Art DIY Summer at Site August 24, 2011 Screen printing, collaging, crockery, tree-rubbing and parties – opening with a Zine Library over 200 copies deep! Site Gallery, Sheffield offers a creative outlet for late summer

In every city there are creative individuals beavering away in studios, working to a deadline, preparing for shows, stuggling to find a platform. Then there individuals who would love to know how they do it. and do it for themselves.

DIY Summer at Site pulls together all sorts of creative talent, hosting workshops, events, talks and parties from 23 August – 7 September, so summers-end is no longer a drag but a makeshift, experimental, cultivating, insightful and artistic splurge!

The cool, neat paintings of Sarah Abbott (who we interviewed earlier this year) have begun to take over the main gallery wall and front gallery windows. She celebrates the brilliance of traditional hand sign painting and is forming a map of sorts which will track the ideas, collaborations and contributions to DIY Summer, a sweet approach to recording progress.

Article attended the launch party last night and flicked through a myriad of zines, courtesy of Rotherham Zine Library which has been relocated to the gallery in Sheffield, becoming more comprehensive day by day. Zine subjects ranging from ‘Sugar Paper; 20 things to make and do’ to ‘The Hare’ to ‘Bido Lito’ to very early issues of Article Magazine. These are all for browsing and there are more available to buy. This showcase is a sufficient catalyst to make anyone grab paper, scissors, compile something together and do a budget print run no matter how odd their topic/obsession. The odder the better!

Band Real Fur had the live music slot of the night. They have a tendency to shoehorn audiences into launderettes and other unlikely haunts. They were perfectly summery and jaunty for the occasion, sticking with their preference for spaces not built for gigs but perfectly befitting the moment – appropriately diy.

The programme is jam packed and we recommend a look into the whole deal. Download their programme, and put a stopper to any late-summer lethargy! Galleries tend to go quiet in August and Site Gallery is offering to keep our brains engaged.

Here’s a shortlist!:

• T-Shirt Screen Printing workshops
• ‘Crocolage’ – collage, paint and fire a mug, cereal bowl and plate
• Make a DIY Couture cape
• Zine talks
• Book launch
• Tree-rubbing workshops with Sheffield Publicity Department
• Audacious Art Experiment gigs
• Screeenadelica gig poster exhibition
• Collage Party and collage the front of the Site Gallery building!

DIY Summer at Site from 23 August – 7 September

Site Gallery,  1 Brown Street, Sheffield S1 2BS