ABOUT US: C&C show contemporary art and applied art from East Anglia

 


 

Contemporary and Country (C&C) present contemporary and applied art by artists and makers based in the east of England in pop-up exhibitions celebrating our rural surroundings.

C&C work with artists and makers inspired by their environment and/or use sustainable natural materials in their production process. Many live and work in rural areas, the villages and small towns of East Anglia. They bring about a closer understanding of the countryside and reveal how their surroundings influence their creative thinking.
 
Country matters
The contemporary artists and makers who C&C display, show us how rural communities have become places where creative practitioners can make their work in relative peace and isolation. Many of the issues that concern them, like the effects of climate change and the strengths and pitfalls of the rural economy are not restricted to the East Anglian region and are shared by artists and makers working in geographically isolated communities located in other regions of the UK. C&C's exhibitions are configured around thematic ideas that provide a forum for some of these issues that share this broad appeal. The variety of the exhibitions attract different audiences from within these communities as well as visitors from other areas of the country, so they do pull in an informed audience that is national in scope. They draw attention to the creative people C&C work with, brokering sales and facilitating greater understanding of their work and production process.
 
What makes the east of England a good location for creative activity?
During the last two decades artists and makers have exited the cramped conditions of cities like London, discovering creative hot spots in settings much more condusive to creative production. The east of England is one of several regional locations where this process has continued unabated as London has become a hostage to its boyant economy and unrestrained development. East Anglian creatives have access to generous workshop and studio space and better working conditions with fewer distractions. The creative community have tended to be centred on areas where there is the possibility of running a studio, gallery or a shop that complements or supports their artistic activity. These are often self-organised, and don't receive regular grant funding, and have to operate on a volunteer basis, so their programs can be intermittent, they tend to be spaces.
 
While fragmented by distance, the east of England does have a few public sector galleries. Some, like Firstsite and the Minories in Colchester, Groundworks in King's Lynn, and The Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, do occasionally display work by local artists. These organisations enjoy a national profile within their chosen specialties, and take in touring shows. But these facilities are few and far between, and there are even fewer adequate commercial galleries in the region that promote artists and makers from the region. Which is why C&C have added to the mix, with a much more inclusive approach to exhibition making, working across disciplines in different locations across the region. Projects are tailored to the way artists and craftspeople actually work today, providing a curated context to show their work.
 
Find us at C&C Pop-Ups
C&C's exhibitions have popped up at Stapleford Granary, Cambridge, The Crypt Gallery, Norwich, The Fermoy Gallery and Shakespeare Barn at The Guildhall, King's Lynn, Houghton Hall Stables, in West Norfolk, at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast, The Granary (Jarrolds), Norwich, and at Creake Abbey near Burnham Market on the North Norfolk coast. For each of these installations the work was chosen to suit the circumstances of the built environment being used, whether that was a purpose built art gallery, the top floor loft-space in a department store, or an ancient chalk barn.
The exhibitions at the Stables Houghton Hall took place between 2017 and 2023. These were large group shows featuring between 30 to 45 artists and makers with an East Anglian connection that were predicated upon a common theme. These big group shows were configured to support solo exhibitions by acclaimed artists: Richard Long, Henry Moore, Damien Hirst Anish Kapoor, Tony Cragg, Ernst Gamperl, John Virtue, and Sean Scully.