Blackburn with Darwen Council Media Release (August 8, 2006) email: public.relations@blackburn.gov.uk
Following on from the 3rd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale Blackburn with Darwen Council is proud to host the internationally established Taiwanese artist, Wu Mali. Over the summer Mali has been resident in Blackburn and has explored how and why migrant workers from the South Asian community came to Blackburn and Darwen to work in the textile industry, what their working and private lives were like and how they reacted to changes in the industry.
The material collated during her residency and issues raised through discussions with ex-textile workers will be displayed in an exhibition in the Open Space Centre at BBC Radio Lancashire (September 5 - October 1, 2006), which will include a panel discussion at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester (September 5, 2006) and private view at the BBC (September 7, 2006). The panel discussion will include Wu Mali, Elsa Chen (art critic and curator) and Griselda Pollock (feminist art historian and Professor of Social and Critical Histories of Art in the Department of Fine Art at the University of Leeds).
Executive member for culture, leisure and sport for the Council, Councillor John Milburn said: “The textile industry has played a significant role in the history of Blackburn with Darwen, where migrant workers (mainly from South Asian countries) have contributed to the prosperity of the area. Despite this, their experience and stories have not been explored and documented thoroughly, so we are very pleased with the outcome of this project.”
Note to editors: Wu Mali was born in Taipei in 1957 where she graduated in 1979 from Tamkang University. With a degree in German art and culture, she studied art in Dusseldorf, Germany from 1982-1986. As a conceptual artist, Wu Mali, creates both videos and installations in response to the outside world. Always thought-provoking, her work is diverse in both subject matter and in medium.
To arrange an interview with Wu Mali or for further information please contact Amy Cham, Telephone (01254) 587904, M: 07779009754, E: amy.cham@blackburn.gov.uk
