Celebrated UK artist selected for Bay Area Discovery Museum dust residency
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Naomi A. Hart, a profound visual artist from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been selected for an artist in residency program at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, Calif.
A visual artist working predominantly with photography, video and drawing, Hart's primary subject is dust. She examines dust samples with magnifying glasses and microscopes, and then creates enlarged and close up digital photographs, digital artworks and drawings of the specimens.
"I draw what you guys know as dust bunnies," Hart said. "It's finding beauty in something that's so ridiculously everyday. I like the idea of dust being a genetic footprint or a trail of where people have been."
For her residency, which begins February 2014, Hart will collect a dust sample from inside the museum and make a site-specific installation. The project's theme is "Land" and it aims to answer the proposal question: "How can looking up close change the way we see our world?"
"My intention within this residency is to develop new work within the museum space and to hold an on going audience participation workshop based around the inquiry title," said Hart.
Hart also plans to develop new video work using macro-scaled video footage gathered from specimens in Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
"We are thrilled to bring Naomi Hart to the Bay Area Discovery Museum as our next Artist-in-Residence," said Bay Area Discovery Museum CEO Karyn Flynn. "Her program ignites creative thinking as children and their families are encouraged to observe, explore and inquire. Through her exploration of dust, our visitors will engage with the Museum in new ways by investigating their favorite exhibits through the lens of a magnifying glass. They will also have the opportunity to share their findings with a collaborate large-scale drawing and art installation."
Hart has had many exhibitions since 2001 including the at the Royal Scottish Academy, Rhode Island School of Design, the USSCOT Exhibition at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pa., Gallery North in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, the Takamatsu City Museum of Art in Japan, The Place in Sunniside, Sunderland, Central Square on Fourth Street in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Arthouses 2012 at the Whitley Bay Film Festival and Orlando House, San Marino.
Her work was selected for curated websites www.axisweb.org and www.medinart.eu. She's been commissioned for projects at the Women's Climbing Symposium 2012 at the Hangar (Liverpool), the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the Laing Gallery and Tyne and Wear Museums. Hart attended Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK) where she received a M.A. in Fine Art and Education and Edinburgh College of Art (Edinburgh, UK) where she received a B.A (Hons) in Visual Communication.
The Bay Area Discovery Museum is designed to ignite and advance creative thinking in children. Its 7.5 acres of natural beauty inspires families to engage in a world of possibilities. Framed by the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, the museum is a space for imaginations. Children may navigate winding tunnels to develop physical and intellectual risk-taking skills, and feel the rush of cold-water tide pools that surprise and awaken curiosity. They may also explore new worlds by transforming into a spider, a ship captain, or a bridge builder.
The museum launched the Center for Childhood Creativity in 2011 to pioneer new research, thought-leadership, and teacher training programs that advance creative thinking in all children.
SOURCE: Naomi Hart
Share this article