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The annual bursary offered to support a disabled artist working in the visual arts

About

Adam Reynolds' Curriculum VITAE

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Born in London, 1959. Raised in Buckinghamshire countryside.

Education

1978-82

  • University of Sussex, School of European Studies, with year abroad at l'Université de Dijon.
  • Principal areas of study: medieval european history; 'european' literature from Genesis to Tintin via Aeschylus, Dante and Kafka; French and Italian.

1982-84

  • Sir John Cass School of Art (part-time).

PRINCIPAL EXHIBITIONS

1984\85\86\87

  • Adam Gallery, London.

1988

  • Two person show with Richard Sleeman, Hardware Gallery, London.
  • Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.
  • Fragments of false houses, Pomeroy Purdy Gallery, London.
  • Inheritance, solo exhibition, Adam Gallery, London.

1989

  • Angel on the fly paper, Diorama Gallery, London.
  • Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (commended).
  • From the Alchemist's Library, solo exhibition, Adam Gallery, London.

1990

  • Leicestershire Schools Exhibition.
  • Beyond Alchemy, solo exhibition, Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield.
  • Souls, Diorama Gallery, London.

1991

  • Louder than Words, The Orangery, Gunnersbury Park.
  • Dig, solo exhibition, Adam Gallery
  • Empty Gestures, Diorama Gallery, London.

1992

  • Way out West, Small Mansion Arts Centre, Gunnersbury Park.

1993

  • Defiance, Leicester City Museum and Gallery, touring show.
  • Threshold - unique books, Hardware Gallery, London.
  • Water Works, solo exhibition, Adam Gallery, London.

1994

  • Water Works (expanded), Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
  • Three person show, Fridge Gallery, London.

1995

  • Garden, solo installation, Adam Gallery, London.

1996

  • Flowering up, Bucks County Museum and Art Gallery, (‘Dig’ expanded).

1997

  • Six British Artists, British Council exhibition, Asmara, Eritrea.

2003

  • Relics, installation with Signdance Collective, Zest Pharmacy, Soho, London

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS and COMMISSIONS

1993

  • Of Common Origin - Spastics Society Midland Regional Office, Redditch, Worcs.
  • Large site-specific outdoor sculpture.

1995

  • Hartswood Access Route - Brentwood Essex. Design of all aspects of a woodland walk of about two kilometres commissioned by Brentwood Borough Council with Thames Chase Community Forest.

1999

  • Transformations - Boscombe Day Centre, Bournemouth. Facilitation of design and production of a public art work by clients of the centre.

2000-01

  • Out There - Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey.
  • Total redesign of 12x30 metre internal courtyard, including three interactive artworks: ‘Floating Pond’, ‘Mist Pyramid’ and ‘Steel Ring’.

2001

  • Glasshouses - Boscombe Day Centre, Bournemouth.
  • Series of site-specific indoor and outdoor sculptures (second part of Transformations project).

2002-03

  • Waymarkers - Holton Lee, Dorset.
  • ‘Porch’ installed as one of three sculptures commissioned from disabled artists.

2003

  • Relics - Beatwax Communications, Soho, London.
  • Temporary installation. Collaborative project with Signdance Collective, organised by Dada-south.

2004

  • Missenden House, Little Missenden, Bucks. Large outdoor site-specific installation private client.

2003-2005

  • Worked with SignDance Collective. Projects included Beatwax Relics (2003), Hidden Histories, Sevenoaks (2004), ‘But Beautiful’, (2005)

2005

  • Sisyphus, performance/film project with SignDance Collective, Jefford Horrigan, Terry Smith, Christopher Shanks.

ADAM GALLERY

Opened in late 1984, The Adam Gallery was an 1830's end of terrace house with an older back addition and a 1920's shopfront comprising six main rooms. The building's peculiarities and domestic scale were intended as a deliberate contrast to the 'clean white space'.

In choosing this space Adam was initially driven by a need for studio space, a desire to control how his work was shown, and an idea that an artist-run gallery might be more responsive to the needs of artists than most commercial spaces.

In 1985\6 Adam worked first with Isabelle King, and then with Nici Oxley and Nico de Oliveira. Subsequently artists became more closely involved with running their own shows.

In 1994 Adam recruited a board of artists and others to help run the gallery.

The exhibition programme centred around one person shows of new work (often site-specific), with an annual group exhibition. The gallery averaged ten a year.

Exhibition policy was very loose and diverse, the gallery looked for a seriousness and clarity of intent, and a spirit of exploration in the approach to working. Most artists were little known, with work which responded to the particular nature of the building.

Erratically funded, core costs were met by studio rents, sales commission, and donations from the 'Angels of Adam Gallery'. Artists generally had to meet exhibition expenses, although London Arts Board funded four exhibitions in 1994/5 and three in 1995/6. The gallery had no paid staff. The board decided to close the gallery in 1997.

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

1978 (6 months)

  • Picture Reference Library at J Walter Thompson, London.

1984-89

  • Occasional commercial work in sculpture and graphic design.

1987-2005

  • Workshop tutor, mainly with disabled people or school groups. Employers include: Puppetworks; Shape London; Stackpole Trust; Tate Gallery Liverpool; Whitechapel Art Gallery; Mappin Art Gallery; Camden Arts Centre; Arts Workshop Trust; Bournemouth Borough Council. Projects were sculpture based and ranged from one-offs, to week-long intensives, to regular weekly sessions.

1989-94

  • Member of Art Panel at the Arts Council of Great Britain.

1991-94

  • Trustee of Art Place Trust (Chisenhale studios and gallery).

1993

  • Artist in residence at Camden Arts Centre during Shirazeh Houshiary exhibition.

1993-2001

  • Trustee of Chisenhale Gallery.

1995-2000

  • Member Southern Arts Board. Chair of Regional Artists Advisory Group for Year of the Artist (1999-2001).

DISABILITY BUSINESS

Adam was diagnosed in 1961 as having muscular dystrophy. This led to various involvement in the field of arts and disability.

Television profiles:

1983

  • 'Second to None', Interface Productions to Channel 4, (8 mins).

1984

  • Oxford Road Show, BBC Manchester, (6 mins).

1985

  • 'Vile Bodies', LINK at Central TV, (25 mins).

1989

  • One in Four, BBC, (12 mins).

1990

  • LINK, Central Television, (15 mins).

Other:

1986-2005

  • Trustee (Chair 1990-97) of Shape London, an arts development agency working with disabled and deaf people.

1987-93

  • Member of Arts and Disability Monitoring Committee, Arts Council of Great Britain.

1988-2005

  • Visual arts reviewer for Disability Now (national monthly).

1993-2005

  • Disability Equality Trainer with Jayne Earnscliffe (as The Other Side), working with staff in the museum and gallery sector.

Freelance consultant/speaker/facilitator on issues around management of arts organisations or projects, generally with an emphasis on factors associated with disability. Employers include: Hertfordshire Museums; Russell Cotes Museum and Gallery; Holton Lee; Tate Gallery; Acme; Milton Keynes Council; National Museums of Scotland; Corporation of London.

COLLECTIONS

  • Work in private collections in Britain and overseas.
  • Sheffield City Art Galleries collection.

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