Beyond and outside of the institutional art world is where most of the work gets done. When we talk about “the work” we usually mean the labour and the maintenance. Rarely does it ever mean the object, though the art objects are there too, along with the kids and the dogs and people’s ex-partners and elderly parents and there’s a place for everyone in the canteen to sit. There’s a network which is a map, and this is a prototype, and Studio Cybi are out there as a bright node showing how it can be done. I send the manifesto to my friend who lives rural. I listen to a sound piece on my headphones while walking in a city. Art discourses need this work more than this work needs the art discourses, and more than all that, other artists need work like this to keep on doing it.
Jesse Darling, Artist
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Studio Cybi were so energising to work with. With an incredibly light touch, they brought together a group of works that spoke to each other, and resonated with the special and unusual location they had chosen. Care runs through everything they do, both in practical actions and communication, but also in the thought that entwines all aspects of their programme – I was so pleased to be part of it.
Bethan Lloyd Worthington, Artist
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The energy of Studio Cybi reaches g39 and the light that the Manifesto shone on the importance of understanding art outside of hierarchical structures and beyond metropolitan patterns is a reminder that Wales has a chance to innovate and invent, and a lively commitment to core principles of being in the world – not only the artworld, but the artworld plus the unpredictable messiness of life that it is part of. Rebecca and Iwan and their work with Studio Cybi, alongside their own practices are voices of change and fresh critical thinking that are so crucial for a healthy art scene in Wales.
Anthony Shapland, Creative Director g39
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The importance of projects like Studio Cybi can’t be overstated, Studio Cybi is the node in a network of creatives that facilitates and gives encouragement to outlying, often overlooked, but no less important creative practitioners. It’s projects like this that will be looked back on with gratitude.
Andrew Clwyd, Artist
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Studio Cybi gives meaning to the art movement in Wales. Their projects are local yet expansive, and give me hope that creativity in community, and in this case rural Wales, can raise real questions about the production, circulation, and presentation of art in the current world. I am inspired by what they do, and always look forward to their forthcoming projects.
Catrin Menai, Artist
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I am writing in support of Studio Cybi, an artist-led project run by Rebecca Gould and Iwan Lewis, based in Anglesey, North Wales. Rebecca and Iwan, both artists working in installation, film, and painting, play an essential role in the Welsh artistic scene. Through their individual practices and Studio Cybi, they have sparked important conversations around sustainability and equality, driving significant change within the sector. As the Curator at MOSTYN, I invited them to participate in our interdisciplinary programme. In the summer of 2020, they took part in a radio programme with Montez Press Radio, an international artist-led publisher and radio station. I was greatly impressed with the quality of the programme they developed for this event. I highly recommend Studio Cybi. I believe that this grant would greatly benefit their work and research, further enhancing curatorial and artistic practices in Wales and beyond.
Juliette Desorgues, Curator
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At Artes Mundi, we first worked with Studio Cybi as a recipient of one of the commissions for the Wales Venice 10 programme. The selection panel felt their proposal was one that avoided ‘illustrating’ or adopting a position, rather it was one that was rooted in place, history and people and did so with genuine authenticity, clarity and a voice special to that part of Wales in which they operate.
Nigel Prince, Director Artes Mundi
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Studio Cybi is an absolutely vital project to North Wales and one which is desperately needed and deserving of support. The project is unique in its exemplary commitment to developing opportunities for young Welsh artists as well as the ambitious inclusion of national and international positions within their programme. Whilst anchored in North Wales and taking inspiration from the location, their programme is historically rich, wide-reaching, diverse and creative. In rare form – Studio Cybi successfully bridges a chasm between decentralised projects and their international audiences.
Angharad Williams, Artist
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Studio Cybi is a cavern at the limens of institutionalised, competitive ‘creative’ ‘worlds,’ incorporating care, intimacy & respect for the artists singularity whilst acknowledging the presence, useful as seen fit, of discourse/s, *_which is not to say this work is apolitical: far from it. _* It is an imaginal & literal container for marginal or otherwise off the beaten track practitioners, for whom the prayer-act of making is paramount. There’s something of the familial alongside the critical; Studio Cybi is a genuinely communal space where we congregate in our contradictions & listen closely to what is being said.
Lauren de Sá Naylor, Artist and writer
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Art can nourish the soul and so can artists. Artists also build worlds and Studio Cybi’s manifesto delves into the possibilities of what Ynys Môn’s artworld may look like. Basically, anti-capitalist, working class, wild and radical and a cynefin for all. I’m excited by what the second edition of the manifesto has to offer us and I want to be immersed in Studio Cybi’s vision of what a rural art world in Gogledd Cymru can be. Diolch!
Owain Train McGilvary, Artist
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I worked with Studio Cybi in projects both at my studio in Llandudno and as part of the Freehaus development. Their project greatly adds to the visual arts in North Wales, both for artists and students and they are doing something progressive and innovatory which greatly adds to the arts sector in the area and I fully support their application. In their work as artists and curators they have brought new dialogues and presented artists from other parts of the UK in a way which has greatly added to the visual culture of the area. In terms of value to the community and culture their work deserves support and recognition.
Emrys Williams, Artist
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STUDIO CYBI reached out to me about taking part in an online work and showing my work Hello Candice, I was shocked when I heard from them, the work was new and had not had much reach. It also deals with elements of working-class life, which a lot of other institutions don’t feel comfortable approaching. I felt like both myself and the work were really understood and cared for – this, sadly, is a rare thing, especially when working from within a marginalised practice, and I was so delighted with their insight and care. I support them in all approaches to funding; they are such an asset to the artist-led sector, and I believe they can provide many other valued opportunities to other artists in our community.
Lisette May Monroe, Artist and writer
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Mostyn support Studio Cybi and second edition of the manifesto because we believe they are asking vital questions about contemporary art, artists and culture in Wales today. There have been vast, and in many cases catastrophic, societal changes brought about by the pandemic, the cost of living crisis, global violence and the ongoing climate crisis since the first edition. It is crucial that all of us within the Welsh cultural sphere keep talking about and critically reflecting upon the issues and questions these changes present to those working inside, outside and in opposition to existing structures and systems.
Clare Harding, Interim Director Mostyn
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Studio Cybi’s 2022 manifesto Alone Together, provided vital questions to ask ourselves, and others, about how and where artists work, and the platforms used to present ‘successful’ art and artists to the public, and an update would provide a vital reflection of alternative nourishing ways that art could be made and shared. As an artist living rurally – pushed out of the city where I still have a studio, after having children – I feel a strong connection to the idea that art should not be the play thing of the cities or the few. Art nourishes and challenges us to do better, see more and be open to difference, for those reasons we need a wider selection of artists and artworks to see and the spaces that share them need to be accessible*. I have Studio Cybi’s Alone Together Manifesto on my studio wall as a reminder that I’m connected to other spaces and ideas. *Accessible in every sense including using multiple locations to move within differences of familiarity and ideas of what’s welcoming.
Natasha MacVoy, Artist
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I have used the Studio Cybi manifesto with fine art students to show them bilingual examples that are place centred. The fold out poster and a pamphlet promotes multi use and the language reads as a series of poetic prose traversing disciplines, usage, and application. I would love to see more art like this.
Liv Penrose Punnett, Curator
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After enjoying seeing a number of Studio Cybi projects, it was a real pleasure to show my work with them in December 2021. I find their projects refreshing and exciting with how they use both the physical and digital landscapes as places to show art. There is a sense of poetry running through each project, and a feeling of great care and sensitivity taken in how they are put together. I love that this is happening in North Wales, consistently showing well curated contemporary artists in an experimental and innovative way. I am looking forward to seeing / experiencing the next edition of the manifesto to come!
Sarah Ryder, Artist
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Studio Cybi is an engaging, professional and outward looking project bringing diverse and international artists to a new audience. I had the opportunity to exhibit with Studio Cybi in 2016 as part of the Cul-de-Sac exhibition. For me it was amazing to work with an energetic and well organised artist led space, and more importantly to give me the opportunity to show my work in Wales for the first time.
Alex Crocker, Artist