This is the first major book on the more than 20-year history of Beaconsfield, an important artists association in Canada founded by two trained painters David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin. Their story of curatorial innovation and experimentation over the years will inspire any burgeoning artist or curator.
The first major book on Beaconsfield's history, this exciting publication is both the record of an artists' organisation, and that of an expansive curatorial journey within the art world taken by two artists trained as painters.
From the first organisational forays within the creative partnership of David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin culminating in the Nosepaint event of May 1991, this book then follows their journey from Nosepaint to the formal opening of Beaconsfield in September 1995 to the present, profiling how each project and initiative was approached with the same ethic and ethos throughout a collective 'Chronic Epoch'.
The significance of the book's story is as much an important record as it is an inspiration to any burgeoning artist or curator. To look at the self-created etymology behind the name says as much; Beaconsfield: to offer a space for artists and audiences to experience high quality (hence beacon), challenging, new artworks in a wide range (hence field) of contemporary visual art media through commissions, group exhibitions, performances, publications and events.
Published in partnership with the organisation, in heavily visual sections and with contributions from those such as Bob and Roberta Smith, Gustav Metzger, Paul Hobson and Julian Stallabrass, Chronic Epoch relays the story of a space constructed with a desire to 'fill a niche between the institution, the commercial and the 'alternative' and indeed how it has sustained its own ethical and artistic standards throughout and fostered a fresh take on contemporary art in the process.
