New Artist in Residence at the Coachworks

Posted on 19 February 2020

Exploring the heritage of Dover Place and working with Hitachi Rail Europe are among the top priorities of the new Artist in Residence at The Coachworks site.

Liz Wilson, who started her residency in early February, will be working with visitors, partners and the local community to create artworks which explore the industrial heritage of Dover Place. The residency will last for seven months, and will be managed jointly between Ashford Borough Council and the Coachworks. Funding for the project is coming from section 106 funding for public art from the Connect38 development.

The Rhythm Machine, 2017 Liz Wilson
The Rhythm Machine, 2017

In the coming months I will be creating new works responding to the industrial heritage of Ashford, and its overall significance within Kent.

Liz Wilson, Artist in Residence at The Coachworks

Liz said: “I am really looking forward to working with local businesses and community groups from Ashford. In the coming months I will be creating new works responding to the industrial heritage of Ashford, and its overall significance within Kent.

“I will be drawing on my experience of working with communities within a manufacturing context, exploring notions of labour, connectivity, repetition and dissemination and how these have changed through the lens of technology and automation. Using sound, moving image and sculpture I will be examining local histories through site visits and archives to re-imagine these spaces. The works produced during the residency period will culminate in an exhibition open to the public later this year.”

Conjoining the Effect of the Real by Liz Wilson
Conjoining the Effect of the Real, 2018

Cllr Peter Feacey, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Tourism and Leisure, said: “We are excited to see the artworks that Liz creates for us from this residency. It is a great opportunity for the history and heritage of the area to be translated into something creative that we can all enjoy.”

Liz’s work includes visuals and explorations into sound, exploring the relationships between industrialisation, technologies and print. Her most recent exhibitions include Taoxichuan Museum of Art, China and Parc de la Villette, Paris. She has won several notable awards, including Arts Council Development Funding (2020), The Augustus Martin Print Prize, Eaton Fund, YLCE Award, University for the Creative Arts Professional Development Grant and the Pushing Print Solo Award and Bursary.

The Optical Mechanical, 2019 by Liz wilson
The Optical Mechanical, 2019

This residency is a great opportunity for the history and heritage of the area to be translated into something creative that we can all enjoy.

Cllr Peter Feacey, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Tourism and Leisure

In recent months Liz received the first completely digital art commission for ‘Art in Manufacturing’, the headline-commissioning programme for the National Festival of Making (Supported by Arts Council England and Deco Publique). In recent years her work has been shortlisted for Bloomberg New Contemporaries, Stanley Picker Tutorship and selected as ‘One to Watch’ by editor in chief for ‘After Nyne’ magazine.