SPARKS
1-3RD FEB 2019
LEGGE STUDIOS
LEGGE ST
LEWISHAM
LONDON
SE13 6NP
Multidisciplinary fine art exhibition of 15 artists from MFA Fine Art 1 st Year (WCA) including myself with workshops for local families and creative educational programme at St Mary`s CE Primary School .
My roles: event organiser, promoter, exhibitor, workshop leader ,teaching assistant during two collage making /theory sessions at the school
The concept behind Sparks as a fine art show and a community engagement project was to spread the light of inspiration as community of creatives with a wider community that we are collaborating with and inviting for the event. In this case it is a . I think of it as a light in the dark.
LIGHT THAT SHINES WITHIN AND OUTWARDS INSPIRED BY A SPARK OF A CREATIVE IDEA
The project took place in cold February and the exhibition space presented a lot of challenges and was not physically comfortable to be in- it was opposite to a clean white cube space. We had semi outdoor without much heating, it being a workshop. We had to face harsh weather conditions and be much more resourceful in a set up. The environment was the opposite of a white cube. First and foremost the sharing of light would be through inspiring each other as creators and people by making this project come to life. There was a lot of networking involved and problem solving
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Where the idea for the project came from was when i heard about the opening of Legge Studios , a studio space in Lewisham, that my friend Langson Langa, a BA(Hons) 3 D Design student from Camberwell College Of Arts runs with two other recent graduates from the same course.
I was particularly inspired by their mission to develop the space into a creative hub giving a platform for local emerging artists to both physically produce art there by taking advantages of the facilities as well as exhibit there. Hub can be seen as a fire place- a warm welcoming environment . Fire pit became a part of the show both as a functional object and a powerful metaphor for connecting people physically by gathering them around it, intellectually by provoking conversations - as a means of dealing with a cold as we had to invigilate the space for prolonged periods for several hours.
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The importance of this project in my practice as a whole, apart from all the practical skills that i have learnt , is that it gave me an opportunity to explore how actual art making as well as an act of collaboration, leading workshops can become a form of therapy
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Fire pit DIY made by the studio directors burning scrap wood stored in the studio . The areas of the studio required for the show had to be cleared in preparation. The fire pit played its role in that purification to then
From Left to Right
Left: Myself with Patrick Newton and Langson Langa ( two of the directors of Legge Studios) in the courtyard by the fire pit on the weekend of the show reflecting on the project and the Private View.
Middle: An image capturing an evening gathering by the fire pit on the Sunday evening to celebrate the closing of the show, featuring my installation ` Light Inside Out ` in the background
Right: Gathering around the fire pit on the Saturday afternoon with both exhibitors and artists participating in a common conversation
Above: A video produced in a collaboration with my friend, a professional film maker and a friend of Legge Studio, who took interviews from me and some of my peers. The video overviews the private view and the main themes, concerns we had in relation to different aspects of the project and teh exhibition.
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Above: An outdoor clay sculpture with lights imbedded `Light Inside Out` i have made specifically for the space and in line with the theme of the exhibition. The idea was that this organic shape will act as a lantern at the entrence to the exhibition space, producing light in the dark, withstanding weather conditions.
This was my first experience with creating for outdoors in a show
Leading workshops for children both at the exhibition site and in local Church of England primary school, that time together with two peers from the course participating in the exhibition.
Through this I have improved on leadership and teaching skills as well as explored the ways of extending a theme of a fine art project for this age group outside of the art world.
I was leading liason with the headteacher from the school, which was an important leadership and administrative experience for me
