Photo: Alice Hendy Photography / RWA
CV | M E L L O N Y T A P E R SWAc
Born: London, 1970
PROFESSIONAL BODIES |
Academician of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts
Member of the Royal West of England Academy Artist Network
COLLECTIONS |
The ProCreate Project Archive of work by artist mothers, 2023
Ambassador Theatre Group 2022
EDUCATION |
BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture, Wimbledon School of Art, 1998
BTec Art and Design, South Devon Technical College, 1995
BA (Hons) Contemporary Writing, University of Middlesex, 1991
EXHIBITIONS |
2025
Thinking Inside the Box, HATCH Somerset
2024
South West Academy of Art 25th annual exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth 29 Oct - 9 Nov
Bath Society of Artists 119th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Bath Open Art Prize 2024, 4AD Gallery, Bath
Royal West Of England Academy 171 Open Exhibition, RWA, Bristol
RBSA Prize Exhibition 2024, The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Evolver Prize 2024, ACE Arts, Somerton + publication in Evolver edition 138
East Quay Open: About Identity, East Quay, Watchet, Somerset
South West Academicians’ exhibition, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton
SWAc Academicians at Delamore Arts, Stables Gallery, Delamore Estate, Cornworthy
Mothers of Invention, The Mount Without, Bristol. An exhibition of work by Bristol-based artist-mothers
The Women’s Open, Artizan Gallery, Torquay
Melville Public Art Commission, Melville Heritage Area, Torbay, Devon
2023
Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City, The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. National touring Arts Council exhibition, curated by Lubaina Himid CBE, from the Arts Council Collection. The exhibition included invited Bristol women artists.
South West Academy 24th Annual Open, Kennaway House, Sidmouth
‘Freedom of Movement’ site-specific installation, Portishead Arts Festival, Muse,, Portishead
Turning Points: Through the Eyes of Bristol Women Artists, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
The Royal West of England Academy Photo Open, RWA, Bristol
Procreate Project Public Activations, Lewisham Shopping Centre, London
Bath Society of Artists 118th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Women in Photography, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography
RWA Secret Postcard, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2022
Above and Below In association with Professor Corinna Wagner (University of Exeter); the UK Climate Resilience Programme; the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Marcus Verget’s Time & Tide Bell Project
Evolver Prize 2022, Ace Arts, Somerton + publication in Evolver Magazine 126
Bath Society of Artists 117th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Spotlight Commission, Residency & Installation, Ambassador Theatre Group, Arts Council England, Arts & Heritage, Artizan CIC. Princess Theatre, Devon.
English Riviera Summer Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
RWA Secret Postcard, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2021
Finding a Way Home: The South West Photography Collective Showcase. Curated by Robert Darch. One of eight spotlighted artists
Wish You Were Here, Community film screening, Bristol
Bath Society of Artists 116th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
The South West Academy 22nd Annual Open Exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth
The English Riviera Annual Open Exhibition, Prize winner: ‘Innovation in Digital Practice’ Award
2020
The VAO Visual Art Open Emerging UK & International Artists Awards. Final stage finalist in the Digital and Photography category
The South West Annual Open exhibition, Artizan Gallery, Torquay, Devon
The South West Academy 21st Annual Open Exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth. Prize winner: Exeter Living Award
The English Riviera Summer Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
2019
Small & Mighty, Black Swan Arts, Frome
Selected to the Royal West of England Academy Artist Network. Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Artist Network
The English Riviera Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
2003
Degrees of Separation, ’a’ gallery, London SW19. An exhibition of WSA graduates juxtaposing artists’ new works alongside images from their degrees and MA shows.
1998
Camden Arts, Swiss Cottage Library Gallery, London
1997
Sculpture in the Park, Cannizzaro Park, London
1996
Cannizzaro Sculpture, Cannizzaro Park, London
1995
The Mythic Garden, Stone Lane Sculpture Gardens, Chagford, Devon
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS |
Melville Cultural Heritage Installation (2024)
The brief: Drawing on local expertise and community storytelling to create a heritage narrative unique to the historic and ancient Melville area of Torquay, on the South Devon coast. The installed panels will celebrate the significant historic and cultural associations of the area, focussing on the great literary figures who have links to the area - Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Alfred Lytton - and the diverse and vibrant community of the present day. This project will continue an extensive piece of place making and public realm work that has been undertaken. The trail will tell Melville’s unique cultural heritage story across 10 artworks in ten locations.
Ambassador Theatre Group and Arts Council England | Commission, residency & installation (2022)
The brief: to explore and celebrate the life of regional theatres after 500 days of pandemic-forced closure; a commission to create artwork specifically focusing on some of the regional theatres in the international Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns and operates theatres across the globe, from Broadway to the West End. The project was made possible by an award from the Arts Council Culture Recovery Fund, facilitated by Arts & Heritage and ably supported by Artizan CIC in Torbay. 12 selected works from the project archive are currently installed and on public display at Devon’s largest theatre, the Princess Theatre.
ARTS PROGRAMMING, COMMISSIONING, CURATION & PROJECT MANAGEMENT |
ArtPort | Portishead Arts Festival
Instrumental in the artistic and strategic development of ArtPort - a multi-event, multi-arts annual festival on the North Somerset coast, near Bristol. In the role Taper has commissioned and curated original film, art installations, exhibitions and events, including commissioning the #Portisfield ‘Field’ installation by Hamish Young RWA MRSS and co-producing ‘ArtStories’, a series of original documentary films about the artists who live and work in the west of England with award winning film director Barry Wilkinson.
- Programming, commissioning and curation of original arts installations, exhibitions and events
- Strategy development
- Marketing and PR strategy and development;
- Social media strategy and execution
ArtStories
Together with award-winning film maker Barry Wilkinson of BW Film, we conceived an ongoing series of original, documentary short films profiling the artists of North Somerset. Click on images to watch:
Academician of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts
Member of the Royal West of England Academy Artist Network
COLLECTIONS |
The ProCreate Project Archive of work by artist mothers, 2023
Ambassador Theatre Group 2022
EDUCATION |
BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture, Wimbledon School of Art, 1998
BTec Art and Design, South Devon Technical College, 1995
BA (Hons) Contemporary Writing, University of Middlesex, 1991
EXHIBITIONS |
2025
Thinking Inside the Box, HATCH Somerset
2024
South West Academy of Art 25th annual exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth 29 Oct - 9 Nov
Bath Society of Artists 119th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Bath Open Art Prize 2024, 4AD Gallery, Bath
Royal West Of England Academy 171 Open Exhibition, RWA, Bristol
RBSA Prize Exhibition 2024, The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Evolver Prize 2024, ACE Arts, Somerton + publication in Evolver edition 138
East Quay Open: About Identity, East Quay, Watchet, Somerset
South West Academicians’ exhibition, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton
SWAc Academicians at Delamore Arts, Stables Gallery, Delamore Estate, Cornworthy
Mothers of Invention, The Mount Without, Bristol. An exhibition of work by Bristol-based artist-mothers
The Women’s Open, Artizan Gallery, Torquay
Melville Public Art Commission, Melville Heritage Area, Torbay, Devon
2023
Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City, The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. National touring Arts Council exhibition, curated by Lubaina Himid CBE, from the Arts Council Collection. The exhibition included invited Bristol women artists.
South West Academy 24th Annual Open, Kennaway House, Sidmouth
‘Freedom of Movement’ site-specific installation, Portishead Arts Festival, Muse,, Portishead
Turning Points: Through the Eyes of Bristol Women Artists, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
The Royal West of England Academy Photo Open, RWA, Bristol
Procreate Project Public Activations, Lewisham Shopping Centre, London
Bath Society of Artists 118th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Women in Photography, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography
RWA Secret Postcard, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2022
Above and Below In association with Professor Corinna Wagner (University of Exeter); the UK Climate Resilience Programme; the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Marcus Verget’s Time & Tide Bell Project
Evolver Prize 2022, Ace Arts, Somerton + publication in Evolver Magazine 126
Bath Society of Artists 117th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Spotlight Commission, Residency & Installation, Ambassador Theatre Group, Arts Council England, Arts & Heritage, Artizan CIC. Princess Theatre, Devon.
English Riviera Summer Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
RWA Secret Postcard, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2021
Finding a Way Home: The South West Photography Collective Showcase. Curated by Robert Darch. One of eight spotlighted artists
Wish You Were Here, Community film screening, Bristol
Bath Society of Artists 116th Annual Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
The South West Academy 22nd Annual Open Exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth
The English Riviera Annual Open Exhibition, Prize winner: ‘Innovation in Digital Practice’ Award
2020
The VAO Visual Art Open Emerging UK & International Artists Awards. Final stage finalist in the Digital and Photography category
The South West Annual Open exhibition, Artizan Gallery, Torquay, Devon
The South West Academy 21st Annual Open Exhibition, Kennaway House, Sidmouth. Prize winner: Exeter Living Award
The English Riviera Summer Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
2019
Small & Mighty, Black Swan Arts, Frome
Selected to the Royal West of England Academy Artist Network. Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Artist Network
The English Riviera Open, Artizan Collective, Devon
2003
Degrees of Separation, ’a’ gallery, London SW19. An exhibition of WSA graduates juxtaposing artists’ new works alongside images from their degrees and MA shows.
1998
Camden Arts, Swiss Cottage Library Gallery, London
1997
Sculpture in the Park, Cannizzaro Park, London
1996
Cannizzaro Sculpture, Cannizzaro Park, London
1995
The Mythic Garden, Stone Lane Sculpture Gardens, Chagford, Devon
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS |
Melville Cultural Heritage Installation (2024)
The brief: Drawing on local expertise and community storytelling to create a heritage narrative unique to the historic and ancient Melville area of Torquay, on the South Devon coast. The installed panels will celebrate the significant historic and cultural associations of the area, focussing on the great literary figures who have links to the area - Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Alfred Lytton - and the diverse and vibrant community of the present day. This project will continue an extensive piece of place making and public realm work that has been undertaken. The trail will tell Melville’s unique cultural heritage story across 10 artworks in ten locations.
Ambassador Theatre Group and Arts Council England | Commission, residency & installation (2022)
The brief: to explore and celebrate the life of regional theatres after 500 days of pandemic-forced closure; a commission to create artwork specifically focusing on some of the regional theatres in the international Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns and operates theatres across the globe, from Broadway to the West End. The project was made possible by an award from the Arts Council Culture Recovery Fund, facilitated by Arts & Heritage and ably supported by Artizan CIC in Torbay. 12 selected works from the project archive are currently installed and on public display at Devon’s largest theatre, the Princess Theatre.
ARTS PROGRAMMING, COMMISSIONING, CURATION & PROJECT MANAGEMENT |
ArtPort | Portishead Arts Festival
Instrumental in the artistic and strategic development of ArtPort - a multi-event, multi-arts annual festival on the North Somerset coast, near Bristol. In the role Taper has commissioned and curated original film, art installations, exhibitions and events, including commissioning the #Portisfield ‘Field’ installation by Hamish Young RWA MRSS and co-producing ‘ArtStories’, a series of original documentary films about the artists who live and work in the west of England with award winning film director Barry Wilkinson.
- Programming, commissioning and curation of original arts installations, exhibitions and events
- Strategy development
- Marketing and PR strategy and development;
- Social media strategy and execution
ArtStories
Together with award-winning film maker Barry Wilkinson of BW Film, we conceived an ongoing series of original, documentary short films profiling the artists of North Somerset. Click on images to watch:
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