NEWS:
Hospital Rooms Commission
I will be working with arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms over the next months to make work for a new ward at Torbay hospital.
December 2021
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Sometimes Biting, Sometimes Bit...
Exhibition, talk and workshop with Feral Practice at The Urban Room, Kent. The event was part of Folkestone Fringe October 2021
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London Open
I have been selected for the Whitechapel Gallery Open which will be on show June 2022
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Companions
Forum Box, Helsinki
August 2021
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Plymouth Contemporary
Exhibition at Karst + Levinsky Gallery
July 2021
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Estival
Exhibition and workshop at Weven
June/July 2021
SATURDAY 3RD JULY, 10.30AM
Artist and survival skills enthusiast Anna Chrystal Stephens talks about foraging and hedgerow foods in the context of living strategies, modern rural survival techniques, art practice and land relationships.
Understand more about why wild food is important today and hear how she’s been learning, including advice for beginners, ancient ways, connecting with habitat and folk history. Participate in tasting sessions, make your own natural tea blend and enjoy a cup of acorn coffee.
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Precarious Straits
Exhibition with TOMA and The Old Waterworks
May 2021
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My homespun yarns and recycled twines for sale at Weven
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Od Arts Festival - Rescheduled
My work will be exhibited at Twineworks and OSR projects during Od Arts Festival.
I will also be leading a workshop.
Alone With Everybody
14th - 16th May 2021
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Alive In The Woods
Written contribution to Edgework Journal
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Odd Arts Festival
[Exhibition, Arts Festival]
Alone With Everybody
15th - 17th May 2020
/////POSTPONED//////
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House Work
[Instagram Takeover]
November/December 2019
A series of photographes and narrative for The Edgeworker
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Anorak
[Exhibition]
Hardwick Gallery, Cheltenham
1st November – 28th November 2019
10am - 4pm weekdays
Opening 31st October, 5.30pm - 7.30pm
In conversation with Sarah Bowden
Free & all welcome
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The Long Revolution
[Exhibition]
Ex Baldesarre, Bedford
Andy Holden, Ackroyd & Harvey, Artist Taxi Driver, Becky Beasley, Rustan Stoderling, Mark Baumer, Andrew Kotting, Kitty Clark, Anna Chrystal Stephens
8th June - 13th July
Opening Preview - Saturday 8th June 6-10pm with live performance from the legendary Bohman Brothers
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Anorak at SPACE:
[Reviews]
Contemporary Art Society
Art Forum
Hackney Citizen
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Anorak
[Exhibition]
SPACE Mare Street, London
18 Jan – 23 Mar 2019
Opening Thur 17 Jan, 6 – 9pm
Free & all welcome
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[Talk]
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Art Licks magazine
[Article]
Issue 22 has been co-edited by Miriam Austin and Holly Willats, who have themed the magazine with the title GORSEDD. Invited contributors share interests in mythology, mysticism, ritual, and folklore: referencing past beliefs and experiences as a way to understand current society and its possible futures.
Contributing artists and writers:
The magazine includes new work and writing from Victoria Adam, Iain Ball & Valinia Svoronou (Co-Buddy), Verity Birt, Nathalie Boobis, Anna Bunting-Branch, Anna Chrystal Stephens, Mimosa Echard, Paul Gwilliam, Lewis Hammond, Emily Jones, Hannah Lees, Hadiru Mahdi, Kate Morrell, Lilian Nejatpour, Catarina de Oliveira, Anja Olofgörs, Imran Perretta, Lucy A. Sames, Janne Schäfer & Kristine Agergaard (J&K), Holly Slingsby, SSEA, Laurie Storey, Ayesha Tan Jones, Esther Teichmann, Carla Wright, Vulpes Vulpes.
Launch Saturday 17 March 2018 at Tenderbooks
You can get a copy > h e r e <
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Exploring Wastelands
[Workshop]
Wednesday 11 April 13.00-15.00
A free drop-in event for children & adults with materials provided
Led by artists Carla Wright & Anna Chrystal Stephens
Children will be encouraged to further explore the wasteland as a playspace through various activities for all ages. The children will learn through experimentation, create their own rules & collectively interact with The SPACE & the artist’s installation
The workshop is part of Carla Wright's project: Lot
7 April-15 May 2018, The SPACE, St Johns Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 6HP
Lot is supported by Sussex Community Foundation & Hastings Borough Council. The SPACE is provided courtesy of Network Rail’s Community Scheme which encourages the temporary use of disused sites
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Interview with Axisweb, read it > h e r e <
[Article]
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A Sick Logic
[Book]
The book is available from Site gallery shop, this website, Glen's website and other outlets.
Book Launch [Event]
Thursday 2 November 2017, 6.30pm, Sheffield - save the date
Design: Paul Bailey
Contributions from: Monique Besten, Fernanda Eugenio, Anna Francis, Jake Harries, Cristina Lina, Fiona MacDonald : Feral Practice, Hadiru Mahdi, Dorothée Perin, Sally Pointer & Gareth Riseborough, Richard Prideaux, Laura Sillars, Stefan Szczelkun, Studio Polpo, J.D. Taylor and Carla Wright
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Gang Days
The Edge Art Centre, Bath
[Exhibition]
5th - 22nd July
Tues-Sat, 10AM-4PM
Gang Days is an interactive sculptural installation pieced together from exploration and mapping activities undertaken by Vulpes Vulpes during their spring residency. They have been investigating ancient and modern folklore especially concerning standing stones and boundaries, looking at the history of the University of Bath site and speculating about pre-historical use of land. Drawing connections between the ancient Stanton Drew stone circles and the smaller standing stones in Bushy Norwood (near The Edge), they are also incorporating their own experience of the land into this project.
Stones are often sites of activity; assembly, worship, exchange or conference – acquisition of knowledge; ancient monuments with fluctuating meanings and purposes. Some of their history is uncovered by geological surveys and excavations, but many elements remain a mystery, to be explained with stories. Contemporary folklore is always evolving through oral testimony and gossip. Standing stones can be sites of contemplation, spirituality or frivolity… but are these chosen sites special in terms of geology? Or because of events which have occurred on this land?
This exhibition is happening alongside The Brutalist Playground by Assemble and Simon Terrill.
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A Sick Logic
[Book]
Anna Chrystal Stephens & Glen Stoker
Designed by Paul Bailey
Published by Site Gallery
COMING SOON!
'How do we even begin to have a conversation about the gargantuan problems of finite resources, personal ethics and social change in a frame that renders an individual life seemingly powerless? In an exploration of these subjects, this project has developed with creative vision, deep thinking, provocation and a huge sense of humour and humanity.
Operating precariously on many levels, not least in their treading across the liminal spaces between authorised bodies of thinking enshrined in the establishment, artists synthesise and connect ideas. In exploring micro-actions that could take place in our day-to-day lives (such as collecting edible plants, making fires or learning new DIY skills) the authors connect us to alternate realities. Ideas of human agency, environmental change and expanded complexity are threaded throughout the book; a carefully woven document of the creative leaps between ideas, people and places that have produced a unique body of knowledge. The content collected here is not a linear argument, but rather a set of propositions and experiments drawn together from a range of worlds and disciplines that provoke curiosity and challenge us to think with new patterns.' (Excerpt from Laura Sillars’ introduction)
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Interview with AQNB
[Article]
Discussion of Vulpes Vulpes residency and exhibition at The Edge art centre.
By Human Pony
– encountering an ancient standing stone you are in receipt of a gesture made sometimes thousands of years ago, but is the meaning of the gesture and of the stone itself transcendent or is it somehow lost?
READ IT HERE ---> AQNB, Vulpes Vulpes
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Symposium at Hardwick Gallery
[Talk]
Wednesday 7th June 2017, 10:00-16:00
Cultural Dreaming: The gallery’s role in social activism
Who is responsible for creating social spaces? As locations for engaging with ideas and possibilities, as rehearsal spaces for how we might live, galleries offer a public facility to focus on what we need from local infrastructure and explore what makes a community. We have invited practitioners in the field to share knowledge and discuss their work in a day-long symposium.
Ania Bas is Curator of Local Audiences at PEER gallery, Hoxton
Emily Gee works on the Collaborations Programme at FACT, Liverpool
Viviana Checchia is Public Engagement Curator at CCA, Glasgow
Anna Chrystal Stephens is a member of Vulpes Vulpes, artist collective
Jean Boyd is a theorist and lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire
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Multi-voices in Research: Co-Interpreting Art and Architecture
[Contribution]
Organised by Jon Orlek at East Street Arts, Leeds
6th May 2017
A one day symposium, bringing together researchers and practitioners interested in using multiple voices in research. The symposium will focus on how artistic practices can be interpreted through collective storytelling, mapping and designing. Speakers will be invited from a range of disciplines including art practice, architectural research and creative writing.
Contributors: Paula McCloskey, Julia Udall, Goran Vodicka, Jon Orlek, Sophie Raikes, Ben Cornish, Vulpes Vulpes (remote contribution), Jon Cannon, Cathryn Ladd, Matthew Cheeseman, Season Butler, Lydia Catterall, Karen Watson, Katherine Quinn
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The New Statesman
[Article]
Mentioned in JD Taylor's piece The Working Class Revolts.
In relation to our activity: Survey, in Sheffield
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Piece in Bath Life by Lisa Evans on stones, referencing our project at The Edge.
[Article]
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Gang Days
[Residency]
The Edge, University of Bath
February - May 2017
Vulpes Vulpes will investigate the history of land usage and ownership within and around the University of Bath site, through walks, night time mapping and urban exploration. During the residency the group will look at local folklore and geology, changing land use and migration of people, identifying objects and stories to use as starting points.
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The Know Show
[Exhibition]
The Edge Art Centre, Bath
6th May – 10th June 2017
Gayle Chong Kwan, Will Shannon, Owen Griffiths, Steven Pippin, Vulpes Vulpes, Emma Smith
Initiated via installations in the Edge’s larger gallery and an event space in the adjacent gallery, The Know Show is a ‘live’ exhibition looking at the ways human knowledge is distributed in society.
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Foxing
[Performance/event]
With Feral Practice
Peer Gallery, London
8th February 2017
As part of Fiona MacDonald’s Night of Foxing I will be leading a workshop ‘Eating like a fox’.
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Time & Space Residency
[Residency]
Metal, Southend
14 - 19 November 2016
Vulpes Vulpes
Personal and group research into Play and Economics. Brainstorming, reading, discussions, landscape. Investigating how economic history/theory can be understood through play.
Also including a workshop for Arts Award participants devised during the residency.
Vulpes Vulpes is a collective of four artists: Laurie Storey, Carla Wright, Hadiru Mahdi, and Anna Chrystal Stephens.
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Transmission Lecture
[Talk]
SHU, Sheffield
8 November 2016
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The Woodland World
[Performance/activity/talk]
Soreham Woods and Village Hall, Kent
26 July - 27th August 2016
Fiona MacDonald: Thinking and Making with Woodland
Anna Chrystal Stephens: The History of Fire-Making
Glenn Morris: Tree Knowledge, Science and Folklore
Molly Maitland: Herbal Medicine from the Woods
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Know-How
The Edge Art Centre, Bath
[Exhibition]
17 September - 22 October 2016
Avant Gardening, Emma Smith, Gayle Chong Kwan, Sandra Porter, Sovay Berriman, Vulpes Vulpes, LOW PROFILE, The Decorators. Will Shannon
Including contributions from creatives, tradespersons, academics, conservationists and local residents Know-How celebrates the importance of sharing and applying knowledge in our society. The exhibition features an active learning zone, resource room, screening room and lecture hall, unfolding through a unique schedule of events as a live or participatory experience. Activities showcase the wealth of practical and transferable knowledge held by communities in the region. Know-How offers skill-sharing sessions in bee-keeping, plumbing, gardening, sustainable living and design as well as discoverable insights into the natural world, social history, science, technology and the human body.
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There Are No Firm Rules
[Residency and Exhibition]
Site Gallery, Sheffield
26 July - 27th August 2016
For their summer Platform residency, artists Anna Chrystal Stephens and Glen Stoker will use field research and practical experimentation to explore the fundamentals of life: food, shelter, community and a reconnection with the land. Presenting their collection of DIY manuals, craft and survival books, the gallery will become part library, part out-door training centre and part studio. Offering a range of walks, talks and hands on workshops, alongside making their own prints, photography, sculpture and installation, they will open up new possibilities around how we structure every day life.
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AHRC national event: Common Ground,
[Event/workshop]
York
21st June 2016
Known/Unknown/Known
Anna Chrystal Stephens & Glen Stoker
Common Ground is a celebration of the AHRC Commons community. This gathering is an opportunity to share knowledge and expertise, to establish new networks and projects, to be inspired, and to further develop the case for the importance of arts and humanities research.The Common Ground activities are run by participants from organisations across the UK including Higher Education Institutions, cultural organisations, museums and galleries such as the British Library, National Archives, Science Museum, Tate London, the National Railway Museum, Sage Gateshead, Rolls-Royce and community groups.
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The Artist Proposes
[Exhibition]
Site Gallery, Sheffield
17 December 2015 – 16 January 2016
The Artist Proposes is a showcase exhibition offering insight into the Platform residency programme, exploring the ideas and enthusiasms of six future artists in residence:
Beatriz Olabarrieta, Lucy Beech & Edward Thomasson, Laura Wilson, Anna Chrystal Stephens & Glen Stoker
From sculptures that speak, to focus groups that transition into game-like performances; from artists hunting for mushrooms, to dancers and bread bakers working together in the gallery – Platform residencies enable interaction between artists and the public at the work-in-progress stage.
This unique artistic development scheme turns Site Gallery into an open studio where the creative process becomes the artwork on view. We pair each artist with a mentor, commission a new critical text and encourage debate and discussion through a vibrant series of public programme events.
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Platform Study Day
[Seminar]
Site Gallery, Sheffield
21st November 2015
Join the 2016 Platform artists as they share the initial ideas that will shape their residencies: from live performance and dance in the gallery to bread baking and survivalist techniques.
Platform is a nationally unique development programme, which gives our galleries over to an artist, or group of artists, to make new work in public. Following the exciting Platform residency projects developed in 2014/15, applicants from across the UK were invited to propose an idea for which they need time, space and investment to develop to proof of concept stage.
A panel, including curators and young people from our Society of Explorers, selected 6 artists to develop 4 new projects in 2016. The selection criteria can be summed up as ‘why make this work in public?’
This Platform Study Day will encourage discussion and debate, exploring the thoughts, dreams and concepts of artists.
Joining them at this event will be a group of Platform alumni, members of the selection panel and Site Gallery’s curatorial team.
The event will explore the strange and wonderful place between private practice and public participation that emerges from each Platform residency: what is the benefit of going behind the scenes and giving access not only to the end product, but also to the creative process? How can the work benefit from the insights and enthusiasms of Site Gallery’s audiences?
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MIDDLESEX FILTER BED GUERRILLA SCULPTURE PARK
[Exhibition]
Tremelo Projects, London
2 – 4 OCTOBER 2015
An outdoor sculpture exhibition and performance programme by Tremolo Projects at the Middlesex Filter Beds
ARTISTS:
Julie Hill, Scott Massey, Mark Siebert, Paula Smolarska, Anna Chrystal Stephens, Phill Wilson Perkin and Samantha Taylor, Jonathan Trayner and Robin Fencott
At the edge of the Hackney Marshes and Clapton lies the Middlesex Filter Beds. It is a beautiful old industrial space built to stop the spread of cholera in the 19th century. Since its closure in 1969 it has been taken over by nature and the casual stroller. Tremolo Projects has invited nine artists to present sculpture and / or performance in guerrilla fashion using the format of the sculpture park for the duration of the Art Licks Weekend.
Exhibition map and details will be posted by Thursday 1 October
Part of Art Licks Weekend Festival 2015
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The Blue
[Exhibition/events]
Bermondsey, London September - November 2015
The Blue Project is a collaboration between London artists and community groups in Bermondsey (Southwark Irish Pensioners Project, Bermondsey Community Kitchen and Blue Anchor Library), working together over a three month period for a series of workshops, a publication, trips and installations. The project culminates in a dinner party in Roule Road community hall with food cooked by the Community Kitchen and, served to the Irish Pensioners by the artists.
Over the Art Licks Weekend 2nd - 4th October, Vulpes Vulpes gallery will be an open studio.
Elaine Reynolds, Berry Patten, Hadiru Maudi, Carla Wright, Anna Chrystal Stephens. Laurie Storey
>> Blue Project blog
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S T R U C T U R A L O B J E C T/ Houseproject 27
[Exhibition]
June 2015
A structure was built inside a living room, mimicking domestic space. The structure is a collaboration between Linda Persson & Sophie Yetton. Inside the structure various artists are shown:
Bridget Currie, Alison Currie, Peter Eccher, Lauren Godfrey, Kate McMillan, Benjamin A Owen, Linda Persson, Laure Prouvost, Ross Taylor, Anna Chrystal Stephens & (Andy Warhol in spirit)
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Go To Ground - Vulpes Vulpes
[Book]
February 2015
Go to Ground is an account of the first five years of Vulpes Vulpes, containing archival material that documents the workings of the project, as well as commissioned texts and contributions from artists. This book is an insight into the motivations of the group and an informal resource for artist-led activity. - a v a i l a b l e - h e r e -
Contributors: Patrick Goddard, Berry Patten, Emily Ballard, Copenhagen Place (Justyna Kabala & Paul Gwilliam), Christopher Rawcliffe, Hadiru Mahdi, Christina Laskaridis, Verity-Jane Keefe, Laurie Storey, Anna Chrystal Stephens, Glen Stoker, Reuben Bowles, Adam Burton, Ben Garrod, Carla Wright.
Designed by Paul Bailey
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Artist's Talk at Exeter Phoenix
[Talk]
Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
5pm 27th May 2015
The Last Wednesday Series. A series of artists’ talks in association with Exeter College’s Centre for Creative Industries.
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PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS
[Exhibition]
Curated by Shaun Doyle & Mally Mallinson
Exeter Phoenix, Exeter January 2015
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS is an exhibition curated by Shaun Doyle & Mally Mallinson, exploring contemporary artists’ manifestos and works inspired by the manifesto format.
‘Racing around a fireball is a blob of filth on which ladies stockings are sold and Gauguins prized, truly a most deplorable business…’ WALTER SERNER, 1918
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS has been conceived as a collection of contemporary artists manifestos. Celebrating the somewhat foolish idea of declaring your intentions to the world with the hope of changing it…
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS Is a tragi-comedy of baroque minimalist clownery, grandiose and ill conceived in the extreme…
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS Is like an over stuffed letterbox at election time and a landfill of a publication.
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS Embraces all the half-baked ideas, dead ends and prejudiced rants that make artists manifestos wondrous artworks in themselves.
PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS Accepts the paucity of the written word and in an unbridled display of generosity has included images made in the spirit of the manifesto.
If art critics behave like naturalists trying to ascertain an artist’s complexity from a small sample of their droppings, then PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS is a smorgasbord of odorous delights. – Doyle and Mallinson