Marine litter from around the Pembrokeshire Coast has been photographed in forensic detail to challenge traditional ideas of what is ‘natural’ for a new exhibition at Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in St Davids.

In his role as Coastal Currents Artist in Residence at Oriel y Parc, North Pembrokeshire photographic artist Mike Perry has taken plastic collected from local beaches to develop his series Môr Plastig (Welsh for ‘plastic sea’).

Sol LeWitt (1928-2007, USA) produced more than 1,200 wall drawings, executed by himself and other artists. This time-lapse video shows the gallery wall drawing in progress, with two artists following LeWitt’s original rules. The execution of this wall drawing formed part of the exhibition ‘Sol LeWitt: Artists’ Books’. Find out more about the exhibition, ‘Sol LeWitt Artists’ Books’ at Site Gallery 8-29 May 2010 at http://www.sitegallery.org/archives/595.

James Welling was born in Hartford, Connecticut, USA in 1951. He gained a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the influential art school CalArts (California Institute of Fine Arts), where he studied under artist John Baldessari, alongside contemporaries that included David Salle, Mark Manders and Jack Goldstein. In 1995 Welling moved to Los Angeles to head the photography area of the Art Department of UCLA, where he continues to live and work.

This is one of five podcasts produced by the Open University to accompany the exhibition ‘The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London 2011-2012. This show presents a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality in seventeenth and eighteenth-century England. It features portraits of some of the best known female performers of the period, who ranged from royal mistresses to successful writers and businesswomen, and accomplished musicians.

The Trinidadian born artist Karen Mc Lean talks about her installation 'Post Colonial Now' first exhibited at Edible Eastside, Birmingham in 2012. In her talk she explains the artistic processes and ideas that were involved.

‘Crystal World’ was an art exhibition held in July-October 2011. Curated by Gill Perry, Professor of Art History at the Open University and with the collaboration of the Royal Society, it explored modern artists’ fascination with the crystals and the relationships with scientific and philosophical studies of these chemical substances. In this podcast Gill Perry discusses the exhibition with Dr Keith Moore, Chief Librarian of the Royal Society. The interview takes place in the exhibition space in October, 2011.

Brian Dillon, The Sun Has Turned to Glass: Art and the Crystalline Imagination

Part of the series of talks on Art & Alchemy: Transformation & Contemporary Art A two day conference across Cambridge and Norwich exploring ideas of alchemy and transformation, and the role of crystals in contemporary artistic practice and theory from Graeco-Roman Egypt to Surrealism and contemporary art.

Curators speak of the sculpture work of the artists on display in the Longside Gallery. Artists include Karla Black, Becky Beasley, Claire Barkley, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth. Created in collaboration with the Henry Moore Institute, the Hepworth Wakefield, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Longside Gallery and the Arts Council of Great Britain.

This panel discussion, in collaboration with the Open University, explores Terry Smith’s book Contemporary Art: World Currents (Laurence King, 2011). It was part of a launch for the book given by Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery. Speakers include: art historians Terry Smith, Anthony Downey and Leon Wainwright, and Tessa Jackson, OBE, Director of the Institute for International Visual Arts (inIVA, London).

This recording was made on the occasion of the exhibition Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire, at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, from 15 January to 11 April, 2010, and played on an audio loop for visitors alongside the display. Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire was curated by Reyahn King (Director of Art Galleries, National Museums Liverpool) and Leon Wainwright (Dept. of Art History, The Open University).