Wide Open is delighted to welcome Monica-Shanta as our artist in residence for November.

From 13th to 29th November, Monica-Shanta will be working with local light sources in Paignton, from the natural sun, to playful refractions of glass and water and electrical light. Inspired by November’s cultural light festivals, like Diwali and Bonfire Night, her project will reflect on light as a symbol of life, growth and renewal.

During her residency at the Projection Room, Monica-Shanta will experiment with film, light, and movement to create a short moving image film that captures light’s elusive and illuminating presence. She will playfully explore the visual possibilities offered by the many ways in which a source of light, ultimately the Sun for planet earth, illuminates our world and indirectly reveals itself to us, while we can ‘Never Look Straight At The Sun’.

About Monica-Shanta

Monica-Shanta mixes mediums and processes to suit her ideas, weaving together digital image and film, interactive performance, drawing and installation. She inter-weaves inspiration and influence from a breadth of Western and Asian cultural traditions, seeking to engage with universal human experiences and seeking to make visible the magic of life within the ‘ordinary’.

Monica-Shanta is an artist and educator who works with an extensive range of people and arts organisations - in schools, galleries, community environments, and in exhibitions, installations and residencies. She created the new Room of Discovery at A la Ronde for The National Trust and exhibited at the MIRROR Gallery, Plymouth with her film ‘Death is a Place’ for the Ritual Touch with Ingrdi Pollard and Ella S. Mills.

People of any age are welcome to join in Monica-Shanta’s playful explorations and come along to play with light and casting shadows.

Thursday 21st November, 10am - 3pm: Light & Shadow Play drop-in day. Come along to this creative drop-in sessions and play with film and projection with Monica-Shanta. Find out more.

Friday 29th November, 6:30 - 8:30pm: Artist Open View. See Monica-Shanta’s end of residency film, meet the artist and enjoy some refreshments. Find out more.