Art Workshops for Schools

SAATCHI GALLERY EDUCATION PROJECTS AND WORKSHOPS

For year 2 of the project we have increased the number of students and are now working with 9 schools and over 400 students. The schools involved this year are: Edmonton County School, Heartlands School, Brittons Academy, Aylands SEN School, Southgate School, Aylward Academy, St Ignatius College, St Anne's High School and Broomfield School.

The project artists are: Jack Brown (lead artist), Ella McCartney, Ella Medley-Whitfield, Maru Rojas and Charlotte Young.

The brief for this year is Public/Installation Art. Students will be working towards a large-scale, collaborative artwork, centred on the theme of Transformation. All of our project artists work within this artistic discipline. Students saw artwork related to this theme during their first visit to the Gallery for the exhibition UK/raine in November and took part in an exhibition tour and practical workshop with their artist.

In January, all students were invited to take part in Artist Talks, led by Champagne Life exhibiting artists Alice Anderson, Virgile Ittah and Stephanie Quayle. Students listened to the artists talk about their practice, inspiration, process and concept, which was then followed by a Q&A session and cross-school learning activities.

"I was able to hear first-hand an explanation for her artwork and what had inspired her"- student from Edmonton County School.

"The Artist Talk made me realise how interested I am in sculpting and that there can be an environmental transformation"- student from Heartlands School.

The artists are currently working with the students in school, preparing for the final exhibition which will involve an art 'take-over' of Gillet Square in Dalston from Monday 27th June- Friday 1st July 2016. For regular updates on the project follow our blog: jpstart2016.wordpress.com

Jack Petchey Start Programme
Year 1

300 secondary school students from seven Enfield schools have spent the past academic year participating in the exciting Jack Petchey Start programme for schools, created by Children & the Arts with support from The Jack Petchey Foundation and the Saatchi Gallery.

The project culminated in the creation of a series of films inspired by the current exhibition Pangaea II, which were screened at the finale event on Friday 10th July here at the Gallery. The students' work was exhibited alongside international artists. Students also gave tours to members of the public, giving them a chance to discuss the pieces they have worked hard to create.

The Jack Petchey Start programme aims to introduce contemporary art to students in a way that is inspiring, engaging and challenging. The students have been equipped with the tools they need to explore and interpret the art at the Saatchi Gallery. Through expert guidance they have gained the confidence to create artwork and have it displayed in a museum-scale environment. Students visited the Gallery several times over the academic year for an artist talk and artist-led workshops, as well as working with the artists in school.

Founder of the Foundation, Jack Petchey CBE, is delighted with how the programme has gone: "We are very proud to be investing in a programme that helps young people engage with the arts. We have been delighted to hear how the programme has inspired young interest and talent. At the Foundation, we want to inspire young people to achieve more. The opportunity to meet with professional artists, hear how they have created their pieces, and then have the space to create their own artwork for display on the same gallery walls must be truly inspiring."

A huge thank you to the artists Jack Brown (lead artist), Charlotte Young, Maru Rojas, Ella Mary and Sara Byers, to all of the students and teachers that took part in the project and to the Jack Petchey Foundation and Children & the Arts for making it possible.

A public screening of work also took place at the Dugdale Theatre, London Road, Enfield on Saturday 11th.

The students' films were subsequently displayed in the Education Gallery from 20th-30th July.

Art Teacher CPD workshop

A group of 12 Art Teachers from Haberdashers' Aske's Federation of three schools came to the Saatchi Gallery in April for a workshop with Artist and Educator Ella Medley-Whitfield.

The workshop was aimed at encouraging new ways of working with a contemporary collection, focusing on KS3-5.

The teachers became the students and were introduced to different ways of exploring and interpreting art in the gallery space, inciting interesting dialogues and debates between themselves, Ella and the Saatchi Education team.

The session also included a tour of the exhibition, followed by the creation of a large-scale collaborative artwork inspired by artists Alejandro Ospina and Federico Herrero, both of whom feature in the current exhibition Pangaea II. The main inspiration was the internet and the contemporary interests of the focus age group- and how we can use these in art-making. Workshops can be tailored to curriculum and school needs.