Posts Categorized: Other Projects
Arts & Business New Partners Award
HS Projects received funds from the Arts & Business New Partners initiative to develop an ambitious series of workshops with lead artists Zatorski + Zatorski for the employees of Insight Investment.
Participating staff were encouraged to experiment with all sorts of visual language, from photography, to drawing, video, portraiture, text and a ‘happening’ at the end of the last workshop, offering them a wide spectrum of creative possibilities. Each workshop was carefully structured to feed into the next and so create a momentum and a sense of anticipation.
The theme of the project was ‘a journey’ and participants were tasked with taking photographs and experimenting with image-making using a variety of media to represent a journey, real or metaphorical. They explored visual language and creative thinking. A total of about 2,000 photographs, drawings and text pieces were produced during the project. The participants also created an artist’s book and a number of short video films which linked ordinary objects to extraordinary histories.
Research & Development Corporate Arts Partners, Plymouth
Funded by Arts Council South West, HS Projects undertook a research project in 2004 into cultural initiatives to support the urban regeneration plans for the city of Plymouth.
The project assessed the level of interest and involvement in the visual arts within the Plymouth business community both past and present, identified business organisations that could contribute to the cultural initiatives in support of Plymouth’s regeneration plans and established the grounds for such initiatives to happen.
An outcome of our project’s research established that most of the businesses we initially surveyed were curious about how the contemporary visual arts could support their business aims and objectives. Following post survey follow-ups, a viable proportion of surveyed businesses understood how the contemporary visual arts can make an invaluable contribution to achieving their aims and objectives.
The research project identified avenues for the corporate sector’s involvement ranging from developing a programme of workshops for their staff and the community, to sponsoring art events, starting a corporate collection, establishing an exhibition programme, establishing an arts club and setting up a corporate community arts trust. While ensuring that the potential to engage the arts, business world and local community of Plymouth was maximised, the project also outlined a best practice model for communicating big ideas to businesses while maintaining the highest standards for the contemporary visual arts.
During the project we consulted with: Plymouth City Council, Public Art South West, Arts & Business South West, Plymouth City Airport, Urban Splash, Plymouth Gin, ABP (Associated British Ports), Marks & Spencer, Lloyds TSB, Wrigleys, SWEB and P&O Developments, amongst others.
RNLI College Art Programme Strategy
HS Projects was appointed by RNLI in 2003 to devise an Art Programme Strategy for the new RNLI College.
The RNLI is a highly professional and well equipped organisation, funded entirely by donation. The new RNLI College was an ambitious venture intended to further enhance the RNLI’s reputation with its contemporary design and state of the art equipment, heralding it as a forward-looking 21st century organisation.
The Art Strategy established the overall vision and put forward a number of recommendations, including a programme of site specific commissions and a separate exhibition programme to create increased awareness of the RNLI, both internallly and externally, as an ambitious and forward thinking organisation.
We recommended the formation of an Art Committee to oversee and execute the vision of the Art Strategy. We identified four sites for public commissions and proposed a shortlist of artists. We also proposed two separate sites for temporary exhibition programmes; the atrium area that can be used as a gallery to either showcase works from the RNLI collection or be for hire; and the bar area for a changing exhibition programme from the RNLI’s photographic archive.
The Art Strategy brought clarity, consistency of vision and purpose, as well as detailed practical guidance on implementing all the different elements of the programme.