Burton Primary become Art Superheroes!

Burton Stather Primary year ones returned to 20-21 last week, to prove that they are, indeed, Art Superheroes! Two visits in one year? That's enough qualification for us to strongly believe that this school really value the arts, and their children were very excited to design and make their Art Superhero capes, in honour of that!

 

The day started with some art challenges for the whole group. How quickly can we all become artists? How many pieces of work can we create in one minute? How many objects can we find in our classmates' squiggle drawings?

The answers? We all became artists in a matter for two minutes. We created three pieces of artwork each and we found numerous objects in our squiggles - including a Smurf's hat!

We stuck a load of our quick-fire drawings to the windows, to use as inspiration for creating shapes and pattern later in the day.

Once we had our art head's tightly screwed in place, we took a trip around the gallery, splitting into small groups to complete some worksheets created especially for the class.

Each child chose their favourite piece of artwork out of our current exhibitions; Alison Stockmarr's Face Book as seen above, in our Linear Gallery, with our Gallery Assistant.

George Hardy's Faces (above) were popular because of the sheer talent in using biro as a drawing tool.

And finally Alexis Rago's Chaos Contained which was the favourite of many of the pupils, for it's weird and wonderful sculptures.

The children worked really hard to answer the questions and recreate their findings in the form of a sketch, which encouraged them to think about shape, 3D object and size.

 

 

Here are two of our favourite recreations of Alexis' work:

In the Link Gallery, we spotted Miss Clarkson taking a gallery selfie with some of her pupils! This is something we greatly encourage during visits! Who doesn't love a gallery selfie?!

Back in the education room, it was time to get our designer heads on. We decided who we might be as Art Superheroes, using Paint Girl, Super Splodge and Clay Spray as examples. We discussed what the term "design" means and what a designer might do.

It was explained that designers start with what's called Initial Designs, so the children began there's, thinking of shapes and logos that might represent who they are as Art Superheroes. We drew a lot of paintbrushes, bubble writing and lumps of clay, like in Alexis' work.

The initial designs, were then perfected on a second drawing, using larger, simpler shapes. These were to cut out to use as stencils for our screen printing.

Burton's year ones got to use some of 20-21's specialist equipment; our silk screens! The pupils learned what a silk screen was and what it might be used for. We used them to recreate our designs into Art Superhero capes, with our logos on the back!

Some designs worked better than others, as unfortunately, some children got a little carried away with the clean up, resulting in some of the papers being thrown in the bin. However, we think they look really abstract and unusual.

The paintbrushes look really striking!

And the lines came out crisp, framing the designs really nicely.

 

 

All in all, everyone seemed to have a great day, giving us more evidence that Art Superheroes is still one of our most popular workshops to book. Get in touch with ways we can drop in your class topic, and prove that your school are Art Superheroes, too!

 

 

For more information, contact us on 01724 297070 or email education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk

Alkborough Primary's Popping Portraits

This Wednesday found 20-21 Visual Arts Centre plunged into darkness as our power lines went down. A minor panic ensued as we realised we had 20 year one and two pupils on their way from Alkborough Primary School for a full day workshop.

As flexible and spontaneous as we boast to be, this one had us thinking on our toes and we decided to run the workshop back at the school, to make sure we could operate safely and the children would still get maximum experience.

So... back on the bus and back to the school we went, so we could learn about Andy Warhol and make our very own Popping Portraits of ourselves and classmates, just like Burton Primary a few months ago.

Children got to learn the proportions on drawing portraits and made some fabulous pictures of their classmates. We used these portraits to make stencils and cut holes for transferring ink through during the screen printing stage.

The class got to use our specialist printing equipment, just like what Andy Warhol would have used in the 60's. This was very exciting and made some really interesting results.

Because of the rush, Education at 20-21 unfortunately didn't manage to get any photographs of the fun we had, but we did get some lovely feedback from the children:

"It was fantastic because we lent thins abowt portets."
"I loved it so much."
"I really liked the trip because it was at school"


For further details on our Popping Portraits workshop and other offers from Education, get in touch with our Education Officer: 01724 297070 or education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk or take a look at our Education Offer page on this blog.

Bye Bye Darth Wader!

It was a sad day on Monday, when one of our most precious and well-loved pieces of artwork left the building.

Darth Wader has had his time at 20-21, entertaining thousands of children and families over the 12 years he's been here.

Darth waved goodbye with his big metal hand, and slowly and cumbersomely climbed into the back of a van, where he was taken back to his maker's house for essential repairs to his cracked rubbery legs and soundless horn.

 

Take care Darth Wader! Have fun wherever you go!

Kirsty Champ helps us to Find the Rs in Arts

Local artist Kirsty Champ will be delivering a short workshop during our upcoming Teacher Training day, Finding the Rs in Arts!

Kirsty has a vast amount of experience delivering art workshops in schools, after being one of the Creative Partnership artists for North Lincolnshire. We here at 20-21 book Kirsty a lot for our family workshops championing her skills and ability.
 

During Finding the Rs in Arts, Kirsty will explore wasy of creating a physical word using her sculpture background.

Attending schools will be entered into our PRIZE DRAW to WIN a FREE HALF DAY WORKSHOP in the centre!

Wednesday 16th October 3-4.30pm will see a gathering of teachers:

• Enjoy the opportunity to network
• Be introduced to our facilities
• Be inspired by our guided tour of our exhibitions and education spaces
• Take part in taster activities, including creative writing and quick draw
• Discover ways to inspire their pupils by using arts, creative writing and the art of language

There are only two spaces left on the Teacher Training session! Book to avoid disappointment by contacting our Education Officer: education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk or 01724 297074.

Helen Snell Workshop

To tie in with the upcoming and much anticipated Helen Snell "Burnt Out" exhibition, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre are hosting a workshop delivered by the artist herself.

Saturday 5th October 10am - 4pm.
This is a very rare opportunity to work directly with the artist to create your own paper sculpture to take home, that will be inspired by her unique and stunning artworks in the gallery.

The workshop costs a mere £25 for over 18's, but would act as a great opportunity for teachers to take part as continued professional development, in learning how to respond creatively to a modern art stimulus.

For details or to make a booking, contact us on 01724 297070 or email 2021.epd@northlincs.gov.uk

Ruth Dixon is joining us for Finding the Rs in Arts!

 It is with great pleasure that Education at 20-21 can confirm Finding the Rs in Arts will be co-delivered by local performance poet and excellent wordsmith, Ruth Dixon.

We asked Ruth if there would be any link between what we were offering as Teacher Training and what she can offer with performing words.

To our relief, Ruth decided it was right up her street, meaning our Finding the Rs in Arts training session will be full of exciting opportunities and ideas to take back to the classroom, not only for written word, but also for spoken!

Finding the Rs in Arts is a FREE training session for teachers to discover ways of embedding arts in literacy lessons. We will be looking at current exhibitions that teachers can tap into as starting points for classroom topics and we'll give everyone the opportunity to network and explore ways of utilising 20-21's resources and venue.

To find out more about getting involved in this fantastic opportunity, take a look at out previous post Teacher Training - Finding the Rs in Arts.

There are currently only 3 places left, so to secure a booking please contact our Education Officer, Hayley McPhun on 01724 297070 or education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk

 

Ask A Curator!

20-21 Visual Arts Centre are proud to be taking part in an international celebration of the curator! Ask A Curator day is next week and offers the chance for anyone and everyone to ask any curator any question on their gallery or museum.

Our Exhibitions Officer, Dominic Mason will be on hand next Wednesday (18th September) to answer any questions about the exhibitions, past and present at 20-21! Dominic will be using 20-21's Twitter account, Facebook page and emails to answer all your questions!

To tweet Dominic, ensure you "tag" in @2021VisualArts and @AskACurator to make sure your question is logged and replied to.

This is an EXCELLENT opportunity for schools and their pupils to ask anything they'd like about art, exhibitions or arts careers. For more information, or dieas on what you might like to find out about, contact our Education Officer Hayley McPhun on 017247 297070 or educatiom.2021@northlincs.gov.uk

We look forward to all your input for Ask A Curator, next Wednesday!

Teacher Training - Finding the Rs in Arts!

We are at it again! Education at 20-21 are offering a FREE Teacher Training session here in the gallery. We'd like to invite all Arts Coordinators, Heads of Art and GTP's to take part in an afternoon session called Finding the R's in Arts, where we will discover and explore ways to incorporate literacy into visual and creative sessions.

 

Attending schools will be entered into our PRIZE DRAW to WIN a FREE HALF DAY WORKSHOP in the centre!

 

Wednesday 16th October 3-4.30pm will see a gathering of teachers:

• Enjoy the opportunity to network
• Be introduced to our facilities
• Be inspired by our guided tour of our exhibitions and education spaces
• Take part in taster activities, including creative writing and quick draw
• Discover ways to inspire their pupils by using arts, creative writing and the art of language

A flyer like the one below should drop into your email inbox by the end of the week, if it hasn't consider adding yourself to our Education mailing list so you can be kept up-to-date with our twice termly newsletters and Teacher Training opportunities.

 

 

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Book your place by contacting our Education Officer, Hayley McPhun on 01724 297070 or emailing education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk FAO Hayley McPhun.

Welcome Back and All Aboard for Literacy Links Central!

Welcome back to the start of what looks like an exciting new school year! We have returned raring to go after a successful first year as Education at 20-21, with what's looking like another successful year ahead of us.

Education at 20-21 are hitting the ground running with four extremely enticing exhibitions for schools and teachers. This Autumn term 20-21’s galleries will be jam packed with exhibitions that hold tremendous links for delivering creative sessions in literacy, visual literacy and language.

 

All Aboard for Literacy Links Central!

 

Helen Snell’s “Burnt Out” will be her biggest solo exhibition to date, displaying new works developed around her research and time spent at the National Maritime Museum. Burnt Out is an ambitious new exhibition of work by an award winning artist, who uses digital laser and water jet cutting techniques to create her exquisitely detailed work.

This exhibition features large scale works made especially for the space at 20-21. The work cut from steel, acrylic, paper, card and fabric tells tales of exploration, survival and the quest for knowledge in hostile and extreme environments.

This exhibition runs 5th Oct-18th Jan. Below are some examples of Helen Snell's past work.

 

Tracey Holland’s exhibition “Atlas of Charged Space” uses photography, film and collage to create site-specific installations that explore the links between science, mythology, religion and history. Using light, silhouette and transparancy she creates a distinctive visual language, rich with spellbinding fairytale-esque stories.

There are direct links drawn between Tracey Holland's work and that of Helen Snell's, by considering the artists' abilities to trell stories without words, encouraging people to think beyond the boundaries of the artworks before them. Both these exhibitions sit very neatly with teaching visual literacy and creative language.

This exhibition runs 19th Oct-11th Jan. Below are some stills taken from Holland's films.
 

 
 

Jane Bevan gathers countryside and woodland debris on daily walks near her home in Derbyshire. These foraged finds include bark pieces from fallen trees, thorns, feathers and pine needles - treasures which are so often overlooked. Once collected she then uses traditional techniques of tying, binding, stitching and twining to make sculptures and vessels for the home.

By bringing these natural, found materials inside, she asks visitors to take a closer look at the details of nature and to admire and enjoy the texture, colours, strength and versatility they offer.

Jane Bevan has very kindly loaned 20-21 a touch box of materials she has gathered and manipulated, meaning pupils and staff can handle mini sculptures and make small works from them.

Bevan's "Walks with Nature" links directly with the work of Tracey Holland and easily incorporates studies of literacy as well as science and mini beasts.

This exhibition runs 7th Sept-2nd Nov. Below are some images of Jane Bevan's beautiful sculptural works.

 
 

Our Judge Dredd inspired exhibition plays host to tributes to the cult classic comics as well as displaying some original artwork from artists and collectors. Two school workshops have been offered for pupils to work with comic artist Kev F. Their artwork will feature in the exhibition which runs 12th Oct-7th Dec.

 

Never before has 20-21 held so much potential for teachers and schools to take advantage of core and bespoke workshops, guided tours and loan pack hire. For information on any/all of these options take a look at our up-to-date website, Education Offer page of this blog, pop in for a chat or call our Education Officer on 01724 297070 or email education.2021@northlincs.gov.uk.

 

Brumby Juniors do it again!

Brumby Juniors appear to be one of the most art active schools in North Lincolnshire! They've been running the creative curriculum for two years now, with tremendous success. Our Education Officer, Hayley, went along to Brumby's creative showcase to see the performances she helped develop, and the beautiful artworks the children had produced in her absence.

Mrs Pitois bravely ran a shadow puppet workshop throughout the summer term. The children started by visiting 20-21 Visual Arts Centre and watching the popular Sharmanka exhibition before taking part in a "starting point" shadow puppet workshop, introcuding the idea of shadow play and performance.

Below are some photos of the very successful shadow plays, performed by the children at the showcase event:

 

A HUGE congratulations to all the shadow performers, who were a little worried the last time we met them. What a great success all the hard work turned out to be!

 

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Remember a few weeks ago when we hosted a workshop at Brumby Juniors to support their Everyday Objects workshop? Well, their showcase was great! Children were showing parents how to make the Flyer Flowers that we all made, together.

 

The children were taking the flyers apart to use them as separate sheets. They looked so much clearer and brighter than the ones we had previously made. Lots of critical analysis and reconstruction of ideas proves a big success!

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The whole school was animated with art, creativity and intrigue. Each classroom became a hive of activity with children showing parents how to batik, tie dye, do aboriginal art, and showed them all about pop art and Andy Warhol! Below is just a small selection of photos taken on the day of the showcase!

 

Once again, a massive congratulations to all the pupils and teachers who have worked very hard over the summer term to make some truly stunning artworks and performances. It is a delight to have worked with you all and encouraged the creativity out of each of the pupils in our workshops. What lucky children the Brumby pupils are, to have halls adorned with such bright and interesting art!

We can't wait for next year's showcase!!