‘Deep reveal’ by Ben
16/10/2020 – London
Produced using ‘Adventures in 10 Print’

2020 has been an extraordinary year for us all.

As we entered the first lockdown in March, we were forced to pause our plans to launch new temporary premises in Chester in mid-2020. Despite this, our work has been continuing behind the scenes – and from our homes!

We have continued to build our organisational capacity and repurpose our plans. Our short-term goals have been to refocus our digital presence, find new ways of supporting artists and developing our learning programme.

In August we were pleased to launch our new website. Over the coming year and beyond, we will be increasingly using the site as another vehicle to showcase artistic talent in Cheshire. Watch this space.

We were delighted to commission Emma Lucy and Robin Hunter to create new digital artworks for our learning programme. These works are the first such commissions for the programme. Both artists – who are based in Chester – were inspired by the digital themes of the major V&A touring exhibition ‘Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers’, which we brought to Chester in 2019.

Emma’s Chance and Control activity pack is for young people. Beautifully illustrated, and containing artworks and references to the exhibition, they bring art and technology together in a fun and engaging way. While Emma’s work is available to download from our website and print out to use at home, we will be disseminating physical copies around Chester in early 2021.

Robin’s Adventures in 10 Print uses a classic computer algorithm to invite users to playfully create new designs. The sequence of randomness the computer generates in order to create the artwork has a near 0% chance of ever repeating again. But we are able to control the design. It has been fantastic to watch so many people using the work and populating the online gallery. If you haven’t had a go, it’s easy to use – and incredibly addictive!

Both projects demonstrate our ongoing commitment to support quality art and talented creatives in Cheshire.

Our learning programme team has been working hard to adapt and enhance our offer towards digital engagement. Initiatives such as the Digital Artbox demonstrates our continued efforts to engage Chester schools and young people during a time of continued restrictions.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our lives. It has damaged livelihoods, forced businesses to close and caused far too many terrible losses.

During this time the simple but important opportunity to see art or engage in a workshop has been out of reach. This heightened awareness of what we’ve all been missing and the importance of art and culture to our daily lives has only strengthened our resolve to push ahead towards our goal of establishing a creative visual arts centre and public art gallery of international standing.

However, we need financial support to do this. As a registered charity, we are continuing to raise funds to support our short and medium-term goals:

• Establishing an arts centre and gallery space in Chester
• Continued high-quality artistic and learning programme activities featuring the work of established international, national and regional artists
• Supporting regional artists via commissions, exhibitions and career development opportunities
• Retention of current freelance, part-time staff
• Strengthened relationships with local schools and regional and national cultural organisations

Every penny makes a difference and will enable us to realise these goals.

In this turbulent year, we would like to express our huge and continued appreciation to the funders, partners, artists, staff, volunteers and everyone else who has supported CVA this year.

We are hugely optimistic that 2021 will be better for us all, and that we will be bringing art to Chester once again.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy new year.

Chester Visual Arts