On 7th March Shrug Lady 1 embarked on her first outing since moving to New Zealand. She had a great time at the Newtown Street Festival in Wellington, dancing to some music, hanging out with friends and of course, sharing lots of tea and cakes with passers by! It was a lovely hot summers day and her sun parasol came in very handy for giving people a place to hide for a moment before moving on their way. She was even given a sticker by the police which said ‘Never talk to strangers’ hmm not sure what he was trying to say there!! x
November 2009 – Nottingham Evening Post
The SHRUG Ladies were recently interviewed for the Nottingham Evening Post in the run up to the launch of the Nottingham Contemporary. The lovely article is right here…
November 2009 – Nottingham
This week saw the opening of the brand new modern art gallery, Nottingham Contemporary. The SHRUG Ladies had the pleasure of entertaining the crowds as they queued in anticipation. Gallery punters were invited to play SHRUG Human Scrabble by making words on the Ladies’ dresses using sticky letters! Younger audience members were given the opportunities to draw portraits on the Ladies’ chalk boards and fun was had by all.
This piece was inspired by the exhibition featured in the gallery by Frances Stark.
The event was also the first outing for new SHRUG Lady, Katie. Well done!
October 2009 – Nottingham
Nottingham played host to a wealth of artistic talent at their Hatch Abroad event on Nottingham’s Broad Street. SHRUG performed some new devised & durational pieces to the onlooking crowds.
August 2009 – ‘What is SHRUG’ research project, Nottingham.
The SHRUG Ladies took their first work in progress as part of the ‘What is SHRUG’ research project down to the Life’s a Beach event in Nottingham’s Market Square. In a truly British style the sun was shining but then the rain poured! This did not dampen the Ladies spirit however, they waited out the shower dancing under a large umbrella before returning to the beach to dance with newly found friends, slide down the helter skelter, have a nap on some deck chairs and finally relax with a nice cup of tea!
A lovely day out Ladies!
This summer the SHRUG ladies are embarking on a new adventure! 2 ladies have become 4, expanding their company, their performance, their look and their selection of goodies on offer. Look out for this glamorous troop as they hit the streets of Wirksworth, engaging with all whom they meet. Will you stand and watch or will you come closer to join in this world of surreal glamour with an unnerving edge, the choice is yours!!!
May 2009 – Hatch ‘ONE’, Ropewalk, Nottingham
Hatch is a regional platform for new work from the East Midlands set to transform the live arts landscape.
Hatch: One responded to the theme of One to help celebrate the events first birthday. 14 artists took over their biggest venue yet with work that delt with one-ness. One night only. One of a kind. One to remember. Hatch: One.
4 SHRUG ladies sat together and played a game on a draft board made of cake for 4 minutes. This was followed by a variety of individual tasks alone for 1 minute. Tasks included a one-minute tap dance, a one-minute interaction, the knitting of one row of knitting in one minute, the placing of one sticker or a single pose for a single photo. Timing was everything the performance ruled by the constant ticking of time and ringing of the bell.
March 2009 – Our Style is Legendary Left Lion Exhibition, Malt Cross, Nottingham
First outing of 4 SHRUG ladies durational performance entitled ‘I am Waiting”. This piece was a new experiment for the SHRUG ladies exploring emotions and feeling around being alone and waiting in a public space and socialising as a group in a public space.
September 2008 – The Bristol Do
A two-day SHRUG event in collaboration with the Fete Encounter. This event saw many children keen to interact with the SHRUG ladies or was it the tempting cakes?
Photos courtesy of Graham Shackleton.
June 2008 – Whitstable Biennale, Whitstable Beach, nr Old Neptune Pub
In collaboration with The Fete Encounter SHRUG ladies took their stall down onto a sandy beach. SHRUG ladies had a beautiful day out, sunbathing, building sand castles, and dancing with bears. As always interacting with passers by supplying them with a choice of cakes or a more traditional poke of chips.
May 2008 – Birmingham
SHRUG ladies joined forces with the fantastic Fete Encounter. Based on the traditional British fete, The Fete Encounter is an outdoor art event. It aims to blur the boundaries between art and the everyday and explores traditional outdoor popular entertainments such as vaudeville, seaside distractions, magic, circus and other fun and games.
June 2005 – Weekday Market around Nottingham City Centre
A project which mapped the city and linked the three main sites Bonington Gallery, Angel Row Gallery and CCAN. The SHRUG ladies wheeled a customised market stall full of goodies around the city of Nottingham, interacting with passers by and of course enjoying the occasional picnic.
Commissioned by ACE & Future Factory.
April 2005, Chelsea Theatre
The SHRUG Ladies enjoyed a trip down to the big city! They spent the day taking photos around the beautiful borough of Chelsea followed by a duration performance at Chelsea theatre as part of the Chelsea Live festival.
March 2005 – Spare Parts at The Mint Lounge, Manchester
SHRUG improvised a performance as part of the debut night of Spare Parts, a glamorously unique and exciting night mixing art and Partying.
Feb 2005 – National Review of Live Art at The Arches, Glasgow
SHRUG performed happenings in and around Glasgow city centre, followed by improvised interventions within the Arches during the festival.
We were uninvited performers to this event!
Nov 2004 – ‘Showroom 2′ at The Bonington Gallery, Nottingham
Exhibition of Nottingham happening and Improvised performance during the Showroom opening event.
October 2004 – Green Room Manchester, Emergency
The SHRUG Ladies went out on a Manchester based city happening followed by one of their first duration performances as part of the Green Rooms Emergency event. The Ladies interacted with audience members, inviting them to enjoy their special SHRUG Lady shaped ginger bread biscuits.
