Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
LE11 3TU
+44 (0)1509 263171

School of the Arts

School staff

John Atkin

Reader in Fine Art

+44(0)1509 22 8961

J.Atkin@lboro.ac.uk

Henry Moore funded Atkin throughout his MA sculpture course at the RCA, 1982-1985. Atkin’s output is exhibited worldwide, with solo and group exhibitions in Australia, China, USA and Europe, supported by The British Council, Australia Council, Elephant Trust, AHRC, Arts Council, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, independent and institution-based supporters. His research involves several fields of Fine Art Practice: drawing: installation: film: digital collage: public art.

Membership of external professional bodies includes Trustee, Royal British Society of Sculptors: Honorary Fellow, Beijing Academy of Sculpture: and The Academy of Urbanism. His output has attracted numerous awards: The Landscape Institute: Royal Town Planning Institute: Henry Moore Foundation: Rootstein Hopkins Foundation: Beijing Municipal Council.

Recent publications on Atkins’ output focus on delivering lasting cultural legacies that reference social heritage within the contemporary landscape: generating widespread media interest and editorials that focus on collaborative process in public spaces, worldwide.

The central plank of Atkin’s research is the coordinated approach to the role of art within the public realm in the 21st Century. To explore this aim, he frequently works as an embedded component of Integrated Design Team’s, (IDT’s) in order to deliver a sustainable and synthesized environment that relates to the heritage and culture of the locale.

The focus of his activities in China have ranged from the Beijing Olympiad: International Sculpture Parks: High Tech Eco Parks: conferences and symposiums that address the cultural imperatives in City Planning.

Practice-based research that addresses traditional and digital processes is at the heart of his research.

Teaching

SAC117 Fine Art Practice: Final Project (60 credits)

Research

Atkin is Principal Investigator for an EPSRC funded project, Bridging the Gaps: exploring novel ways interdisciplinary practice can be stimulated across a range of Departments at Loughborough University: increasing the cross-fertilization of ideas and enabling multi-disciplinary research between departments: alleviating barriers to collaboration.

Conference participation includes The 16th China Sculpture Forum. DIAOSU- National Sculpture Magazine of China, representing the Royal British Society of Sculptors: Sculpture by the Sea Symposium, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney: Understanding the Post-Industrial City: metropolis, urban renewal & public space: Faculdade de Arquitectura - Universidade Técnica de Lisboa Bauhaus - Universitat Weimar.

His role as Lead Artist for Kent County Council’s pioneering Breaking Boundaries “shared space” project has won several major awards and the subject of widespread critical reach: embedded within an Interdisciplinary Design Team to deliver a range of unique Highway designs, reflecting on Ashford’s cultural heritage within the contemporary context of innovative urban design.
http://www.johnatkin.net/ashford.php

His 2008 collaboration with The San Francisco Mayor’s Office eventuated in delivering a coherent public realm for the Fillmore District of San Francisco that addresses the locales indelible heritage as the home of West Coast Jazz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=BDlP10mMz1U

“Strange Meeting”, commissioned by Beijing Municipal Government in 2008, celebrates the Beijing Cultural Olympiad. This 27-ton marble & granite artwork, selected from a global application of 2600 people, remains in-situ to this day, adjacent to the Birds Nest Stadium.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7543272.stm

Atkin is the UK Representative for the EU-China touring exhibition, “Inspiring Culture”, (www.inspiringculture.com) touring nine major museums in China 2011-2013.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-visualart-jac.htm

Postgraduate Research Supervision

Atkin is supervising and coordinating the activities of two Research Assistants connected with the EPSCR Bridging the Gaps project: Abby Paterson (Design School) and Matt Price (School of the Arts).

Atkin welcomes interest from researchers and organisations for collaborative research projects and postgraduate supervision with interests particularly in Public Art: Sculpture: Fine Art Practice: Drawing: Collage: Assemblage: The Found Object: Additive Manufacturing processes in Fine Art Practice: Digital process in Drawing Technologies.

Featured Publications

Atkin,J, ARC's (Large scale stainless steel sculpture), High Tech Eco Park and Gardens, The 12th China Changchun (High Tech Development Zone) International Sculpture Symposium: Changchun Municipal Government. P.R.China, 02nd September 2011. Conference Speaker, “Public Art & Public Space” The Third Changchun International Sculpture Conference, ISBN 978-7-5445-0632-8

Atkin. J, Twister (large-scale mixed media sculpture), Group Exhibition, Pick Keobandith Director QU Art. Brussels Belgium SHAANXI ART MUSEUM Directors M Lou Ning and Vice Director M Zhang Xian China, Xian China, 20th October 2011, 9782960089226

Atkin, J, The Road Not Taken, Granite sculpture, International Sculpture Park, Ordos City Municipal Council, China, Ordos City, 10th January 2011

Atkin, J, Strange Meeting, 27-ton Marble & Granite sculpture. Outstanding Award. Cultural Olympiad, Olympic Park, Beijing Municipal Council, China, 09th August 2008