Ovenden Contemporary is pleased to support
the 'Different Journeys'
project......
Copyright of images belongs to the Artist.
Copyright of promotional material belongs to
Ovenden Contemporary (Art Promotions) Limited.
Any un-authorised use is strictly prohibited. All
rights are reserved.
(c) 2006 Ovenden Contemporary (Art Promotions)
Limited
An Introduction To The Different Journeys
Project:
"Even today, with the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse throughout the UK, discussion of the subject remains largely confined to criminal issues. These range between theft and muggings to feed habits, disorder and anti-social behaviour on the streets, and the huge profits from international trade in drugs.
Images aimed at making the public ‘aware’ of the problems tend to be of individuals at the extremes of dependency; sick, dysfunctional, chaotic etc. At best, these representations are alien to the majority of people because they are so far removed from their own experiences, and at worst, they instil a real fear of the subject.
Generally speaking, we’re all pretty clear about the nature of journeys: the journey to and from the office that entails being stuck in traffic for hours; the journey from home to the park with the kids; the welcome journey to the loo after trying to escape that someone who has far too many “just one more things” to say; the journey to somewhere hot and interesting after a tough and trying year; the headline-capturing incredible journey of the woman who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean with her mother
The point is that life is about journeys – good, bad, passionate, mundane, epic, ill advised or incomplete, literal and metaphorical. They can change us, sometimes even forever. We understand the nature of journeys we wouldn’t make ourselves in a million years, such as that of the woman and her mum in the rowing boat. We respect them for doing it. We know that what happens on the way is critical. We know they arrived, possibly a bit battered, but safe, and probably changed forever by the experience.
This project is about revealing the different journeys individuals make before arriving at a problem with or through drugs, alcohol or both. These are journeys that are, often, ‘secret’. And those who do know do not look on as they did the woman and her mum in a boat. They don’t wonder at the risks encountered and the strength that brought about survival. Most will determine that the traveller ‘shouldn’t have gone there’. The assumption is always that the traveller knew where he or she was going. Yet, we all make journeys we wouldn’t have made with the gift of hindsight. Factors beyond our control can result in our deviating from the better-travelled paths.
This is the opportunity to step aside judgement and to help others to do so in the future.
We hope that the efforts of all those who get involved with this project will help towards replacing prejudice with tolerance, and ignorance with understanding. In turn, the greater awareness that is achieved may result in more support for the many excellent agencies struggling to provide services for people who ‘shouldn’t have gone there’."
(Source: Different Journeys Project/CAN)
How Ovenden Contemporary Can Help?:
We can help the project to achieve it's aims in a number of ways-
1. We would like to encourage all of our Artist Members to consider contributing a piece of artwork or writing to the project. This could be a piece that is conceived & produced exclusively for the project or it may be a piece that has already been produced. Either way, the art should have a connection with the theme of the project in some way.
2. We can help to find suitable exhibition/auction venues for the project.
3. We can assist with the marketing and promotion of the project and it's events by listing the exhibitions and auctions in our What's On sections. We can also provide numerous links and notices for the project across our web-sites and blogs.
What Next?:
The first step is to determine how many of our Members are interested in contributing. We aim to make a 'block submission' to the organisers of the project and may be able to negotiate competitive (or possibly free) collections of the donated pieces.
Please could all those of you who are interested in taking part, contact us to let us know so that we can notify the organisers of what to expect from us.
What Will Happen To My Donation?:
You will be donating your work to help achieve the goals of ‘Different Journeys’. To this end, your work could be:
* Used in promotional materials
* Displayed on the project website
* Exhibited
* Displayed in public places in poster or original form
* Auctioned to raise much-needed funds
* Included in a project book
* Seen or discussed in the media
"Even today, with the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse throughout the UK, discussion of the subject remains largely confined to criminal issues. These range between theft and muggings to feed habits, disorder and anti-social behaviour on the streets, and the huge profits from international trade in drugs.
Images aimed at making the public ‘aware’ of the problems tend to be of individuals at the extremes of dependency; sick, dysfunctional, chaotic etc. At best, these representations are alien to the majority of people because they are so far removed from their own experiences, and at worst, they instil a real fear of the subject.
Generally speaking, we’re all pretty clear about the nature of journeys: the journey to and from the office that entails being stuck in traffic for hours; the journey from home to the park with the kids; the welcome journey to the loo after trying to escape that someone who has far too many “just one more things” to say; the journey to somewhere hot and interesting after a tough and trying year; the headline-capturing incredible journey of the woman who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean with her mother
The point is that life is about journeys – good, bad, passionate, mundane, epic, ill advised or incomplete, literal and metaphorical. They can change us, sometimes even forever. We understand the nature of journeys we wouldn’t make ourselves in a million years, such as that of the woman and her mum in the rowing boat. We respect them for doing it. We know that what happens on the way is critical. We know they arrived, possibly a bit battered, but safe, and probably changed forever by the experience.
This project is about revealing the different journeys individuals make before arriving at a problem with or through drugs, alcohol or both. These are journeys that are, often, ‘secret’. And those who do know do not look on as they did the woman and her mum in a boat. They don’t wonder at the risks encountered and the strength that brought about survival. Most will determine that the traveller ‘shouldn’t have gone there’. The assumption is always that the traveller knew where he or she was going. Yet, we all make journeys we wouldn’t have made with the gift of hindsight. Factors beyond our control can result in our deviating from the better-travelled paths.
This is the opportunity to step aside judgement and to help others to do so in the future.
We hope that the efforts of all those who get involved with this project will help towards replacing prejudice with tolerance, and ignorance with understanding. In turn, the greater awareness that is achieved may result in more support for the many excellent agencies struggling to provide services for people who ‘shouldn’t have gone there’."
(Source: Different Journeys Project/CAN)
How Ovenden Contemporary Can Help?:
We can help the project to achieve it's aims in a number of ways-
1. We would like to encourage all of our Artist Members to consider contributing a piece of artwork or writing to the project. This could be a piece that is conceived & produced exclusively for the project or it may be a piece that has already been produced. Either way, the art should have a connection with the theme of the project in some way.
2. We can help to find suitable exhibition/auction venues for the project.
3. We can assist with the marketing and promotion of the project and it's events by listing the exhibitions and auctions in our What's On sections. We can also provide numerous links and notices for the project across our web-sites and blogs.
What Next?:
The first step is to determine how many of our Members are interested in contributing. We aim to make a 'block submission' to the organisers of the project and may be able to negotiate competitive (or possibly free) collections of the donated pieces.
Please could all those of you who are interested in taking part, contact us to let us know so that we can notify the organisers of what to expect from us.
What Will Happen To My Donation?:
You will be donating your work to help achieve the goals of ‘Different Journeys’. To this end, your work could be:
* Used in promotional materials
* Displayed on the project website
* Exhibited
* Displayed in public places in poster or original form
* Auctioned to raise much-needed funds
* Included in a project book
* Seen or discussed in the media
