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Engaging with communities through creative workshops and activities
The annual transformation of the Main Gallery at Phoenix Art Space as a dedicated space to celebrate community art projects takes place this September.
Community Takeover: Journeys reflects on the past year’s activities, the projects they’ve undertaken, people they have met and experiences they have shared. Everyone is welcome to come along to the exhibition, find out more about how they engage with the communities around them and get involved in a creative activity or workshop.
The journey takes you through a neighbourhood star map to explore drawings of stars and constellations created as part of a community consultation, which included local schools, residents and groups.
These artworks were made in a series of workshops led by artists Hannah Chater and Daniel Locke, and have inspired artist Bruce Williams’ public artwork in Brighton’s newest neighbourhood Edward Street Quarter. Bruce is the award-winning artist behind Brighton’s iconic Kiss Wall and his latest work in our development will draw on the area’s historic links with the fishing industry. His work will appear in our central square and will feature a fishing net with designs and stories inspired by the community consultation which uncovered residents’ memories of the area.
Also on display is artwork created by members of The Art Club, a collaborative programme involving the Probation Service and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The Art Club aims to support mental health and desistance from crime by providing social connection, skills development and a creative outlet for people leaving prison. Staff from both SPFT and the Probation Service were invited to work alongside people on probation to engage in collaborative, experimental mark-making. Using print techniques and drawing, artists Daniel Locke and Jenny Staff guided participants out of their comfort zones, to produce artwork in a variety of media.
Visitors are invited to explore a library of bookworks that were made by members of The Art Club during the workshops. Spend time with these books and experience the artistic journey that has been shared by everyone involved in the project.
As part of Community Takeover: Journeys Leap Then Look re-create some of the activities that took place with the young people who attended the Extra Time Project at the Russell Martin Foundation. Using their innovative and unconventional approach to making contemporary art, Leap Then Look offered the young people new ways of thinking about what art can be and how it can be experienced. Visitors to the exhibition are also invited to reflect on these topics as they engage with gallery-based activities such as drawing to music, designing your own star, and hand dancing.
Please join us at the opening of Community Takeover: Journeys on Friday 2 September, 16.00 – 20.00. Everyone is welcome to come along and celebrate these great projects and the people involved. A programme of supporting workshops for everyone aged 5yrs+ is also taking place throughout September with artists Daniel Locke, Hannah Chater, Jenny Staff and Leap Then Look.
Chloe Hoare, Community & Learning Programme Manager, says:
Community Takeover: Journeys reflects on the past year’s activities, the projects they’ve undertaken, people they have met and experiences they have shared. Everyone is welcome to come along to the exhibition, find out more about how they engage with the communities around them and get involved in a creative activity or workshop.
The journey takes you through a neighbourhood star map to explore drawings of stars and constellations created as part of a community consultation, which included local schools, residents and groups.
These artworks were made in a series of workshops led by artists Hannah Chater and Daniel Locke, and have inspired artist Bruce Williams’ public artwork in Brighton’s newest neighbourhood Edward Street Quarter. Bruce is the award-winning artist behind Brighton’s iconic Kiss Wall and his latest work in our development will draw on the area’s historic links with the fishing industry. His work will appear in our central square and will feature a fishing net with designs and stories inspired by the community consultation which uncovered residents’ memories of the area.
Also on display is artwork created by members of The Art Club, a collaborative programme involving the Probation Service and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The Art Club aims to support mental health and desistance from crime by providing social connection, skills development and a creative outlet for people leaving prison. Staff from both SPFT and the Probation Service were invited to work alongside people on probation to engage in collaborative, experimental mark-making. Using print techniques and drawing, artists Daniel Locke and Jenny Staff guided participants out of their comfort zones, to produce artwork in a variety of media.
Visitors are invited to explore a library of bookworks that were made by members of The Art Club during the workshops. Spend time with these books and experience the artistic journey that has been shared by everyone involved in the project.
As part of Community Takeover: Journeys Leap Then Look re-create some of the activities that took place with the young people who attended the Extra Time Project at the Russell Martin Foundation. Using their innovative and unconventional approach to making contemporary art, Leap Then Look offered the young people new ways of thinking about what art can be and how it can be experienced. Visitors to the exhibition are also invited to reflect on these topics as they engage with gallery-based activities such as drawing to music, designing your own star, and hand dancing.
Please join us at the opening of Community Takeover: Journeys on Friday 2 September, 16.00 – 20.00. Everyone is welcome to come along and celebrate these great projects and the people involved. A programme of supporting workshops for everyone aged 5yrs+ is also taking place throughout September with artists Daniel Locke, Hannah Chater, Jenny Staff and Leap Then Look.
Chloe Hoare, Community & Learning Programme Manager, says:
“It’s such a pleasure to be able to share our lively community engagement programme with the public. Much of what we do takes place behind the scenes or outside our building, and the Community Takeover exhibition is a fantastic opportunity to make this important work visible. Visitors will have the chance to learn about what we’ve been doing over the past year, try out some fun, creative activities in the gallery or come along to a free workshop. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming everyone to Phoenix.”
Community Takeover: Journeys at Phoenix Art Space, 10-14 Waterloo Pl, Brighton BN2 9NB
3 - 25 September 2022, Wednesday – Sunday, 11.00 – 17.00
3 - 25 September 2022, Wednesday – Sunday, 11.00 – 17.00
For more information please click here
Community Takeover: Journeys at Phoenix Art Space
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