Preview Saturday 12 May 2018 1-3pm, includes an artist’s talk at 1.30pm
The Gallery St George’s House, 2 St. George's Road, Bolton BL1 2DD. 
City like me is supported by Castlefield gallery's New Art Spaces, in creative partnership with neo:artists
A solo exhibition of new artworks by Steph Shipley as she uncovers the secrets of Rivington Terraced Gardens on the outskirts of Bolton
The once luxurious country retreat of Lord Leverhulme, designed and realised by him in the early 1900s and what now remains of its fascinating past will hold special memories for many visitors.  For the final major research project of my MA in Fine Art Site & Archive Interventions at the University of Central Lancashire, I am responding to what I have found there, my research into local archives and the many hours spent in the gardens during the last 12 months. 
Places that exude a sense of past, a public fascia and private interior; where a gap or an interval might pervade their obsolescence or revival, are a frequent source of curiosity.  Temporary sites and spaces that vanish as swiftly as they appear hold the same allure as those that accumulate time and those that forbid or restrict access or withhold clear answers in terms of their purpose or history.  Through film, projection, photography and printmaking City like me expresses notions of loss, transience and nostalgia within these sites of heterotopia or otherness. 

The light was lovely today, first chance to see this beautifully curated exhibition and so pleased to be one of the six artists who use photography in their work.  Mine is usually a starting point, sometimes source and outcome, but invariably through some process of not knowing I'm able to find a different way in, to navigate the space and embody the image with some sense of having been there - #justaroundthecorner - and far, far, away.

Delighted to be part of this exhibition at PS Mirabel when my work Just around the corner will be on display for the first time in the UK.  Temporary sites and spaces that vanish as swiftly as they appear, such as the circus and fairground, hold the same allure as those that accumulate time and those that forbid or restrict access or withhold clear answers in terms of their purpose or history.  These are sites of heterotopia or otherness. 
Exhibition continues until 13 May 2018 - open Saturdays 11am-5pm.

Thank you to all who came from near and far to PR1 Gallery at UCLan in Preston this week.  We had an amazing response to our interim outcomes from the MA Fine Art Site & Archive and Studio Practice pathways.  On we go!

Excited to be exhibiting with my colleagues on the MA Fine Art Site & Archive and Studio Practice Pathways at the University of Central Lancashire. Preview 15 February 2018 5-8pm continues weekdays 11-5pm until 22 February 2018.

A new experimental work relating to my MA Fine Art major final project (UCLan, Preston) devised and filmed as part of my residency at New Art Spaces Bolton - neo:artists in creative partnership with Castlefield Gallery.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to be invited to return to the University to given students an insight into how my BA Fine Art Degree here informed my thinking and making and how it continues to drive my creative research and practice.

10.30 - over the meadow, reedy grass, whispering, back lit, flighty; the rose garden, walled and rocky, a space to linger, a space to feel, a space to remember.
Extract from my performance with Geraldine Hudson at Studio 44 / ABF gallery, Stockholm on 11 November 2017.
My film Just around the corner, installation of Polaroid photographs on Dibond and tracing paper and the performance of Shifting Ground were the outcome of our six month collaboration which continues.

Our joint statement illuminates the process:
The theoretical discourse and mapping strategies that the two artists have pursued during their collaboration has spilled over into email exchange, online conversations and a simultaneous walk – Steph in Bolton and Geraldine in Stockholm on the same day in August 2017.  Crossing time zones, seasons and space but synchronising the physical reality of walking to explore sites of common heterotopia within their own town and city has opened a new dialogue and creative process to their practice that would not have happened on an individual basis.
The artistic outcomes are clearly just the start of an approach that brings an exciting and fluid dynamic to a sharing of ideas and critical reflection on the mutability of place.

My new project art space #Downtown is supported by Castlefield Gallery’s New Art Spaces, in creative partnership with neo:artists.  Experimental projections are in progress developing works from recent Super 8 footage as source for my collaborative piece 'just around the corner' for the Corduroy exchange project between neo:artists in Bolton and studio44 in Stockholm.   More details here. 

Castlefield Gallery’s New Art Spaces (NAS) is an initiative to create dynamic project spaces for artists, artist collectives and artist development agencies. Making use of temporary vacant retail, office and light industrial units, NAS provides opportunities for emerging creatives to incubate their practices, produce work and showcase new art to local communities. Currently CG runs New Art Spaces in Bolton, Leigh, Rochdale, and Manchester City Centre.

Very pleased to be selected for this exhibition which is part of the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival 2017 - opening shortly with two recent works - Beyond Nostalgia #1 and The Story of Betty Mace.  More details here.

So pleased to have been invited to take part in this exhibition with my work Heyday - imagined, devised and curated by Martyn Lucas and Paula Fenwick-Lucas.  In excellent company and looking forward to seeing how the Isherwood Gallery will be transformed into a truly intimate space.
More details here

Much more to follow ... thanks to Mark Aston for this photograph.

Delighted to have been shortlisted for the GM Arts Prize 2017 and to be exhibiting in The Greater Manchester Emerging Contemporary Arts Prize Summer Exhibition 2017.  From my series The land behind, Polaroid on Dibond.
More here

With thanks to Jason Lock. The exhibition continues until 29 July 2017.

Thanks to Rachel Dargavel-Leafe for such a lovely exhibition in the Lauriston Gallery and excellent PV at The Waterside Arts Centre, it was good to meet the other artists and see how we've all moved on in the past 12 months.  Thanks to everyone who came. The exhibition continues until 29 July 2017.