Art Outside
With project work Emily is a specialist in working with people, foremost. She is able to develop projects with groups of any size around pre-specified themes or developing a theme with the group, to give a sense of ownership and collaboration. As with her School Project work, Emily provides an individual approach by starting with the people and, perhaps, a theme to generate ideas, challenge preconceptions and to meet the learning aims of the project. Usually there is a focus, such as an exhibition, which provides the group with an end point.
Groundwork // Grozone // Arts & Gardening Project Commission 2012/2013
Having completed a short project over 6 days earlier in the year Emily was awarded the contract working alongside fellow artist Russell Kirk, to create a series of improvements to the Grozone garden, including a Nectar Garden (to support the two apiaries), A Fern Stumpery (just like Prince Charles has!), A Den Building & Storytelling Area and a Sensory Garden.
Working alongside volunteers at this amazing project, we have made good progress already. The project is currently in action after we’ve taken a sort winter break, with the fern stumpery having been planted up in October, the Nectar Garden lying dormant and the other elements work back in progress. We are hoping to work hard with volunteers to complete works in May 2013. Check out the blog page to find out how things are progressing.
Bluecoat Arts Centre // Growing Creativity 2012
In early 2012 Emily won a commission to run a project with a group of people with mental health issues and who are learning disabled. The project focussed on the beautiful walled garden at the Bluecoat Arts Centre – a grade II listed building and World Heritage site in Liverpool city centre. Over a period of seven months Emily worked with a group of 13 volunteers and support workers to change the garden to a more natural native planted habitat. In the process she created a series of garden artworks in laser-cut perspex, which evolved from the designs of the participants and also the collected memories of garden users. The sculptures are embedded within the flower beds throughout the garden and have people’s memories attached, for new visitors to the garden to enjoy and experience the history of the Bluecoat Arts Centre.
Although the garden as yet looks somewhat barren (we’re only just at the edge of winter) and will take 2-4 years to really come into its own, it is already showing signs of life that will hopefully support a more biodiverse ecology than was previously present in the garden that ‘looked like it belonged to a solicitor’s firm’ – rigid, non-native and cold.
Some of the plants in the garden include: Mentha Pulegium (Penny Royal), Lythrum salicaria (Purple LooseStrife, which the Bees absolutely love), Geranium Robertianum, Campanula Latifolia, Campanula Glomerata, Cornus Alba and Teasels.
The project has been live on Project Dirt, Liverpool’s totally cool place for getting down and dirty with anything to do with gardening. You can find our blog posts from Project Dirt by clicking here.
Cartwheel Arts // Borderlines // Tell us another One // Mass Participation Arts Project 2011
This was a mass participation arts projects about the mystical, mythical and invisible borders we cross every day. Working with a group of young people, we created a series of Border posts, which we erected in different locations around the northwest. We invited people throughout the day, to cross our border and answer our question. The group I worked with were ages 14-17 and devised the open question: For you, what has changed life the most? The answers were posted via social media to an online repository – you can still answer the question and see your answer on our website: http://www.tellusanotherone.org/live/
Here are some of the things people said about what had changed life the most for them:
doing 5 years in prison for a crime i did not do
free museums as its hard to find things that a free these days.
cutting heating allowance bus passes etc we want to blow up parliament
being diagnosed with schizophrenia coz i can cope with it now
McDonalds, it changed people’s eating habits.
This was such a great project – take a look and add your thoughts to our repository.