Production CCA artist announcement

This summer, CCA received nearly 100 applications for Production CCA, our annual open call for emerging artists with a connection to our region. Entries were assessed by curator Remco de Blaaij, writer Maria Fusco, and CCA Director Matt Packer, and selecting a final winner was made more difficult by the high quality and variety of applications the jury received: "Across the board there were many strong applications, with a tendency to refer to the historical use of archives and how to activate these sources in an artistic practice. These concerns connect the region to a larger, general interest in contemporary art practices elsewhere.” (Remco de Blaaij) "The local to the universal, as Irish writer John McGahern has observed, is the site of all things truly interesting and original: submissions for this year's Production CCA demonstrate this strongly.” (Maria Fusco) After careful deliberation, the jury selected Sarah Poots, a Northern Irish artist based in London, as the successful applicant. Sarah studied at both the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools, London. Selected recent exhibitions include Stopped Clocks in Places of Busyness, Fold Gallery, London; Artist of the Day selected by Bridget Smith, Flowers Gallery London, and John Moores Painting Prize, Liverpool. Residencies include the British School at Rome in 2010 and an exchange trip at HGB Leipzig, Germany. In 2011 she was the recipient of an Acme Studios award where she still currently holds a studio. Sarah will create a new series of paintings and will invite a number of writers to respond to the same source imagery that she uses. Her solo exhibition at CCA will open in December of this year and run until early 2015. This year’s shortlisted artists, duos and groups were: Anna Clawson & Nicole Ward, Laura Eldert, and Sophio Medoidze / Laura Duran / Ciaran O’Dochartaigh. Production CCA has been made possible through the generous support of Arts & Business NI, Caldwell & Robinson Solicitors, and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Image: Sarah Poots, S, 2013, Oil on Canvas, 42 x 51 cm