Kelly's quest to find the Tall Thrift!

On a rainy Monday morning extInked Ambassador, Kelly Parish, accompanied by Gavin Parry and David Penny of Anatomy Projects and their free standing 19th Century Studio Plate Camera set off on a journey to find the Tall Thrift.

Kelly was invited to visit the Moor Closes nature reserve in Ancaster by the wardens at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust who manage one of the sites where the tall thrift grows, as this species is only found in two locations in the UK it is considered very precious. Luckily for Kelly the second location is only walking distance from the nature reserve in the village cemetery. Kelly had the opportunity to meet with the warden and find out much more about her species and Gavin and David were on hand to document the days activities and here is a sneak peak of their trip.

More footage of the day, along with a detailed account of her adventure from Kelly will be posted soon.

WILDLIFE AMBASSADORS MAKE THEIR MARK IN THE M.E.N.

Our Jai Redman is interviewed in todays M.E.N talking about the launch of We are extInked at the Manchester Museum. The full article is below:

WILDLIFE AMBASSADORS MAKE THEIR MARK

A project to highlight plants and animals threatened by extinction using permanent tattoos has gone on show in Manchester.

ExtInked saw 100 volunteers tattooed with an image of a species in the UK under threat.

The aim was for each person to become an 'ambassador' for the species they were tattooed with and to campaign for it's survival.

Now two years on, portraits of all of the volunteers - tattooed with everything from eagles to toads and wildflowers - are on display in an exhibition at Manchester Museum.

Jai Redman, who was head artist on extInked and is now creative director of artists' collective Ultimate Holding Company which ran the project, chose a tattoo of a smooth snake.

He said: "The project started a couple of years ago so this is about catching up with the ambassadors and the work they are continuing to do to promote their species."

The photographs of each ambassador, plus original drawings of the designs, will be on display until November.

For further information about the extInked project and We are extInked tour please visit the project website - www.extinked.org.uk.

For exhibition details and information about related events at the Manchester Museum please visit - www.manchester.ac.uk/museum.

We are extInked is launched at the Manchester Museum!

Friday 8th July saw the launch of We are extInked at the Manchester Museum, it was a great evening and we would like to thank you all for joining us to celebrate the current achievements and future successes of the project, exhibition and the national tour.

To see photographs of the evening please visit the extInked website. All Photography by Jimmy Edmondson.

Still Time

For those who were unable to attend do not worry, you have plenty of time to visit the exhibition which is open at the Manchester Museum until 13/11/2011.

Big Saturday

We are excited to announce that extInked will be the theme for the Manchester Museum’s Big Saturday event in September.

Date: Saturday 24th September 2011

Time: 11.00am - 4.00pm

Location: The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL

Booking: Most activities will be drop-in, some may need to be booked on the day.

Cost: most of the activities will be free however some may cost up to £1.50.

Age: All ages are welcome.

Further details of the days activities will be announced over the coming weeks via the Musuem's website.

Artwork for Sale

extInked Drawings

A number of original extInked artworks by Jai Redman are still available to purchase at our online shop. Beautifully executed in pen and ink, many of these drawings have featured in our current exhibition or will feature at future venues. We can offer you the opportunity to reserve a particular drawing for collection as the exhibition closes, whilst some drawings are available for collection straight away.

extInked Almanac

The extInked Almanac is now available for purchase from our online shop. Priced at £20, each copy is signed by the artist and is one of only 100 copies produced in conjunction with the We are extInked tour. For your chance to own a limited edition, signed copy please visit the UHC online shop or email kate@uhc.org.uk.

Further Information

extInked/We are extInked

W: www.extinked.org.uk

B: extinked.blogspot.com

T: @extinked

E: kate@uhc.org.uk

Ultimate Holding Company

A: Ultimate Holding Company, Hotspur House, 2 Gloucester Street, Manchester, M1 5QR

W: www.uhc.org.uk

B: uhcblog.blogspot.com

T: @Ult_Holding_Co

E: mail@uhc.org.uk

The Manchester Museum

A: The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL

W: www.manchester.ac.uk/museum

T: @mcrmuseum

E: museum@manchester.ac.uk

We are extInked is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and MIRIAD.

'We are extInked' launches tonight at the Manchester Museum

Come and join us this evening as we celebrate the launch of We are extInked at the Manchester Museum.

This exhibition documents extInked, a unique arts and ecology project which began in 2009 as a response to species loss in the UK.

We are extInked brings together the original pen and ink drawings, documentary footage of the tattooing process and extraordinary photographic portraits of the ambassadors created on a rare 19th century camera by Anatomy Projects. The work will be shown alongside rare specimens from The Manchester Museum collections and documentation of the progress of the 100 volunteer ambassadors as they work to protect and advocate for their species.

The exhibition opens to the public on July 9^th 2011 and will be situated alongside the new 'Living Worlds' Gallery, which explores the connections between all living things, including us, and shows how we can all shape the future by the choices we make.

We are extInked launch:

Friday 8th July 2011 -

6.00 - 8.00pm

(Speeches at 6.30pm)

The Manchester Museum

The University of Manchester

Oxford Road

Manchester

M13 9PL

For more information on how to get to the museum please click here.

For more information about the extInked project and the We are extInked tour please click here.

One exhibition down four to go...

Spiderweb Cup & Saucer, Eleanor Morgan.

Into the Wild, an exhibition at Smiths Row Contemporary Art Gallery in the beautiful historic market town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk came to a close this weekend. The exhibition explored notions around wilderness and asked audiences to consider; what is wild?

Ultimate Holding Company were invited to exhibit artwork from the extInked project, alongside work from seven other artists which included, Sam Bakewell, Beatriz de Costa, Eleanor Morgan, Lee Patterson, Laura Pullig, Matthew Smith and Chiz Turnross.

Elegy Rue Paean, Sam Bakewell.

Smiths Row also ran a series of events and educational activities that ran alongside the exhibition and included:

Talk: Dragonflies - Masters of the Air

Adrian Parr from the British Dragonfly Society hosted an afternoon talk in the gallery about the wonder of dragonflies which was followed by a guided walk around the local area identifying local dragonfly hotspots!

The British Dragonfly Society

W: www.british-dragonflies.org.uk

Talk: Marine Conservation & the Native Oyster

Elizabeth Allen, Ambassador for the Native Oyster.

Elizabeth Allen hosted a lunchtime talk about her involvement with the extInked project and her role as the Ambassador for the Native Oyster, she also offered us an inspirational insight into the work of conservation charity Fauna and Flora International.

Fauna and Flora International

W: www.fauna-flora.org

T: @FaunaFloraInt

Images of the exhibition can be found on the extInked website or by clicking here.