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29 November 2009

From Warhol-inspired fashion to a Richter-influenced newspaper

An inspirational tour

In 2010, a new set of public events as well as education and outreach projects will take place at ARTIST ROOMS on Tour exhibitions across the UK. This follows a highly successful series of education and outreach projects, funded by The Art Fund, which were organised for the inaugural year of the Tour.

The events programme was set up in specific response to Anthony d’Offay’s own vision that his collection should reach as wide an audience as possible, in particular young people. As d’Offay said in a Sunday Times interview in 2008, “a lot of things were painful to part with but the jewel for me is walking into a museum and seeing a school party there.”

Workshops

In response, The Art Fund funded a series of tailor-made events and workshops at the tour venues in 2009, and will continue to do so in 2010.

For example, in the Midlands there was a celebration of all things Warhol over the summer. Tying into the two Warhol ARTIST ROOMS on show at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and The New Art Gallery, Walsall respectively, a range of events and workshops were set up in celebration of the famous New York artist. A Warhol-inspired fashion show took place in Wolverhampton, with clothes designed and modelled by Wolverhampton University students, inspired by the Warhol works they had seen on display. A Warhol ‘Factory’ was set up in a disused shop in the city’s Mander Shopping Centre, with members of the public taking part in workshops with a different artist every day for two weeks. In Walsall, adults had the chance to participate in drawing workshops led by professional illustrators, whilst local unsigned bands had the opportunity to be ‘Famous for Fifteen Minutes’ at an open mic night held at The New Art Gallery. A special ‘Art Bus’ shuttled visitors between Wolverhampton and Walsall throughout the exhibitions, enabling convenient access to both.

In Middlesbrough, a group of young people designed, wrote, edited and published a special edition newspaper entitled The Modern Times, publicising the Gerhard Richter, Modern Times exhibition on show at mima, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. The finished publication was distributed to 48,000 households throughout the city. Many participants felt The Modern Times project had had a truly ‘profound’ impact on their thoughts about art, and some felt the project had influenced their personal career goals.

Responses to the ARTIST ROOMS outreach and education projects were enthusiastic, with visitors coming back with comments such as “It was completely different from what I thought”; “I was inspired” and “You don’t want to just come and look at a picture; you want to be part of the whole experience”.

Watch this space for information on the 2010 education and outreach projects funded by The Art Fund as part of the ARTIST ROOMS on Tour.

Please download our brochure on the success of the 2009 tour and the range of activities that took place.

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