during the Caribbean Celebration. Usual combined exhibition admission £4, concessions £2; family admission £8, concessions £6, school groups £1 per person. Free to Sainsbury Centre Friends, UEA and NUCA staff and students.

The Face of the Artist: Photographs by John Hedgecoe
21 June – 4 December 2011
This is the first major exhibition of portraits by renowned photographer John Hedgecoe from the Sainsbury Centre’s collection of 400 works by the artist, acquired earlier this year. John Hedgecoe (1932–2010) was at the forefront of portrait photography for more than 50 years. He took pictures of the leading figures in the worlds of art, literature, science and politics, from Winston Churchill to Mary Quant. His portrait of the Queen taken in 1966 still graces British postage stamps.

Artists and their art will be brought together in this exhibition, which features Hedgecoe’s photographs alongside works from the Centre’s permanent collections. They include Francis Bacon with his Sketch for a Portrait of Lisa, Henry Moore with his Mother and Child and Lucie Rie with a selection of her ceramics. Also on display you will find photographs of other well known artists and writers, and famous names from fashion and the stage, including Sir Peter Blake, Sir Noël Coward, Dame Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney and Sir Andrew Motion.

The Sainsbury Centre gratefully acknowledges the generous gift of works by John Hedgecoe from his family, and will continue to display his photographs for all to enjoy.

Journeys in Colour: Mary Webb
27 September – 4 December 2011
Mary Webb is an artist with a passion for colour and the landscape. Journeys in Colour features Webb’s art from 1967 to the present day and is the largest ever exhibition of work by this Suffolk-based artist. On display you will find striking abstract paintings, screen prints, drawings and collages. You will also be able to see a new series of work, inspired by a trip to Utah, USA, which has never been seen before. Also included in the exhibition will be a work by Mary Webb from the UEA Collection of Abstract and Constructivist Art, Architecture and Design, which is permanently housed at the Centre. Webb acknowledges the artist Sonia Delaunay as a significant influence and whose work is also part of the UEA Collection.

Mary Webb is captivated by the landscape and much of her work reflects on her travels. She titles her paintings after the places that inspired them, which include Corsica, Crete, Isle of Manhattan, Russia, San Luis, and San Filippo. Other works relate to places in the region including Dunwich in Suffolk and Brancaster in Norfolk.

Mary Webb studied fine art at the University of Newcastle and Chelsea School of Art before teaching at Harrogate for two years. From 1966 until 1990, Webb taught painting at Norwich School of Art (now known as Norwich University College of the Arts).

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