Ambereene Hitchcox
Amby has split her career between working for international development charities and then in charitable arts organisations, ranging from being on the Board of a small community-focused arts centre, through managing a professional producing theatre, to an arts organisation welcoming young people who needed support in ways which the ‘establishment’ did not offer. ‘The arts’ offered flexible responses in all these environments. Amby is a project management, charity finance and governance specialist, as well as a casual artist in various media.
WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT ORIEL DAVIES
Having moved to the area just over 4 years ago, I am struck by how special it is that little old Newtown is the home of a high quality art gallery which forms part of CELF - The National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales. Art and artistic excellence is rife in the area, with much creative activity going on; Oriel Davies has the distinction of being able to bring all people into direct contact with ‘Art’ of many genres, including some very important works, as well as offering hands-on arts activities of many types. It is important also that this is done in a friendly, relaxed way, where both the skilled and the uninitiated can have a go and discover/further develop their own abilities. I never thought I’d learn at an art gallery to carve logs into traditional wooden spoons …but why not?!
A FAVOURITE CULTURAL ARTIFACT
I bought this mask in Bamako in Mali, on a work visit to spend time with community co-operatives, hearing their challenges and offering them knowledge and ideas about how to operate effective co-ops, increase productivity and earnings, in ways which would strengthen communities rather than individuals. The farmer selling this mask told me that it had been in service in his locality for decades, created as a celebratory tool and fashioned as a connector between the farming community and the animals who co-existed and depended on the same lands and crops. It was unusual in that whilst used as a traditional fertility mask at planting time and at harvest, it specifically celebrates the connection between people, animals and the environment. It had served well and delivered good harvests. He told me that the decision had been taken to sell this artefact as the community needed money and this item would bring that as well as telling its story elsewhere; they would miss the monkey at the top, and the elephant at the front, as well as the venerated woman, but they felt it was time to say a final thankyou to the mask and let it have a new life. A new mask would be commissioned from within the community.
The story is integral to the mask, and to the people’s lives and to the animals and environment where it was used. All elements come together in a piece of art which had a practical and ceremonial use and now lives its decorative life in my kitchen. I ponder deeply every time I look at it and I remember those people in beautiful Mali, overcoming huge environmental struggles even then.
