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Creative Cardiff

Temporary Autonomous Art

28 April 2015
Hannah Bayfield

Hannah Bayfield

At Creative Cardiff we’re interested in creativity of all kinds across the city, and it’s always good to see artistic events occurring. With another bank holiday just around the corner, Temporary Autonomous Art Cardiff (Celf Awtonomaidd Dros Dro Caerdydd) is looking to add to the city’s creative calendar, with four days of exhibitions, workshops and events.

For a capital city, Cardiff does not currently punch above its weight in terms of art. Artes Mundi has proved popular, with the National Museum, Chapter and Ffotogallery all hosting a number of excellent exhibitions, but to the uninitiated it may seem as though there is a lack of space for the showcasing of art across the city.

With relatively few gallery spaces, grass roots activity is an excellent way of exhibiting and celebrating the city’s creative talent, allowing a wide range of individuals and groups to get involved. From Made in Roath and the Empty Walls project to the exhibitions held at The Abacus, there’s plenty going on if you start to scratch the surface.

11154737_459205987569891_1584413918005089738_oTemporary Autonomous Art (TTA) Cardiff is the latest group addressing this shortfall, by not only offering up a new, temporary space for exhibiting and communicating artistic and cultural endeavour, but doing so on a completely uncurated basis. They say that this “addresses the need for free spaces which are not governed by commercial interests or exclusive institutional standards, creating a fluid space which transforms in unpredictable ways throughout the event as new interventions and responses are added to the mix”, promising “an opportunity to generate new collaborative relationships”.
The explorations into creative hubs and networks across the UK that the Creative Cardiff team has undertaken over recent months have suggested that these spaces for collaboration are key in the fostering of creativity and the generation of new ideas. Whilst TAA is currently only being held over a four-day period, it’s a great opportunity for the creative minds of the city to explore new ideas in what promises to be an open, welcoming and democratic space.

Of particular relevance is the Cardiff Conversation, where local residents have been invited to share their photographs, stories and memories of the city and contribute to the Conversation Wall at TAA, which will base these contributions around a map of the city and invite further ideas related to Cardiff’s past, present and future across the weekend. Given the changes that this city has seen in recent years, and the changes yet to come, from the likelihood of further cuts to public services to the opening of new creative spaces such as the Tramshed, the Cardiff Conversation is an opportunity to explore these changes in a creative way, that may well lead to some surprising findings.

Temporary Autonomous Art Cardiff runs from Wednesday 29th April to Saturday 2nd May at 275 Cowbridge Road East in Canton, and is open from midday to midnight daily. Head to https://taacardiff.wordpress.com for more details.