Information about past curatorial projects. See Portfolio for information about recent artwork.
SYSON GALLERY
SYSON was an independent contemporary art gallery based in Nottingham which was curated and organised by Jennie Syson. It hosted a gallery, artists’ shop, studio and residency spaces and provided a hub for a growing artist led scene in the city.
Funded by Arts Council England, Nottingham Creative Quarter and private sponsorship.
Over five years Syson Gallery spanned 3 venues in Nottingham’s Lacemarket. Curating exhibitions at the gallery and at international art fairs. Hosting auctions, producing several publications, a podcast and reading group alongside the main programme. Click arrows below for full listings.
Beck Street 2013 – 2015
- OUT OF THIS WORLD March – April 2013 with Alexander Stevenson, Geoff Diego Litherland, Kashif Nadim Chaudhry, Matteus Domingos, John Newling , Yelena Popova, Blue Firth, Candice Jacobs
- RELIQUARY May – June 2013 with Oliver Tirré, Tomas Chaffe, Lauren O’Grady
- STRANGE BUSINESS June – July 2013 with Gordon Dalton, Beth Shapeero, Oli Raymond-Barker, Emily Speed, Lois Gardner Sabet
- PLEASURE VOYAGE September – November 2013 with Candice Jacobs
- THE FAMILY BIBLE & OTHER FABLES: WORKS FROM THE ROBERT HOLCOMBE ARCHIVE 1948 -1978 December 2013
- SPARE ROOM January 2014 Artists Residency with Alison Lloyd, Yelena Popova, Neil Dixon & Rebecca Lee
- INTERFACE March 2014 with Liam Aitken (recipient of the SYSON gallery exhibition prize at Nottingham Castle Open, 2013)
- SHEEP SKETCHBOOK April – June 2014 in collaboration with Georgina Barney & Antenna Featuring Maria Benjamin, Kashif Nadim Chaudry, Katrin Bohm, Sunoj D, Wapke Feenstre, Seamus Heaney, Tilly Parker, Richard Wentworth, Francois Materasso
- ZANG TUMB TUMB August, 2014 artists book & Print Fair with Triple OG
- OPEN BARBERS September, 2014 with Felix & Greygory in Collaboration with Nottingham Contemporary.
- MANCHESTER CONTEMPORARY September 2014 with Candice Jacobs, Liam Aitken, Geoff Diego Litherland, Yelena Popova, Kashif Nadim Chaudry
- 505050 AUCTION November, 2014 at Antenna Fundraiser featuring Sean Edwards, Marianna Simnett, Gordon Dalton, Yelena Popova, Candice Jacobs, Neil Dixon, Bruce Asbestos, Tristram Aver, Robert Holcombe, Mimei Thompson, John Newling, Alexander Stevenson, Chris Clinton, Ralph Anderson, Rob Van Beek, Andrew Bracey, Helen Hamblin, Thomas Wright, Jock Mooney, Oliver Braid, Susan Finlay, Jake Kent, Bobby Paul Sayers, Jackie Berridge, Annelise Krueger, Becky Beinart, Chie Hosaka Soneca, Ikran Abdille, Alison Lloyd, James E Smith, Rebecca Ounstead, John Ploughman, Louisa Chambers, Andy Jackson, Simon Raven, Dave Evans, Ben Sadler, Joey Holder, Fran Disley, Liam Aitken, David Severn.
- IN DIALOGUES at London Art Fair. December, 2014 Selected by Anna Colin, In collaboration with Laveronica Arte Contemporanea, Sicily. Presenting Yelena Popova
- SLIMVOLUME 2014 edition of prints/ crowdfunder with Blue Firth, Yelena Popova, Rebecca Ounstead, Jake Kent, Neil Dixon, Robert Holcombe, Liam Aitken
- CRYPTOPRESERVATION May, 2015 curated by Division of Labour, Worcester with Anna Francis, Sam Curtis, Nathaniel Pitt
- STUDIO CAPRI June – July, 2015 curated by Studio Capri, Birmingham Ruth Claxon, Meghan Allbright, Simon & Tom Bloor, Andrew Gillespie, Andrew Lacon and Brian J Morrison
- SCOUSE HOUSE July – August, 2015 curated by MODEL, Liverpool with Emily Speed, Kevin Hunt, Fran Disley, Catrin Davis, Lewis Wright, Gregory Herbert, Imogen Sidworthy, James Quinn, Jason Thompson, Joe Orr, Leo Fitzmaurice, Linny Venebles, Madeline Hall, Rosalind Nashashibi
- GIORNI SEGRETI September, 2015 with Giovani De Lazzari in collaboration with LaVeronica Arte Contemporanea, Sicily
- ORCHIDEE VANILLE October, 2015 with Susan Finlay & Bruce Ingram
Interface by Liam Aitken, 2014 
Launch Party at Beck Street, 2013 
Out of this World, 2013 
Interface by Liam Aitken, 2014 
Pleasure Voyage by Candice Jacobs, 2013bs 
Studio Capri, guest curated project in 2015 
Syson Gallery at Manchester Contemporary 2015 
Rebecca Lee doing a soundcheck during the Spare Room residency in 2014 
Alison Lloyd during Spare Room Residency at Beck Street, 2014 
Ruth Claxon, installation during Studio Capri’s gallery takeover in 2015 
Yelena Popova during Spare Room Residency, 2014 
Neil Dixon, 2013 505050 Auction 
Ralph Anderson, 505050 Auction, 2014 
Sheep Sketchbook. Installation by Georgina Barney at Confetti, Nottingham, 2014 
Liam Aitken, 2014 
Candice Jacobs, 2013 
Scouse House guest curated exhibition 2015
High Pavement 2015
- MASS May – June 2015 with Lotti V Closs (recipient of the SYSON gallery exhibition prize at Nottingham Castle Open, 2014)
- CORNUCOPIA July 2015 with Darren Banks, Elizabeth Rowe, Holly Davey, Yelena Popova
- UNDER THE SUN July – August 2015 with Alexander Massouras
- I GUESS, ANYTHING CAN BE INTERESTING IF YOU LOOK AT IT LONG ENOUGH September – October 2015 with Oliver Tirré
- BROUGHT SOMETHING BACK October – November 2015 with Blue Firth
- SYSON GALLERY’s High Pavement venue also hosted Dohm Shop and Soft Circuit Noticeboard Project curated by Landfill Editions & Good Press with Edwin Burdiss, Quintessa Matranga, Hannah Waldron & Leon Sadler. Studio holders at this time were Blue Firth & Hugh Frost.
Brought Something Back: Blue Firth, 2015 
Mass: Lotti V Closs, 2015 
I guess, anything can be interesting if you look at it long enough: Oliver Tirré, 2015 
Under the Sun: Alexander Massouras, 2015 
Cornucopia: Darren Banks, Elizabeth Rowe, Yelena Popova, 2015 
I guess, anything can be interesting if you look at it long enough: Oliver Tirré, 2015 
Brought Something Back: Blue Firth, 2015 
Mass: Lotti V Closs, 2015 
Evening event at Dohm Shop, 2015 
In Dialogue with Yelena Popova. London Art Fair 2014 
Mass: Lotti V Closs, 2015 
Cornucopia: Darren Banks, Elizabeth Rowe, Yelena Popova, 2015 
I guess, anything can be interesting if you look at it long enough: Oliver Tirré, 2015 
In Dialogue with Yelena Popova. London Art Fair 2014 
Under the Sun: Alexander Massouras, 2015 
In Dialogue with Yelena Popova. London Art Fair 2014 
Mass: Lotti V Closs, 2015 
Brought Something Back: Blue Firth, 2015 
Cornucopia: Darren Banks, Elizabeth Rowe, Yelena Popova, 2015 
Under the Sun: Alexander Massouras, 2015 
Brought Something Back: Blue Firth, 2015 
Cornucopia: Darren Banks, Elizabeth Rowe, Yelena Popova, 2015
Weekday Cross 2015 – 2018
- THE LAST ISLANDS + HUMAN NATURE TABLE March – May 2016 with John Newling
- NATURE’S APE June – August 2016 with Berndnaut Smilde, Jeremy Millar, Mimei Thompson, Paul Harraway
- MANCHESTER CONTEMPORARY September 2016 PRACTICE SURFACES: Oliver Tirré
- REVELATIONS October – December 2016 S Mark Gubb multisite exhibition projects in collaboration with G39, Cardiff and START Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery
- POLTERGEIST January 2017 with Leomi Sadler (recipient of the SYSON gallery exhibition prize at Nottingham Castle Open, 2014)
- NINE PAINTERS February – March 2017 with Mali Morris, Eleanor Bartlett, Richard Kenton Web, Steph Goodger, Stephen Chambers, Sean Cummins, Selma Parlour, Michael Simpson, Gabriella Boyd.
- MORAL DECISIONS May – June 2017 with Tom Pitt
- SUMMER AUCTION July 2017 with Eleanor Bartlett, Sharon Hall, Sarah Poots, Alison Lloyd, Lynn Fulton, Yelena Popova, Juliet Goodden, Zoe Spowage, Lara Davies, Fay Nicholson, Louisa Chambers, Jasleen Kaur, Lotti V Closs, Candice Jacobs, Mimei Thompson, Aly Heyler, Claire Price, Hannah Waldron, Blue Firth, Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Joanne Masding, Kelly Best, Jessica Wilson, Ikran Abdille
- MANCHESTER CONTEMPORARY September 2017 with S Mark Gubb, Blue Firth, Sarah Poots, Yelena Popova, Fay Nicholson, Tom Pitt, John Newling, Candice Jacobs, Oliver Tirré, Bethan Lloyd Worthington
- THE AUTHORITIES December 2017 – January 2018 in collaboration with Division of Labour, Herald Street. Rob Flint.
- SYSON GALLERY at Weekday Cross housed studios, Dohm Shop with Blue Firth and hosted regular reading room events, podcasts and artists talks. Studio holders at this time were Sarah Poots, Hannah Waldron, Victor Simāo, Hugh Frost, Alex Crispin and Paul Isherwood.
Moral Decisions: Tom Pitt, 2017 
The Last Islands: John Newling Launches Weekday Cross 2016 
Nine Painters, Weekday Cross, 2017 
Revelations: S Mark Gubb, 2016 Weekday Cross 
Nature’s Ape: Berndnaut Smilde, 2016 
Moral Decisions: Tom Pitt, 2017 
Nature’s Ape: Mimei Thompson Launch of Last Islands, Weekday Cross, 2016 
Revelations. Presentation at START Art Fair, Saachi Gallery with S Mark Gubb, 2017 
Nine Painters, Weekday Cross, 2017 
Nine Painters, Weekday Cross, 2017 
Moral Decisions: Tom Pitt, 2017 Weekday Cross 
The Authorities: Rob Flint, 2017 The Authorities: Rob Flint, 2017 
The Manchester Contemporary, 2017 Stand 
Revelations: S Mark Gubb at START art fair, Saatchi Gallery, 2016 
Nature’s Ape: Berndnaut Smilde, 2016 
Human Nature Tables: John Newling, Weekday Cross, 2017 
Syson Gallery at Weekday Cross 
Human Nature Tables: John Newling, 2016 
Nature’s Ape: Mimei Thompson, 2016 
The Last Islands: John Newling, 2016 
Dohm Shop at Weekday Cross
HINTERLAND
Hinterland comprised 30 site specific public art projects along the River Trent. 3 publications, 2 conferences. Hinterland also produced residencies, a reading room programme and several internships for artists and early career curators.
Funded by Arts Council England, Nottingham City Council, and the Greater Nottingham Partnership.
Hinterland was a five year artist led project comprising a series of offsite works situated along the banks of the River Trent in Nottingham. Different work manifested alongside water and its environs between 2006-2011.
Evoking thoughts of boundaries or edges, the initiative grew in stages, happening just on the periphery of the city taking the 30 tributaries of the Trent as inspiration. 30 separate elements in the project represented the different streams feeding into a larger body of water. As well as being a metaphor for naturally occurring streams, each artist’s individual project will ‘paid tribute’ to the geographical location.
The Styx. Commission for Hinterland Projects with Rob Sweere in collaboration with The National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierpont. 2009 
Cycle Powered Cinema with film programme curated by Annexinema for Hinterland Projects, 2010. (Underneath Clifton Bridge) 
The Clearing. Commission by John Newling For Hinterland Projects 2010 in Beeston.
HINTERLAND PROJECTS 2006 -2011
- Full listings coming soon
further information coming soon…
OTHER SITE SPECIFIC CURATORIAL PROJECTS
ORCHARD: NEVILLE GABIE
Organising a site-specific public art commission for Sneinton Market and surrounding community commissioned by Nottingham City Council. Planting over 100 varieties of local apple species across the Sneinton area, including the market itself. Curating a complementary series of off-site events and exhibitions working with local artists and communities in Sneinton.
Funded by Nottingham City Council, Commissioned by Contemporary Art Society.
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FESTIVALS & CITY WIDE EVENTS
WORLD EVENT YOUNG ARTISTS 2012
Working with a team to present 1000 Young Artists in various venues across the city of Nottingham. Responsible for organising social events for visiting international partners and devising participatory events for the general public during WEYA.
Funded by Arts Council England, Nottingham Creative Quarter and private sponsorship.
BRITISH ART SHOW 7 FRINGE: SIDESHOW 2010
Sideshow 2010 was a major, independently organised fringe festival that ran alongside the British Art Show 7 in Nottingham, taking place between October and December 2010. It was designed to showcase the local Nottingham art scene, acting as a “come-out party” for the city’s artists and artist-led groups.
As Coordinator, Jennie was responsible for fundraising, partnerships and support in kind from local venues and businesses to host over 150 emerging artists projects, and 15 new commissions in and around the city
Funded by Arts Council England, Nottingham City Council and Igniting Ambitions. in collaboration with Hayward Touring and The British Art Show.
further information coming soon…
FOR FULL CV SEE ABOUT SECTION
Jennie Syson 