Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Video: Homage to the Seed, The Crop Trust and artist Sophie Munns

A new video put together in the last week by The Global Crop Diversity Trust in Bonn, Germany features my artwork with a discussion of Seed diversity and the Homage to the Seed project. Late last year a section of one of my paintings was used on the Crop Trust's Holiday greeting card.

The artwork featured was the painting 'Perennial Symbols from the Botanical Realm' and I wrote about that here at the Homage to the Seed blog.

Originally painted as a dyptich

A conversation about doing a video ensued from this. Ten questions were sent for me to consider with instructions to record my responses on my iPhone to send back to them. I then assembled a range of images for the video sent along with the audio material.

Its something I'd been meaning to do for a few years ... put audio and visual together in this format. They've done a brilliant job in sorting through a load of images and recorded aspects of my story... without any previous introduction to myself or my work ... its therefore quite something for them to have done this without a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

I imagine the communications team is kept very busy at this organisation ... as a not-for-profit organisation with a huge agenda spanning many Seed Institutions, Organisations, Govts and so on around the globe they are very dedicated to sharing their programs and educating the public about their critical work.

It was such a pleasure and honour to work on this for the Crop Trust whose online media I've been following for the past 4 years with enormous interest... particularly through Senior Scientist Luigi Guarino's online dialogue. Communications staff Luis Salazar and Brian Lainoff from the Trust were very positive... it was Brian's task to assemble the video and I knew that would be challenge given the range of material I sent to the communications team in Bonn.

You'll find moments where my words might not be so easily heard. That's clued me in to working on improving my iPhone recordings next time... but I think you'll still take something away from a viewing.

Enjoy!

You can read the latest NEWSLETTER here from the CROP TRUST or view the copy pasted in below. It's just come out ... note the video is introduced below left... along with poignant stories from around the globe.

A New Year with Renewed Drive

January 2014

The New Year has arrived and so does another issue of Crop Topics. Executive Director Marie Haga discusses the recent strategic decisions taken by the Executive Board; the Crop Trust shares its experience at the 2014 Green Week and Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, Germany; and we underscore the importance of potatoes as we try to feed a growing world amidst climate change. Enjoy!

Marie's Corner: A New Year

Marie Haga discusses the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. She also discusses some very important decisions made by the Crop Trust Executive Board...read more.

Underground Heroes

More than a billion people eat potatoes, the world's number three food. Protected by the Crop Trust, the genetic diversity of potatoes from South America helps fight disease...read more.

Homage to the Seed

"Irregardless of the sophistication of culture or an individual's life...at the center of everything we know is the matter of seeds." The 2013 Crop Trust holiday card included a detail of a painting by Australian artist Sophie Munns. Watch this short video showing some of her work and listen as she explains her art of seeds and the importance of crop diversity.

Green Week in Berlin

Marie Haga (Executive Director), Michael Koch (Director of Partnerships and Communications), Hannes Dempewolf (Scientist), Luis Salazar (Communications Manager), Brian Lainoff (Communications Assistant), and Stefan Thyen (Contracts and Grants Manager) are in Berlin this week for the 2014 Green Week. Check out this video to see the team in action.

Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

Last week, Marie Haga gave a speech to a panel at the Global Forum in Berlin hosted by the United Nations Environmental Programme. Her speech can be found here.

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Copyright © 2014 Global Crop Diversity Trust, All rights reserved.

Best wishes,

Sophie

TO GET IN TOUCH:

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Homage-to-the-seed/276713165689916

Email me: HERE

Online shop: http://seedartlabshop.tumblr.com

THANK YOU FOR VISITING THIS STUDIO ARCHIVE BLOG OF SOPHIE MUNNS

COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS:

Public Collections:

. Newcastle Community Art Centre

. Maitland Regional Gallery

. John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle

. R.S.L.CARE Fortitude Valley, QLD

. Victoria University Library Collection

. Victoria University Alumni collection

. QEII Hospital, Brisbane

. KEW Gardens Millennium Seedbank, UK

. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, UQ, QLD

. Cairns Botanic Gardens -Tanks Artist's Residence

Private Collections from 1990 onwards in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, NZ, UK and the U.S.

Commercial commissions to produce Textile designs for Domestic Textile Corporation, Melbourne from early 1997 through to 1999.

Private Commissioned work since 1992 in Australia.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Sophie Munns is currently living in Brisbane, QLD, Australia having relocated from Newcastle, NSW in May 2008, her base for 8 years.

Born in Grafton, Northern NSW, Sophie studied for a B ED (Art) in Newcastle before teaching in various secondary schools on the NSW coast for the following 6 years. A 2 year stint working in London and travelling abroad was the catalyst for Sophie to consider taking her passion for Art further on her return to live in Melbourne.

Comfortably ensconced in leafy Kew, (Melb) Sophie set up a studio from home, 2 years later starting a small design business and within 2 years of that opening a shopfront studio in Collingwood - 'Themata Studio' - effectively an artist-run-space operating as a multi-purpose facility providing classes and workshops for adults, works by commission and a lively cross-roads for conversation and exchange between diverse participants and visitors to the space.

4 years later freelance work and commissioned work was continuing although the shopfront venture closed in 1998 and in 2000 Sophie returned to study painting at Victoria University.

This plan was short-lived when, 4 months into studies, a housefire necessitated changes and relocation to Newcastle ensued. A studio from home was once again established, classes for adults offered, artwork picked up and gradually shifted its focus. Sophie returned to teaching in secondary schools virtually full time, exhibiting work quite frequently, entering art awards and by 2005 showing work in Sydney as well as the Hunter.

After a prize and commendations in the annual Maitland Art Award in 2006 Post Grad study was commenced the following year with a large mid year exhibition of work from 2 solid years painting in the University's student gallery. Unexpected changes, once again, occured at the close of that year due to complications of a medical nature. Uni was left behind and Sophie made the shift to Brisbane and family ties.

Sophie's art practice has continued to evolve and deepen over the past 2 decades through embracing significant changes and challenges with courage and enthusiasm, curiosity and perseverence.

Energy may flag at times and life can interfere with plans but for Sophie there is something perrenially life-giving about continuing to produce artworks and explore ideas. That the unexpected can and does happen is a lesson well learnt...but perhaps the greater lesson is in finding the poetic, the transcendant in all that comes along. And that is worth striving for Sophie believes...always!

{studio archive}