Art workshops inspire city young people to visit museums

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Arts Awards, Brighton, Caroline Sutton, Royal Pavilion and Museums, Young People

While groups of extremely loud and over-excited teenage foreign students bounce off each other with their huge rucksacks outside the Royal Pavilion every day, it seems the people of Brighton and Hove can tend to take their cultural heritage for granted.

As we rush about our lives, it’s easy to use the Pavilion Gardens as a shortcut to that lovely vintage shop or ignore the Pavilion on the way to the beach. You may pass the Booth every day on the bus, promise you’re going to visit and then never do.  I was the same, living near Preston Manor for years but never visiting.

Much of the work behind the scenes at the Royal Pavilion and Museums is aimed at encouraging local people to come along and enjoy our museums and very own palace. After all, if you’re a Council Tax payer – they belong to you.

There are hosts of workshops, activities and special events designed to attract people like you and I to join in.  At the moment, a group of Whitehawk residents are getting involved in an archaeological project, there’s a creative writing course for marginalised writers dealing with mental health issues, disability, health or social issues who meet at the museum to write, and a lot of people have been involved in the setting up of the WW1 War Stories exhibition.

During the summer, I caught up with a group of young people who were spending some of their holidays visiting each museum and creating art as a response to what they had seen. They tried photography at the Booth, visited Hove Museum, the Wizard’s Attic and then tried out toy-hacking – recreating new toys from old ones. In later sessions they experimented with animation and urban art inspired by WW1 posters at Preston Manor. Quite a few of them had never been to some of the museums such as the Booth, despite living in the city.

Completed collage created at an art workshop at Brighton Museum

Run by Sarah Pain and Lindsey Smith the group was open to any young person but with a particular aim at attracting those not in education, training or employment.

Sarah explains that some of the young people are working towards their Arts Awards, which enables young people to develop as artists and art leaders and work towards a national qualification. The awards look good on a CV as they take a lot of hard work and commitment.

“We get a broad range of people who come along, a good mix of young people. We advertise through the youth service and it is aimed at young people from 14 to 19 or up to 25 with additional needs.”

On the day I met them the group met at the Royal Pavilion and were given a guided tour. They then went to the art room at the museum to create some weird and wonderful collages inspired by the over-the-top beauty of the palace.

There are five young people working at a table festooned with glitter, flowers, feathers, paint and glue getting down to work on their ‘kitsch’ creations. They chat happily as they work and the atmosphere is lively and fun.

Jason, from Hangleton says; ”I come along to have some fun. The thing I’ve most enjoyed so far is the toy-hacking which we did at the Booth.“

Sabrina, from Whitehawk said;”I’ve been to all the open days so far. We went to the Booth to look at the taxidermy and insects which was nice though I got a bit freaked out. I love art, it’s one of my favourite subjects and something I enjoy doing at home. I’m working towards my Gold Arts award which I hope to finish in 18 months.

“I’ve learnt lots of different things and I think more young people should come along.”

During the final workshop the young people got involved in Remix the Museum with animator David Packer as part of the Digital Festival and produced some fantastic animations.

Caroline Sutton, Blogger in Residence

Recent work on the Gilbert Hampden Manley collection of Miao textiles

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China, History of Design, Textiles, World Art, Young People

As a History of Design student at the University of Brighton, I’m always curious to find out how certain objects end up inside the museums I visit. Often this involves a lengthy process of funding, applications and red tape which we as visitors so rarely comprehend. As a result, my recent placement at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery has definitely been an eye-opener as I’ve had the opportunity to help with a textiles acquisition by the World Art collection.

We’ve had a group of Chinese Miao textile items donated by the collector’s partner, and I’ve been helping to catalogue each piece using the Museum’s collections management system. To be fully catalogued, each item must have basic details such as a number, description, location and photo, as well as useful extras like date and background, which can be found in the collector’s notes.

The pieces themselves are all beautiful examples of traditional embroidery and dyeing techniques from the Miao ethnic minority living in southern China. The Miao people live in remote mountainous areas which have been historically difficult to reach, and as a result their culture has remained distinctive and localised for many centuries. The techniques which are used in these garments have been preserved through generations, and are some of the finest textiles from this region. Instead of investing in architecture or other art forms, the Miao place much of their wealth into dress, especially their local costume which is worn at festivals throughout the year and differs greatly from village to village.

I am lucky enough to be working with these textiles before they enter the museum case – it’s been a pleasure to see and touch (with gloves on!) up close these stunning pieces, and learn how they were made. I’ve never seen such tiny but flawless cross-stitch! The Miao are also known for using silver and tin in their embroidery to add a bit of extra sparkle. Thin metal pieces are wrapped around yarn and stitched onto jackets, skirts, and baby-carriers. Baby-carriers are a key part of Miao life. They are painstakingly handmade and decorated before the first-born, and are then used throughout childhood to keep the baby safe and warm on their mother’s back whilst she works during the day.

Rosie working on the Miao textiles. The item in the foreground is an example of a baby carrier decorated with silk-felt embroidery and colourful tassels.

Whilst most of the skirts, jackets, jewelry and cloths are original and were worn and used by ordinary Miao people, some of the items were custom-made to sell to outsiders. As transport links have improved and it’s possible to travel longer distances, some rural craftspeople are starting to take trips to the cities to sell their unique textiles in tourist areas. The tourists are also visiting Miao areas, as seen in the growth of so-called ‘textile tours’ in the region that aim to bring specialist or intrepid amateur textile collectors to see these techniques firsthand. It has resulted in the paradox whereby traditional costumes are being worn less as modern culture mixes with old customs, yet it can be more lucrative than ever to keep the old skills alive for the burgeoning tourist market.

These items were collected by Gilbert Hampden Manley during such textile tours. Gilbert’s detailed notes (including prices, locations, anecdotes and photographs) have greatly enriched the story of their journey here to the museum’s archives. After the long delicate process of cataloguing and storing these items, they will be a valuable resource available through the Museum’s online collections search facility, and for potential future display.

Rosie Clarke, History of Design student, University of Brighton

Iranian Identity in Art, World Stories: Young Voices Gallery

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art, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, calligraphy, Iran, Islamic, Persian, World Art, World Stories, Young People

My name is Neda. I am from Iran and moved to the UK in 2010. I am a freelance researcher and was involved, along with eight other young Iranians, with the Iranian Identity in Art display, as part of the World Stories Young Voices gallery at Brighton Museum. We worked with curators at the museum to select contemporary artwork and objects for display and to create gallery interpretation. The theme of the display is how the art of writing or calligraphy has and continues to be an important part of Iranian art production. I was excited to be working on this gallery as it will raise the profile of Iranian contemporary art in the UK, and challenge preconceptions about the Middle East.

During the World Stories Young Voices project we studied the historic Iranian objects in the collection and discussed the contemporary artworks. We related to the objects in a personal way rather than focusing on their historical or technical aspects.

Front and side view of calligrapher’s pen box in World Art collections, nineteenth century, wa502789

Front and side view of calligrapher’s pen box in World Art collections, nineteenth century, wa502789

The calligraphy box particularly stood out for me due to its beautiful poetry and miniature painting. I translated the poem and recorded a reciting in both Persian and English. The poem can be listened to with a mobile device via the QR code available at the museum.

What I really like about the gallery is the mixture of historic and contemporary objects on display. Middle Eastern audiences appreciate contemporary art by drawing from the cultural context and background that has influenced that art. Displaying traditional art alongside the contemporary art can help to contextualise it for a non Middle Eastern audience.

Iran: An artistic renewal

Around 65% of the population of Iran are under 30 years old. There are plenty of young talented Iranian artists who are well-known to a small artistic circle within Iran, and unknown to the rest of the world. As an Iranian I feel it is important to support these artists through museum displays and through collecting contemporary art.

Due to restriction and censorship of art in Iran, artists must be imaginative and nuanced in the messages that they convey. They have also inherited a rich artistic history which has been influenced by pre Islamic period (Persian art and culture) as well as Islamic art.

Young Iranians discuss digital print Dream Indicator Series by Nader Davoodi (copyright Arshia Hatami )

As Iranians, we decided to display an artwork which could not be displayed in Iran as it shows a young woman without a headscarf which is forbidden in Iran. Nader Davoodi’s work titled Dream Indicator is a strong representation  of a young woman. She emerges through an upside down script of an old Persian love story which suggests the interplay between contemporary life and traditional practices.

Dream Indicator Series by Nader Davoodi. Digital print on photographic paper, 2011

During the project I ran workshops to teach Iranian calligraphy at a families event at Brighton Museum. In the workshop I helped children create their own designs. They were inspired by the traditional and contemporary Iranian calligraphy. Finally, we made the designs into badges.

Neda Kahooker, Researcher, Iranian collections

Images of Iranian calligraphy event 2012, Brighton Museum (copyright Neda Kahooker)

Images of Iranian calligraphy event 2012, Brighton Museum (copyright Neda Kahooker)

Images of Iranian calligraphy event 2012, Brighton Museum (copyright Neda Kahooker)

Images of Iranian calligraphy event 2012, Brighton Museum (copyright Neda Kahooker)