Symposia: Forum 2015

 

This year’s British Annual Mosaic Forum will bring together inspirational speakers from across the world and provide a platform for networking and celebration of mosaic art.

It will be held from 3-4 October in St John's Church, Waterloo, London SE1 8UD, which is home to the Southbank Mosaics project.

Speakers this year will include Italian master mosaicist Guilio Menossi, Ruth Minola Scheibler, one of an innovative group of European mosaic artists known as Mosaïzm, and the talented Italian pebble mosaicist Luciano Bonzini. Also taking to the stage will be Mia Tavonatti, who has crafted an award winning, diverse career in art over the last 25 years, and Veronique Juan, whose MosaïStreet is the first web platform dedicated to professionals and experienced amateur mosaicists.

Through a series of practical workshops, attendees will also get the opportunity to learn new skills and develop their creative practice. Workshop details are still being finalised.  A pop-up exhibition of attendees' mosaic art will be held on the day. Attendees will also get the opportunity to meet old and new friends over lovely catering and shop at the Mosaic Market.

A dinner will also be held on 3 October for attendees who would like to network more informally in the evening following the forum.                                     

The BAMM Mosaic of the Year Award 2015, which will be voted for by BAMM members for the first time this year, will also be announced at the Forum.

 

Tickets are priced at £35 for members and £45 for non-members. To book tickets for the Forum www.mosaicsupplies.co.uk/bamm/bamm_forum.htm

 

Getting to St John's Church, Waterloo, London, SE1 8TY

St John's Church is on Waterloo Road opposite Waterloo Station.

By underground: Waterloo (Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines) 4 minutes walk.  Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines) 9 minute walk.  Embankment (District, Circle and Bakerloo lines) 13 minute walk.

By train: Waterloo and Charing Cross as above, Waterloo East 5 minute walk, Blackfriars 17 minute walk.

By bus: 381, RV1, 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, X68, 77, 139, 168, 171, 172, 188, 211, 243 (24 hr), 341 (24hr), 507 and 521.

By car:  No parking on site or in the roads nearby.  APCOA car park on Cornwall Road. 

By bike: Lambeth Council cycle racks are available nearby.

By motorcycle: Bays available in Cornwall Road.

 

Introducing some of the speakers:

Introducing Mia Tavonatti...

 

Mia has created an award winning, diverse career in art over te last 25 years. Her intricate stained glass mosaics weave her experience as a painter with her love of high renaissance glass mosaics.

Each piece of her stained glass mosaics are hand cut and crafted into works that are flooded with light and movement as she seeks Divine beauty through her work. Mia has an MFA in Illustration and has been painting for 33 years, but she is self taught in mosaic. She has created numerous mosaics for churches, restaurants, residences, corporations and public works throughout the US and Europe and her work is collected worldwide. 

Mia Tavonatti

 

Luciano Bonzini 

In 2001 Luciano Bonzini started his work as a self-taught student in the field of artistic mosaics.

Since the beginning he understood the expressive potential of the “substance”, and so he has started his experiments with assemblage of found objects and three dimensional compositions, including insert of mosaic tessellation, in different materials (pebbles, tesserae, bits of stones, ceramics...).

In the meanwhile he realized colorful, elaborate mosaic works along with symbols, ethnic style, elementary signs and stylized patterns.  At that time he drew inspiration from primitive and tribal ancient symbolism: his vision was that of a dreamlike primordial universe.

Later on he applied his techniques in the field of interior design, producing mosaic objects and prototypes.  A fascinating and substantial part of his work was, and still is, devoted to his studies, carried out restoring and realizing mosaics with pebbles.

Pebble pavements, some of which noteworthy, ancient and refined are frequently found in Liguria: they are called “rissëu” in the dialect still spoken there, and can be taken as a proof of the sedimentation of the multiple Mediterranean influences which have met in the area where he lives.       They offer many possibilities of study, research, restoration work and inspiration for new one.

Currently he also keeps workshops around Italy and Europe, teaching this particular technique of laying called dry method.

Luciano’s talk will be on the tradition of pebble mosaics in Liguria (Italy), describing a journey through the centuries, from Classicism to new contemporary applications.

 

MOSAÏZM

While words ending in -ism refer to a belief system, a movement, a philosophical, political or moral doctrine, MOSAÏZM refers to a way of life dominated by mosaic in all its different forms. We are an international collective of 7 mosaic-artists, who all graduated from Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in Spilimbergo (Italy) between 2001 and 2004.  We are part of a new generation of mosaicists that believe in the future of craft. We respect tradition yet strive to innovate.  We work in architecture, restoration, design, on commissions and on self-initiated projects. 

 

HELLO MOSAIZM - celebrating 10 years of collective practice 

Who are we and how do we define ourselves. What do we do in particular and where we do it. How do we evolve as a group, with members living in different countries. What is our view on mosaic today and how do we see it's future.