In Collaboration With: Triangle Arts Trust & The A Foundation Liverpool Hope University

COAST is an artist-led initiative, previously registered as Cyfuniad International Artists Limited and maintains the same company number, objects and articles of association as Cyfuniad.
The Workshop Model: COAST is based on The Triangle workshop model which brings together a group of 20-25 artists to work together and share ideas and methods for a period of two weeks. Workshops are typically initiated by a local working group of independent artists and are separate from museums or academic environments as workshops are peer-to-peer projects that promote “learning by exchange” with one another. For this reason, workshops focus on process instead of the final product and don’t have a specific theme leading the production of work.

At the end of the two weeks, the workshop hosts an Open Day, which is both a celebration of the project as well as a way of involving the local public in the developments and results of the workshops. Open Days have a strong local impact as the unusual nature of the workshops generates expectation and curiosity amongst local communities who have a chance of seeing first hand the process of making work and talking to local and international artists about their work and experiences.

This emphasis on experimentation, process, dialogue and exchange makes the workshop fundamentally different from most other international platforms such as biennials or exhibitions. Cyfuniad and COAST are part of the global network of workshops based on the Triangle model first established by Sir Anthony Caro and Sir Robert Loder in New York in 1982. (Visit the Triangle Arts Trust Website at: ww.trianglearts.org) Over the past 24 years the network has extended to more than 30 countries worldwide, with more than 3,500 artists participating.

COAST 2007 worked with a major new partner in 2007, the A Foundation, who have generously agreed to the Blade and Furnace spaces of the Greenland Street complex (a major venue in the Liverpool 2008 Biennial) being exclusively available to COAST.

Twelve international artists, and a further 4 from the UK (outside of Liverpool), will be invited to participate in the Workshop with a broad geographical and disciplinary spread.
Those invited will range from emergent, established and mid-career artists, creating a dynamic exchange across age, experience, gender, social and cultural backgrounds.
In addition to the Working Group artists the UK Artists from outside Liverpool who have been nominated are:

Gayle Chong Kwan London Sculpture/installation
Mary Oliver Manchester Film/Performance/installation
Matt Frank London Sculpture
Harold Offeh London Photography
International artists who have been nominated are:
Abu Nasser Robii Bangladesh mixed media/performance
Lara Baladi Egypt mixed media/photography
Rui Assubuiju Mozambique photography
Diala Khasawnih Jordan mixed media/painting
Juan David Mdinia Colombia mixed media/installation
Humberto Diaz Cuba mixed media/installation
Mriganka Assam video
Italo Zuffi Italy sculpture
Adrian Meatek Libya painting
Matoba Satomi Japan mixed media