Education Live-in artists
When schools invite an artist to work “in residence”, they stretch the imagination of their pupils far beyond the art rooms, says Thalia Thompson
Artistic licence
B
ritish Schools have joined the lists of those inviting artists, be they painters, sculptors or writers, to live and work in their buildings. But while an artist in residence, invited by Durham Cathedral,
London’s Park Lane Hotel or the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, is invited purely to create something special, artists invited to reside in educational establishments are expected to leave a lasting impression – and in more ways than one. T e residencies vary, as do the
artists. Painters, but also textile artists, sculptors, digital artists and jewellers visit the schools for a period of time involving anything from a relatively short but intensive programme of workshops lasting for a fortnight to a term, or even a year, with studio space available for the artist to pursue their own projects. Wellington College in Berkshire has had a rolling programme of residencies for a decade. Artists are invited for up to two terms and have included novelist Dan Jacobson and jazz musician Ben Greenslade-Stanton. In other schools, like St George’s Ascot
interests the schools, whether it’s setting up weekend workshops, creating commemorative collections of art or organising fashion shows. When old girl, award-winning ceramicist,
Artists
invited to reside in educational establishments are expected to leave a lasting impression
Catherine Gray, proposed that Clifton High School in Bristol set up an additional artist-in-residence scheme to celebrate the school’s 140th anniversary, they were thrilled and for nearly two terms, pupils were able to work with the artist to create an installation of handmade commemorative ceramic plates as well as learning advanced technical skills from traditional slip casting to the latest digital ceramic technology. It is hard to measure the additional
benefi ts of having a professional artist in residence willing to impart specialist knowledge. But although schools make good use of the artists’ skills, this isn’t about replacing teachers or just giving the art students a boost. T e schools concerned all have thriving art departments. Instead, they are aiming to add an extra dimension to the way arts are studied
and appreciated throughout the school. Laurence Hedges, director of art at Wellington
in Berkshire and Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire, the residency runs throughout the academic year, with the artist playing a full part in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities. St George’s has hosted a textile artist, a portrait painter and, most recently, a jeweller in residence whose weekend workshops were a great hit with the boarding pupils. But it’s what the artist can do for their pupils that
40 FirstEleven Autumn 2011
College says: “We have very highly qualifi ed specialists in all our departments but the artists in residence see things that we don’t and have a diff erent take on things. T ey don’t get caught up in things that we have to do – they’re there to inspire and facilitate.” T ere is a tangible diff erence in the relationship
between student and teacher and student and artist. “Regardless of how accomplished an artist a teacher happens to be, she or he is seen more as a teacher than an artist,” says Frances Clark, head of art and design at Wycombe Abbey. “Teachers show you
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