‘Inside Out’, British Council Athens
HS Projects was invited by British Council, Athens and the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) to participate in ‘Inside Out’, a two day conference in March 2006, part of an ‘Arts and Intergration’ initiative, examining ways arts can contribute to urban regeneration and undoing social exclusion in Greece and the UK.
For ‘Inside Out’ we delivered a series of workshops on how to commission, design and manage artist led workshops, exploring issues of integration and communication between different community and ethnic groups as well as issues of identity and representation. Our approach was that of a ‘Master Class’ where the conference participants were ‘walked’ through the structure of a typical example of a visual arts workshop programme themselves. The approach was designed to make it easier for them to implement a workshop programme when working wtih socially marginalised groups, especially with children and young adults, with the aim of encouraging self-esteem and improved self-image leading to greater integration.
At the end of each session there was a discussion to help crystallise the results, this was accompanied with information sheets.
‘Wish List: London?’, Pat Kaufman
‘Wish List: London?’ explored the wishes and desires of a group of young adults at the Downside Fisher Youth Club, in the London Borough of Southwark.
‘Wish List: London?’ focused on developing basic photographic skills whilst also building up a sense of group cohesion with everyone working towards a common goal. The project helped establish the participants’ identity and revealed the variety of photographic skills available to the group.
Early on in the project a theatre director and musician came along and led the group in exercises designed to teach them how to catch movement and focus on still life. The participants also looked at framing and capturing the ‘story’ in an image and, as the project progressed, the participants went on to create their own story lines of their own wishes and identities. What emerged was something beyond individual wishes or desires.
The group devised their own addendum to the original title. They agreed that their work collectively offers a portrait of the unexpected and unusual aspects of London. Hence, for them ‘Wish List: London’ became ‘Wish List: London?’ Throughout the workshops, the participants were exposed to additional sources of inspiration including both contemporary and historical photography and artwork and a visit to Tate Modern.
‘Wish List: London?’ was commissioned by HS Projects and funded by the Insight Community Arts Programme (2002 – 2015).
The project ran from October 2011 to March 2012.
BAA Heathrow Terminal 1 Collection
During 1995-1996, as part of the BAA Art Programme, we commissioned Giles Eldridge, Paul Langworth and Adrian Hemming for a series of site specific works, which formed an integral part of the Heathrow Terminal 1 Art Collection.
Giles Eldridge was commissioned to make a series of works on paper to greet passengers and staff as they made their way through Heathrow Terminal 1 Departures. Eldridge’s inspiration came from the BAA airport design manuals that set the company’s branding and distinctive identity. Eldridge worked with a selection of pages from the manual to produce a series of multi layered and multi media works on paper including drawing, photocopying, and watercolour.
Paul Langworth’s inspiration came from the travellers passing though the terminal, predominantly on their way to sunny holiday destinations. Langworth took his colour scheme and format from sun drenched tourist postcards, with a pallet of bright blues, yellow and white depicting scenes of families, airplanes arriving and departing and sunny skies; all pared down to his pixillated style.
Adrian Hemming ‘Big Bird 1 & 2, Touchdown 1 & 2’ large scale paintings on the theme of aviation, were inspired by the act of travelling and the acknowledgement of a particular place. ’My work as an artist is profoundly influenced by travel. To travel, is different from going on holiday. I don’t travel to find the perfect landscape. Notions of the sublime are no longer the holy grail of the artist. However the restless nature of travelling, the constant expectation of the next sensations all inform and help the artist make the work.’ Taking a hands on approach and exploring areas that the public were not allowed in, Hemming embarked on his creative journey. ‘With sketch book in hand, I was allowed to wander outside of the terminals alongside the runways, following of course strict safety obligations. The smell of aviation fuel, the noise, the sight of 450 tons of a 747 coming in to land as well as taking off, these images became profoundly etched in my mind.’
Hemming’s paintings are underpinned with a conspicuous sense of place and moment, invariably showcasing a brilliant response to light and texture but there is also a deeper, intensely serious awareness of painting’s potential relationship with poetry, literature, science and with the art of the past.