9 - 11 December 2016

S1 Artspace in Sheffield is hosting the third retreat for Syllabus II focusing on 'Audience and Articulation'. In collaboration with the Syllabus II participating artists, partner venues, and curator George Vasey, guest artists have been invited to deliver workshops at venues across the city. 

The weekend in Sheffield will focus on questions raised during the first retreat by the artists on the programme, specifically looking at language and how to articluate your work for audiences. It takes the following questions as a starting point: 

How do you frame the work in order to affect readings for audiences? 

Who is the audience and how do we disrupt them?

How to express your position and open up a dialogue?

How do I define the people and who experience my work?

What is at stake in the language you use to describe work?

Guest speakers include Jeremy Akerman (of Akerman Daly), Ruth Beale, Katrina Palmer and Jonathan P. Watts alongside lead curator for the programme, George Vasey with a contribution from Syllabus artist Thomas Whittle who has organised a 'Slide Night'. 

Friday 9 December

The first day is focused on getting to know Sheffield's artspaces and local artists. This will be followed by a workshop led by artists Jeremy Akerman and Ruth Beale of which details will be added soon. 

The evening sees a Slide Night hosted at Abbeydale Picture House from 6pm - 8:30pm organised by Syllabus artist Thomas Whittle and featuring additional contributions from artists Mira Calix, Tom Smith, Peter Martin and more Sheffield artists to be announced soon.

Saturday 10 December

A workshop led by Jonathan P Watts called Registers n’ That at SHU Art School will begin the weekend. This workshop takes three forms of writing that artists have to do or be concerned with – the artists’ statement, the press release and the exhibition proposal – to examine how language and syntax is used according to context and communicative purpose. What registers of writing are appropriate to different contexts and audiences? 

After lunch, Katrina Palmer will host a session which will raise the spectre of disappearing objects, looking at how something can be produced and destroyed on the page. The focus will be on the volatility of the written object and the voice.

Sunday 11 December

The day will begin with a meeting at Park Hill where curator George Vasey will lead a workshop inspired by Lars Von Triers' film 5 Obstructions. Each artist has been asked to respond to a site on the Park Hill estate with a new work. It must be made on-site and in one day and can take any form they like.

However, the artists have been paired up to give the other person an obstruction, thinking about the other’s practice and how one can undermine it or challenge them. They will then present the finished work to the group with a brief introduction and this will be turned into a group crit around this new work.

A late lunch will take place with S1 Studios artists in Old Nursery at Park Hill and the rest of the day is dedicated to time for reflection on the day's activity and the weekend as a whole.

Please note that we have selected the artists for this year's Syllabus II programme. They are: Mira Calix, Faye Claridge, Mike Harvey, E. Jackson, Tyler Mallison, Nika Neelova, Tom Smith, Dylan Spencer-Davidson, Thomas Whittle and Laura Wilson.

To receive information on the next round of Open Calls for this and other programmes at Wysing, please subscribe to our e-bulletin, click here.