Dharma, Karma, Samsara
Partners
Birmingham Rep / Symphony Hall
Artists
Rachel Gartside / Kitty O’Shea
This project was directly linked to the Ramayana season at the Birmingham Rep, which is a part of their Forward Festival programme. The brief was to combine visual arts and drama, with apprentices creating the set and props for the performance.
Digital journeys and Neural Networks
Partners
B16 and Vivid
Artists
David Osbaldestin / Clare Smith
The apprentices worked on their personal journeys using digital imaging, photography and video techniques. They created a range of products to compliment the online imagery, including mugs, postcards and stickers. A number of apprentices worked on a live commission to design invitations for a forthcoming exhibition. The final results were displayed at the B16 Gallery with a group installation.
Sensation
Partners
Craftspace Touring / Queen Alexandra College
Artists
Kate Allen / Helen Turner
This programme looked at multi sensory art, and worked on a live commission to provide handling objects as part of the educative and interpretative support for the exhibition. This project also challenged ideas around disability, Queen Alexandra College for the blind was a partner, and one of the first exercises the apprentices undertook was blind sculpture.
Changing Labels
Partners
mac and UCE Department of Foundation / Community Studies
Artists
Sally Harper / Laura Berry
This project utilised constructed textile techniques to create a range of
products that could be described as utility chic. The apprentices designed and constructed purses, bags, cushions with added objects, whether these were pocketed in, such as photos, plastic coins, beads, or by using unusual materials for traditional objects such as cushions. Once again, apprentices were encouraged to draw on their own experience.
a-z
Partner
Ikon Gallery
Artists
Rehanna Mughal / Ming De Nasty
The exhibition was used extensively as a starting point, and generated much debate on what contemporary art can and is about. Whilst ‘As it Is’ was felt by many of the apprentices to be beyond their expectation of what art is, all apprentices were interested and excited by at least one piece which brought them to consider fully the whole exhibition and their interpretation of it.
Earth, Glaze and Fire
PartnersNewman College / Sampad
Artists
Chris Bramble / Ashok Mistry
This project was a ceramics projects drawing on South Asian art and decoration for inspiration. The apprentices were taken through a variety of different ceramics techniques including slab and coil pots and throwing..
Traces
Partners
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Collective art Noise / Castle Vale artSite
Artist: Doug O’Connell, Choreographer: Rachel Thew, David Jason, Birmingham Royal Ballet
The theme of ‘journeys’ was taken as a starting point, in part because of the link to the Biennalle de Danse in Lyon in which a number of apprentices would be participating. This theme was further expanded by the artists to encompass urban landscape in addition to personal journeys. The final piece was performed at the Closing Ceremony, and at two artSite launches in October. As a result of participating in the programme, five apprentices went to Lyon to participate in the Biennale de Danse, and a dance club is meeting weekly at Castle Vale artSite.