Plaque by trustee Derek Morris destined for Bethel Hospital

Paul King kindly broke the news to us that a bronze plaque by our trustee, Derek Morris, that he had designed and had cast way back in 1989, and had lost sight of, is finally to be placed on a wall in St Peter Mancroft church in Norwich. It was originally commissioned by the Bethel Hospital in memory of Mary Chapman, founder of the Bethel. Derek had thought that with the closure of the hospital and its conversion into flats, the plaques would continue to languish in some dusty cupboard and never see the light of day in his lifetime. So, this is good news at this present time of uncertainty. Here it is, using Derek's father’s different alphabet moulds.

Derek Morris

Covid19

Following government advice, ncas is pleased once again to be able to host our usual exhibitions and events, and to promote the shows of our Norfolk galleries and artists.

Protecting our communities, particularly the older and more vulnerable members of society, and our NHS is still a priority.

We kindly ask our members to respect Government guidelines and where appropriate to observe social distancing and wear masks. In line with all organisations, we ask members not to attend public events if they are experiencing any Covid19 symptoms, have recently been in close contact with someone with Covid19, and where possible to take a lateral flow test prior to attending, especially indoor events.

We have been very grateful to our members for their on-going support during these difficult times. We are delighted once again to be able to offer the full range of activities that ncas membership brings. Thank you.

Free ncas membership for all NUA students

ncas has been a strong supporter of NUA and art education in Norwich for over 60 years, and we are now able to offer free ncas membership to all NUA students. Registering for your free membership will entitle you to receive, by email, the programmes for all our talks, trips, auctions and exhibitions.

Whether you have registered or not, your student card will still entitle you to free admission to all our talks, by artists, critics, gallerists and curators (usually £4.50). Recent studio visits and talks have included Michael Horn, Wayne Hemingway, Rosie Snell, Lawrence Edwards and NUA alumna, Rachel Long. NUA students will also be eligible to submit work for our open exhibitions of Norfolk Contemporary Art.

To register your interest, receive our programme and join for free, simply email our administrator at norfolkart@googlemail.com, stating your name and student number.

More information about ncas, including our art collections, our recent talks, future exhibitions and events and other local art news, can be found on this website.

ncas prize awarded to Helen Ireland at NUA degree show

This year's selection process was organised by artist and NCAS trustee, Andrew Eden. From a shortlist of five, the final decision was that Fine Art graduate Helen Ireland was the clear winner for her work Evocations. Her delicate, moulded, paper objects in a bespoke perspex case and her two associated cyanotypes of everyday items explored links to personal memories of the past. She was subsequently presented with her prize of £500 by Andrew. Congratulations, not only to Helen, but to all the students whose work was presented in this year's degree show, and thank you to the committed NUA staff who conducted us helpfully around the show.

Norfolk Sixth Form Art Prize from ncas

Alice Weatherill, Money and Water
Acrylic, 60cm X 60cm

The annual exhibition of selected work by Sixth Form students from across Norfolk and Suffolk is again being shown in the Crypt Gallery at Norwich School. ncas was again involved in the selection process and is also awarding a prize, selected this year by trustees, Selwyn Taylor and Andrew Eden. Their choice is a remarkably mature work, Money and Water, by Alice Weatherill from Dereham Sixth Form College. She describes the background to her large acrylic work as follows: 

I looked at Malca Schotten's work during a workshop at Norwich Castle and I decided to look at how science and maths can be represented in art. I researched mathematicians who lived in Norfolk and found Thomas Blundeville who lived in the village of Newton Flotman. This lead me to include circles in my final piece. A trip to the science museum in London inspired me to create an abstract version of the MONIAC. I used acrylics to create both texture in the water and the colours in the MONIAC.

Latest issue of Art In Norwich is now out!

 The latest issue of Art In Norwich is out . . .

You can download a pdf here.

£1,000 UEA Student Visual Arts Bursary available

A £1,000 bursary is available for a UEA undergraduate, aged between 17 and 25, to pursue a specific project in any general field of the visual arts, including fine art, illustration, photography, video, curation or administration. The award is open to students studying in any school of UEA and in any discipline, and is designed to encourage students who have a personal and practical interest in contemporary visual art that is distinct from their formal academic studies.

Norfolk Contemporary Art Society and Young Norfolk Arts Trust (www.ynaf.org.uk), are jointly making this award in partnership with Norwich University of the Arts (NUA). The bursary can be used flexibly, for example for materials, travel or research. Depending on the nature of the final project, the output from the award may be exhibited in the YNAF exhibition in Norwich in July 2019. The award winner may be required to give a presentation about their work as part of the same event. Tailored mentoring will be available if required from professional staff at NUA. The YNAF communications team of young volunteers/advocates will promote, report on and record activities associated with the project, and will liaise with local media.

Eligible applicants can apply by filling in the attached form and sending it, together with a short recommendation by an academic referee, to:

Keith Roberts, chair of ncas, at keith@keith-roberts.org.uk to arrive no later than Monday 4th March.

New ncas Administrator appointed

Frances Martin has today been appointed as our new administrator. She has for many years been the administrator for the Norwich Twenty Group and we hope that this will further the close links between the two groups. Frances has a degree in fine art and practices as a professional artist, with a studio in St Etheldreda’s Church, on King Street. She also teaches art and runs the Big Draw events at the Forum. We look forward to working with her . . .

Beth Bartlett wins this year's NCAS art prize at NUA

This year's selection process was organised by artist and ncas trustee, Andrew Eden. After a short list of five works were chosen, the final decision rested with those remaining trustees who could attend the final marking on the 18th June. Their decision was that Fine Art graduate Beth Bartlett was the clear winner, and she was subsequently presented with her prize by Andrew. Congratulations, not only to Beth, but to all the students whose work was presented in this year's degree show, and thank you to the committed NUA staff who conducted us helpfully around the show.

Andrew Eden and Beth Bartlett (photo courtesy of NUA)

Her work is described here by NUA:

'Beth Bartlett’s work is heavily inspired by geometrical forms found in the spiritual faith of Tantra. These Tantric inspired diagrams represent the balance of Male and Female energies within a person. Different shapes and colours are used to represent each side of the spectrum: shapes with curves and warm colours represent the Female and straight shapes with cold colours represent the Male. When these elements come together they create a balance. As Bartlett works with two disciplines in conjunction they create layers within the original meaning, abstracting the concept and visual image. Vibrant paintings and large scale constructed sculptures, seen as drawings, create an exciting dynamic that blurs the boundaries between technical drawing/painting with sculpture. The size of the sculptures makes them command a space; this is amplified by the added projection that acts as a light source to focus the eye to the central point, further creating chaotic shadows within the sculptures.'

ncas Policy on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

There is an important new EU legal deadline (GDPR) on the 25th May, when all charities and other organisations have to update the way they handle people’s personal data. NCAS already complies with this legislation. When you join ncas we simply record your name and contact details and keep these on a database. This database is kept solely in order to send you our ncas programme and newsletter, and to email you about strictly ncas-related events. We interpret your decision to join ncas to mean that you want to be sent this material. We neither share your data nor sell your data to others. We are very clear that you always have the right to opt out of receiving our communications at any time by emailing our administrator, who can also remind you of the data that we do hold about you.

Your data is held by our administrator in a password-protected file and is removed if, after reminders, you do not renew your membership, or if you ask for your membership to cease.