Make Belief – A six-month residency based in a former shop unit on Sceaux Gardens estate, working with families and children to develop a series of fantastical narratives around the estate, turning the space into a living library and place of myth and storytelling. Part of the Making Play programme at the South London Gallery, October 2009 -March 2010. Approach: throughout the residency I experimented with methods of collecting and sharing narratives, through curated and open games and activities. The residency involved
facilitating the ‘Saturday Club’ workshops in a disused shop
unit, to which local children of all ages (3-16) would come on a drop-in
basis. Transforming the Shop: Through an ongoing collaborative, accumulative, open process, I transformed the shop with local children and families to create a ‘Growing Library and Secret Museum’, where local stories can be gathered and invented. Alongside my themed and curated activities, anyone was welcome to turn up and make use of the art materials, toys and books, making the place function as a social space.
'Help us build a wishing wall' - a wishing wall area was set up in the shop. The children re-imagined Sceaux Gardens through themed activities and group discussions.
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Feather up and take off - drawing, costume making and participatory performance. Participants were invited to make paper costumes and masks and attempt to fly against a collaborative backdrop. Part of the House of Fairy-tales Buttons event at Hoxton Hall. 2010
'Exploring Environments' - A creative-partnership project to develop SEAL, (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning), literacy and explore the possibilies of learning outside the classroom. Context: Parsloes primary school is undergoing major structural changes. This project responded to Year 1 geography lessons that the teachers wished to develop. The project also explored how children can be involved in the process of responding to and changing their environment, using the theme of Moving House as a starting point.
Process: Initially Year 1 students documented existing environments,describing how they feel about different areas around the school. The children made maps, created a photographic snail-trail that describes emotional spaces around the school, invented ways of measuring spaces learned adjectives to help describe environments, and learned to give instructions and directions. The work was directly linked to maths and literacy, and also to SEAL. Trust and listening games were developed in order to enhance social awareness and communication skills.
The second part of the project focused on changing environments. The children used their imagination to transform environments outside the classroom and bring a story to life. The children created a story-trail around the school based on Little Red Riding Hood, designing emotional wallpaper for two identical rooms, and transforming the between corridor into a forest of feelings. Parsloes Primary School,
Dagenham, January- March 2010. ‘Games and Play’- A two-day idea generation workshop for 2rd year students at Plymouth University, October 2009. ‘The Streets as the Artist's Studio’- A talk and one-day workshop for 2rd year illustration students at Maidstone University, October 2009.
Scratch The Surface, Dig a Little Deeper – a two-week symposium and conference - ‘Dig a Little Deeper, Build on Solid Ground’ - in Pennine Lancashire, run by Elevate- a regeneration agency, exploring interim solutions for derelict sites through socially-engaged practice, working with local residents and communities. 14th- 26th June 09
Easter Art Trail – artist facilitator for a participatory arts event at Charleston, 12th April 2009. Out of the Page - Guest speaker and workshop facilitator, Falmouth University. 1st - 2nd of April 09. The Change- a talk followed by a two-day workshop for BA students at Hereford College of Art, exploring and inventing rituals. 25th - 26th March 09. Industry and Idleness – creating a site-specific, interpretative piece in collaboration with Musuem Sheffield Youth Forum in response to William Hogarth’s prints: Final artwork: a Snakes and Ladders floor vinyl. Process: This was a two-part project - the first was to engage young people with William Hogarth’s prints through a series of creative activities:
Using thought bubble templates, Youth Forum members write down what the characters are thinking.
young people recreate the scenes from the prints The second part was to create a collaborative, site-specific, interpretive piece in response to the exhibition Industry and Idleness which would allow museum visitors to relate to the prints:
Left: Youth Forum trying out layout options for the floor-game in the gallery space. Right: final artwork installed. The final artwork was developed through weekly workshops that explored themes around free-will, fairness and changing moral values through group discussions, drama and drawing games, creative writing and making activities. The Youth Forum used the workshops to questions and respond to the series Industry and Idleness, which was ‘calculated for the use & Instruction of Youth’ in order to teach them right from wrong. The final piece is a large-scale Snakes and Ladders floor vinyl, displayed next to the Hogarth prints, which gallery visitors are invited to play. Snakes and Ladders was originally invented in India in order to teach children the virtues of the Jain religion, with virtues in the shape of the ladders and vices in the shape of snakes. The Youth Forum used the game template to convey their own their own moral values through two-frame sequential comic strips, which are incorporated in the overall design, symbols that represent good and bad, which are used in the decorative frame, and a moral-choice questionnaire that guides the players through the game. March- May 2009, Graves Gallery, Museums Sheffield. 'The World in a Gallery'- facilitation of The Big Draw exhibition and workshop at the Artsdepot. ‘Discovery’- A two-day idea generation workshop for 3rd year students at Maidstone and Plymouth Universities. ‘My Place, Your Place, Our Place’- project facilitator for London Open House at the London Metropolitan Archives. A one day workshop for all ages- combining drawing, model-making and filming to create a city of the future and a city of memories, using the archives. 21 sept 08 ‘Spiral Festival’- a commission to curate a weekend of creative activities and participatory performances for the public, inspired by the works of Anya Gallaccio and Chantal Akerman at Camden Arts Centre, August 30th and 31st 2008.
Critical drawing tutor- weekly experimental drawing classes for adults at Camden Arts Centre 23 April-2 June 2008 Guest Tutor- One-day portfolio critic and portfolio presentation for MA students at St Martins College of Art, May 2008 Art Tutor- Mixed media art class for adults with learning difficulties - Community Focus 2008 ‘Through the Ages’ – a multimedia residency at Ruislip high school, commissioned by Hillingdon council. The work involved creating a film and working with students to create their own short films using the archives from Hillingdon Arts Council as a starting point. February- May 2008 Mask- making workshop- mixed media art class for adults with learning difficulties- Community Focus, 30 Nov 07 Creative Routes 2007:
Twice Upon A Time - A storytelling and bookmaking project with Year 4 students from Manor Side primary school, using Jim and the Beanstalk’ by Raymond Briggs as a source of inspiration. The students created new fairy-tales by revisiting and altering traditional stories, changing the personalities of the characters, combining different stories to generate new storylines and bringing in new heroes and heroines to save the day. The students then transformed their stories into unique sculptural book forms. SMALL and big - A moving-image and photography project with Year 6 students from Bell Lane Primary School, inspired by ‘The Man’ by Raymond Briggs, in which the students created four different scenarios using the title ‘Small and Big’, experimenting with perspective, ratio and distance, resulting in moving-image pieces that combine acting, mask-making, drawing and projection work. Guest Speaker - Westminster University Creative
Partner at All Saints School and the De LA Warr Pavilion -
Animating the curriculum and improving literacy by introducing methods
of creative teaching and learning, working with year 5 and year 6 teachers
and pupils After
school Arts Club Facilitator for year 7 and 8 students - in
association with UCL museums and collections department Young
Zoologist Day - Art and Science workshop at the Grant Museum
for year 8 students
‘Drawing
on the Walls’ - Workshop Facilitator at
Little Aston Primary School Workshop
Facilitator - ‘The Big Crawl’ Guest
Speaker and Workshop Facilitator - Magic, Myth and Medicine ‘Ghost
Watch’- a video installation in the Phantasmagoria evening,
part of ‘Eyes, Lies and Illusions’ outreach programme |
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© All images on this website copyright Orly Orbach 2010
