ArtWorks are a cic organisation based in South Yorkshire, we work with adults with learning disabilities and autism to develop their confidence and creative skills by developing them as artists. For ArtBomb22 our artists will produce both an intervention and installation that focuses on some of the many endangered animal species in the world. From 11:00 until 12:00 on Friday we will perform a series of interventions that combine both an animal protest march with funeral procession of near extinct species, which will be later displayed in the Doncaster Unitarian and Free Christian Church. ​ www.artworks-sy.co.uk

Due to The Portland Collective move, the "Open Studio Event" has been moved and we are HIJACKING Bentley Urban Farm , we are TAKING OVER! This only means ONE thing! A Bigger, larger, more extravagant event. Who is in? There will be LIVE music from the one and only SKIN TONES, lots and lots of art work up for you to admire and for sale, there will be stalls, demonstrations & even workshops. https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Portland-Collective

ArtBomb is more than a festival, and is deeper and wider than an artist presenting their work. It’s about process, development and a strong emphasis on collaboration and experimentation. I am the ArtBomb lab developer and I have been engaging with artists and environmental scientists and enabling them to explore new ideas together through the residencies, and development programmes that we, ArtBomb, are currently running. A lab is not traditionally associated with art and certainly not familiar in my home town of Doncaster. This is a more contemporary art space set up where boundaries between practices and media can be blurred, deconstructed, played with through experimentation forming new ideas and questions. I have been working with artist, lecturer and prolific space designer/maker, Micky Bunn to construct the ArtBomb lab with a focus on an easily adaptable and fluid use of the space for our resident artists/scientists to use including making the most of a double window frontage to showcase ongoing developments to the public. The space is an exciting formation of workbenches, tool kits and resources such as video projectors, raspberry pi’s, green screen, retort stands, audio recorders and art materials and mini library, courtesy of ArtBombs’ Creative Director Mike Stubbs. The library contains catalogues of contemporary artists, artworks and theories that inspire. Over the past few weeks I've been very lucky to hang out and work with some super interesting people already doing exciting work. David Bramwel, Carolin Sinders, Rebecca Smith, Angela Robson and Brigitte Perenyi are the artists in residence at the ArtBomb lab. The concoction of ideas and interests within this cohort of artists/scientists/activists is intoxicating at times. ArtBomb lab is currently hosting a 3 week residency with Wild Weed Kitchens ’ Monika Dutta and Jake Harries, who are working in collaboration with artist Janet Wallace and myself. This residency is a predominantly public facing and public engaging project bringing the idea and reality of wild food to the fore with drop in events and workshops. In terms of public interest and willingness to get involved and chat to Monika and Jake, the residency has been very successful, evidenced by the public being very curious of these goings on and particularly intrigued and even keen to try a dandelion burger and stir fried weeds. The last half of this residency crosses over with the first Re-Wilding the System lab-based residency scheme in which artists research experimental work alongside ecologists and environmental scientists. This is the first of 3 rounds of lab activity where the four artists and special guests have been undertaking a get together of various events and activities to assist them in developing their work. This has included a field trip out to Hatfield Moors which I took part in. Mick Oliver, our expert tour guide brimming with not just knowledge but immense wisdom and lots of humour took us on a journey through the peatlands that he is evidently, acutely familiar with. We looked and learned deeply through Mick’s relentless and meticulous work to ‘re wet’ and assist restoration of the species of plants and insects that have been lost through human ignorance and are so vitally important to that particular land and consequentially important to the whole health of the environment. This experience will inform the rewilding artists work they develop for the the upcoming ArtBomb festival. The works that come from this will be mixed, and range from written pieces, to films, projections and performance with the emphasis experimental, collaborative and deep thinking using new media, new ways of making art that connects to people and provokes inquiry from its viewers. This experience and gathering of artists sees the beginning of a development of work that will continue with more sharing and learning on the themes of environmental issues, hyper local and global. With input form scientist Simon Pickles and a number of amazing environmental organisations and individuals. The work has only just begun and the process is proving exciting and surprising.

Chomko & Rosier is the collaborative studio of artists: Matthew Rosier and Jonathan Chomko, based in London and Montreal respectively. Their work explores technology and the built environment, resulting in installations and experiences for public space. The studio’s work has won multiple awards and been installed in the public spaces of Tokyo, Paris, Austin, Bristol, York and London. ​ Shadowing gives memory to streetlights; recording and replaying the shadows of those who pass underneath. In Doncaster Chomko & Rosier have created a new, semi-permanent version of this award winning public artwork, which will now be installed next to Waterdale Street for one year. This new version of Shadowing has been manufactured in partnership with UK based street lighting manufacturer Ark Lighting, supported by Doncaster Council and Doncaster Creates, and launches as part of Artbomb 2022.

A performance by Filippos Tsitsopoulos Revenge has many forms and the one chosen by the painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler against his patron, the shipping magnate from Liverpool Frederick Leyland, was quite visual. The artist painted an evil anthropomorphic figure - half peacock, half man - playing the piano sitting in a house and surrounded by amounts of money. The painting was called The Gold Scab: Eruption in Filthy Lucre , in a clear reference to his ex-sponsor and client, M. Leyland and his Jewish origins, who decided not to pay the commissioned the Peacock Room to Whistler, after several disagreements on the costs and the way that the piece was designed. As a consequence of the non-payment, the artist lost his house because he couldn’t pay his debts. Even though, the reference of this performance drawn from an old show about Whistler’s Peacock Room at the Bluecoat in Liverpool, that was including a reconstruction of the Peacock Room and a copy of the painting The Gold Scab: Eruption in Filthy Lucre , is mostly articulated around the “charismatic public persona who challenged the art community” with his art, words, writings and innovative ideas on the exhibition space, Whistler is most of all, an artist devoted to the art for the art’s sake. An artist against the system, surviving into the system, standing by his art. When Whistler decided to make the Peacock Room in his own way, against his client’s desires, he was choosing sides. The natural debate between being a part of the system (curators, galleries, actionists, biennales, critics, academics, institutions, collectionists, sponsors, clients, grants…) and being an artist true to his principles and his art, arises at this point. The complex mechanism of the art world shows the artist’s vulnerability. The monster devours the artist, giving voice to his words. The reflection of the artist’s nothingness, the artist forced to be whatever the monster says he has to be.There is always a moment when a person must stand his ground, and defend himself.

Celebrating the work of Daz, or Kozi as he was known, along with his collaborators and Doncaster's street artists. Josie Mallinder says: "Daz’s creativity and love for art began at a young age; he skateboarded, learnt to DJ as a teenager and enjoyed drawing and painting. His passion continued into adulthood, he completed a degree in contemporary art in Leeds and his interest in street art continued to grow. After finishing his degree and returning to Doncaster he continued to spend all his free time thinking about or creating art, his imagination and creativeness was endless and he was always bursting with new ideas for walls, projects and new pieces. He began to get involved in some community projects including graffiti workshops and creating illustrations for Doncopolitan and he was excited to be involved in more in the future. Daz had a joyfulness and passion that was infectious, he was filled with love and could see the best in everyone and everything. He encouraged everyone to embrace their artistic side and was never anything but supportive, kind and positive. The impact he has had on the people who he came into contact with is ongoing and I still meet new people over seven years after he died who talk about him with much love, respect and admiration. The immense and enduring positive influence he had, and the devastating hole he left, is also shown through the artworks that are still designed and painted each summer in his memory." https://www.instagram.com/freightsmatesandbellyaches/

Are there things we still don't understand? I want to look at this question in a simple way, avoiding complicated explanations. I will concentrate on showing how I think. I imagine this question as an abstract landscape reflecting complex concepts. However, if we simplify it too much, we can distort reality, create misunderstandings and break our relationship with the world. So let's leave on the surface the perspective of the existence of phenomena that we do not yet understand and that go beyond our current theories. Acceptance is an ongoing process that shapes our sensibilities and helps us to understand the world better. Such an approach can lead us to a deeper reflection on reality and our place in it, and to accept that knowledge of the world is constantly evolving. We often cross the boundaries of the traditional understanding of everyday life, which invites us to actively participate, the process of creating reflections and experimenting with forms of sensitivity. This approach addresses the complexity of the world and what it really means to “see". I understand that this is difficult to convey in verbal language. However, such difficulties reveal the most fascinating aspects of language, because it stimulates the imagination and invites dialogue.  In my work I use composite photography, a fascinating but often forgotten technique in the history of photography. It consists of creating images from many layers, which can become a starting point for discussions about identity, questioning its uniqueness and showing its fluidity. I am not surprised that this technique is controversial because its creator, Francis Galton, used it for eugenic practice, the study of social groups. His work was part of a wider trend in 19th century scientific thought. He was looking for the biological basis of racial differences. I find this approach invasive and unethical because it dehumanizes people, reducing them to a set of physical characteristics. As an artist, I am aware of the responsibility that comes with using this method of representation. Therefore, I try to look at this technique from a different perspective. By deconstructing the image and creating new forms, composite photography becomes a tool for critical analysis of the reality that surrounds us. It allows us to discover new layers of meaning and to transcend the boundaries of traditional representation. To argue against the myth of the modern imagination, let's consider whether the only thing that is real is what we can see with the naked eye, or perhaps our beliefs, our stereotypes, are also real? Reality is dynamic, and reality is not uniform. It is constantly changing depending on how we interpret it and which of its elements we interact with. This is why each person's world, although based on the same material reality, appears slightly different in their minds. Imagination is subjective, but the fact is that images, sounds, smells and other sensations associated with what we imagine appear in our minds. This process allows us to look deep into the world and create a space in which we can see our own process. It knows no boundaries. Let's appreciate its diversity because it is the power that allows us to bring something unique to the world. As a result, imagination transcends the limitations of time and space. Often I feel that there are too many thoughts and it's difficult to keep track of them all, especially when I start to write and develop a complex concept related to the theme of loss. My thinking is an attempt to go beyond the beaten path, to recall other ways of knowing and to invite a diversity of experience. Such an expansion of boundaries has inspired me to experiment with multilayeredness. Through visual experimentation, I do not seek to imitate the external world, but rather to facilitate a deeper connection with it. My artistic practice, like a reflection on loss, is an attempt to go beyond the known and enter a realm where forms and figurations lose their meaning. Giving up realistic images is an act of accepting that we do not have to understand everything. Similarly, reflecting on lack creates a space where experience becomes fluid and subjective. The viewer is no longer an observer but an active participant in the creative process  It's not a matter of understanding it completely, but of opening oneself up to a process of constant discovery. Any attempt to blur the representation can provoke the emergence of new forms of understanding, that which is elusive and indescribable, that which goes beyond words, leading to new reflections. Thanks to our ability to create meaning, composite images gain cognitive depth, revealing to us what is unconscious. Such images become a starting point for conversations about identity, which is an important aspect of existence. The process of identity development evolves with the changing context of life, changing the way we perceive the world, others and ourselves.  Breaking away from the illusion of the form of reality is inevitable. The art I create unmasks it. To show that all forms in photography are a construction and not a faithful reflection of the world. In my artistic practice, I am constantly searching for the element of wildness of form that reveals aspects of the relationship between human and reality. The world lives in a kind of detachment from reality.

ArtBomb Futures Forum.

Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism event actually took place at The Leopard.

Viewable 24 hours a day until the 4th of July A controversial new estate agent has opened in South Yorkshire that appears to be offering properties for sale and rent in the West Bank and Gaza.  video capture courtesy Jon Robson On a Doncaster street already dominated by estate agent branches, Apartheid Apartments doesn’t immediately stand out as anything unusual. But on taking a closer look, potential customers will find half the shop dominated by barbed wire and CCTV cameras, with listings advertising a “striking, fully obliterated property” for Palestinians, or a “rare opportunity to participate in a crime against humanity” in an illegal settlement for Israeli citizens.  But the “estate agent” is in fact an art installation by artist Darren Cullen, (42, from Leeds) who goes under the name Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives . He says the exhibition is an attempt to draw attention to what he calls “Israel’s long-term policy of ethnic cleansing,” which has had material and diplomatic support from successive UK governments, “Israel’s genocide in Gaza is beyond horrifying,” he says, “but its important to place it in the context of an ongoing attempt by Israel to wipe Palestinians off the map. I put all these horrific crimes into the mundane form of an estate agent to try and show the banality of evil at work, how things as dull as planning permission and property rights are all part of an attempt to systematically eradicate an entire people.”  Cullen has previously worked with Banksy when another of his shop-based installations, Pocket Money Loans , was featured at Dismaland in 2015. But while Pocket Money Loans took aim at pay day loans and child-targeted advertising, this new work aims to show the injustice of Israel’s continued occupation and annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza.  At the rear of the shop, on the Palestinian side, the wall has been dramatically broken through by a JCB digger arm, a reference to the arbitrary demolitions that Israeli military authorities regularly carry out against Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Architectural models show some of the property options for buyers, with a newly built Israeli apartment complex built on a foundation of human skulls, and a Palestinian tent pitched in a bomb crater, with yet another bomb just about to fall on it.  On the Israeli side a replica assault rifle is advertised as “free with every new home”, based on the AR-15 rifles that Israeli government ministers handed out to illegal settlers, and a Trustpilot sticker on the wall rates the business as zero stars and “genocidal” according to the UN. On the outside of the shop, a break in the barbed wire is replaced with anti-bird spikes above the Israeli side, which has violently impaled a white dove of peace. darren@spellingmistakescostlives.com