Freddie Robins will be exhibiting with the Blackwater Polytechnic as part of the Anglian Embassy at Supermarket Art Fair, SKHLM Skärholmen Centrum, Stockholm, Sweden
Thursday 3 April to Saturday 5 April 12.00 – 20.00
Sunday 6 April 12.00 – 18.00
supermarketartfair
blackwaterpolytechnic
The Anglian Embassy, a collaboration between Blackwater Polytechnic (Braintree), 303 Projects (Lowestoft), Grange Projects (Great Cressingham), Original Projects, Possible Worlds, and Red Herring Press (Great Yarmouth), will showcase East Anglian artists at Supermarket in Stockholm. Ben Coode-Adams and Sophie Giller have developed, designed and built our stand.
We are committed to establishing practical, long-term partnerships with artist-run organisations in East Anglia for mutual benefit and to share skills, resources, and creative people. Our coastline and hinterland are now studded with artist-run projects. This project will serve as a strategic roadmap for future collaborations, empowering artist-run spaces to be bold and effective in supporting artists to create ambitious new work.
Through this initiative, we will introduce our region on an international stage. We are eager to revitalise connections with our close neighbours—organisations and individuals around the North Sea who share our rich heritage. After all, Antwerp is nearer to us than Manchester. Participating in this expo is a cost-effective approach and a powerful way to connect with organisations and individuals who can create opportunities for us to advance projects both locally and abroad, making the most of our resources.
Our region is in the midst of a transformative revolution in green energy, population growth, and gravel extraction. While we experience our own Industrial Revolution and urbanisation—albeit two centuries later than everyone else—we find ourselves culturally and politically unprepared. Our ecologically fragile coastline hosts 90 million migrating birds on fast-eroding mudflats and salt marshes. This project will engage our counterparts across the North Sea who are facing similar challenges.
Our objectives are clear: elevate the profile of our region’s visual arts both internally and externally, create a forum to discuss our shared cultural orbit around the North Sea, and initiate collaborative international projects through networking.
Ultimately, we aspire to cultivate an atmosphere of inclusion and support that empowers all artists—regardless of their background—to flourish and enhance the vibrant artistic landscape of our region. By uniting our efforts and resources, we will not only reinforce our local arts community but also make a meaningful impact on a wider scale, amplifying our voices across borders and shaping the future of the arts in the North Sea area.
Statement by Ben Coode-Adams
