NN Contemporary Art 

NN Contemporary Art devise and deliver family workshops that are inspired by the current exhibitions.

November 2019

‘Friendly Houses‘ I devised and delivered a workshop inspired by the Jonathon Alibone exhibition ‘Promise and Ruin’

This was an experimental workshop designing and making fantasy homes that embraced questions of sustainable living and humanity’s possible future environments. Using only cardboard, found, scrap and minimal new materials.

‘Random Landscape’

Sculpture by participant aged 11 yrs, inspired by the Jonathon Alibone’s dystopian vision in his paintings.

February 2018

Open Exhibition 2018. Every two years NN Contemporary Art hosted its Open Exhibition of work by artists from across the world in a wide range of media. The show is selected by a changing panel of judges.

This workshop was inspired by the Open Exhibition. Participants had one hour to create their own art work in response the exhibition. 2D art works were created using mixed media and explored text, collage, colour and theme. The only stipulation being to consider the following scales: medium, small and tiny. The young artists then curated their own exhibition.

 

1. Picture by young artist aged 10yrs. He explained his motivation as being ‘a self portrait, but with one side having good ideas and the other having bad’. Brilliant!

2. Participants admiring their work and the excellent curation by young artists aged 5 – 10 yrs old. We also had a granddad acting as a technical assistant – it was a case of all hands on deck.

National Theatre Connections Festival at the Royal and Derngate

‘Postcard Home’

2016

Working with over 100 young people taking part in the National Theatre Festival, to create an installation of approximately 400 postcards, which represented their own experience of the festival and the plays in which they acted in, designed for or provided technical or stage management.

At the end of the installation, each participant received their postcard through the post as a piece of mail art.

 

Postcards created in collaboration with each young person taking part in the National Theatre’s Connections Festival.

Coloured pencils, pens and oil pastels.

‘Postcard Home’

Installation view within the foyer at the Royal and Derngate theatre.
24ft x 8ft

2016

 

‘Drawing from the Connections’

2014

Working with over 100 young people taking part in the National Theatre Festival, to create an installation of approximately six panels measuring 24ft by 8ft in total. I live painted in the foyer of the Royal and Derngate, responding to to the activities and sounds around me of young people preparing for their performances. This included the sounds of vocal and movement exercises, the visuals of lighting checks, the hustle and noise of 100 young people, key themes of plays and moments remembered after sitting in rehearsals and conversations with the young actors and technicians.

Sections of Mural ‘Drawing from the Connections’
2014

 

Full House Theatre 

2015

Community Project working in collaboration with Full House Theatre and a primary school in Bedford.  Working with various year groups, I created two patchwork wall hangings made from cardboard and found papers, including newspapers from the 1940’s, reflecting a ‘make do and mend’ philosophy.  The project worked with Bedford library and a historian to research the lives of Bedfordshire residents and notable characters during World War One.

The primary school children drew portraits of these characters and wrote letters either to or from these characters, describing their life if they are either in active service or a resident surviving in rationed conditions and also during the blitz.

Alongside the visual art project, Full House Theatre developed a play ‘ The Bravest Mouse’  from this research which was performed locally.