New commission fo Yorkshire Artspace

We are really pleased to be commissioned by Yorkshire Artpspace for our new project. Never-Land.

Never-Land - Sheffield is a fictional nowhere, imagined for this project. Its ambition is to ask young people what Europe will be like in 200 years. Never-Land- Sheffield is the initial and catalysing part of a 3-stage project with confirmed multiple partners Leicester Print Works and Ca’Forscari University and Liceo Guggenhiem School, Venice. Our proposa for Yorkshire Artspace includes a 6-week gallery takeover featuring debate, making and large-scale window based interventions. Working intensively with a cohort of 16-18 year olds from across the city Never-Land-Sheffield will bring diverse participants and audiences together to consider what a positive future could look like.

Corridor 8 Review...

We are really happy to have had We are not an Island reviewed by Simon Boase [ artist and writer]. It’s and interesting read and made us think deeply about our work and what we do…. Read the article here:http://www.corridor8.co.uk/article/poly-technic-we-are-not-an-island/

Clare Currie - Poems by the sea

Clare who was part of our latest Best things in life commission for PECT has sent these photos. For the commission she wrote a new poem and shared it as a print on dissolvable paper. Taken at the sea they complete the piece and offer an interesting poetic response to issues central to PECTS mission.

Jailbirds seed pods at Feminist Library show

We are really pleased the remaining Jailbirds seeds from our commission for PECT are being shown as part of the Feminist Library exhibition "Archiving the Feminist Experience" at Goldsmiths College London. Instagram link here:

https://www.instagram.com/thefeministlibrary/ 

The best things - complete sound

The complete sound piece for The best things in life arent things commission

Sandra Keating photos from Green Fest

Sandra Keating who has worked with Katy hawkins on Wander With.. took some great shots on sat.. here are a few.

Green Festival Peterborough.

The Poly and its commissoned artists were happy to take part in PECTS green festival at Nene Park yesterday. The sun shone and we were able to guide visitors around the park in a variety of different ways. This included our sound portrait of the City using wireles headsets, a wander with walk led by Katy Hawkins, some stone skimming with Alice Pool a dissolvable poem by Clare Curie. All this was supported by small acts of kindness supplied by Ann Bellamy and the Jailbirds.

Also happily we invited women from across the city to join us to stitch picnic blankets.

Here are some photos from across the day

The best things are beautiful projections

Projection from last night in Peterborourgh for our PECT commission: THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS.

Here too is a link to a short film we made of it

The best things in life arn't things - details

Heres some further info about out new commission.....

On August 11th PECT are hosting a Green festival in Nene Park. Peterborough. We have been commissioned to develop and deliver a new participatory artwork that will take place before, during and after the event as part of PECTs wider program. The title of this artwork is: The Best Things In Life Aren’t Things - What Does the future Hold?

This artwork involves 3 major elements:

1.     A series of interactive posters placed around the city prior to the Green Festival

2.     A recorded sound piece shared with festival go-ers via wireless headsets generated by talking to Peterborough people during the summer of 2018.

3.     The commissioning of a series of mostly Peterborough based artists/poets/makers to develop and deliver participatory artworks for the Festival. 

Further artists commissioned:

Peterborough based Katy Hawkins will be leading a series of Wander With walks with card based prompts to encourage mindfulness, reflection on our city and the sharing of local knowledge. https://twitter.com/kghkaty?lang=en

Sandra Keating a Peterborough born photographer will be developing ‘snapped moments’ with Festival visitors as part of Wander With and creating an online visual essay. http://www.sandrakeating.com/

Peterborough’s Poet Laureate Clare Currie will be writing new poems to be shared in 3 ways across the day on August 11th.  This will include a public reading, a dissolvable poem and a sound recording   http://clarecurrie.co.uk/

Ann Bellamy and Jailbirds - a social enterprise within Peterborough Prison, are creating hundreds of ‘seed pods’ which will be given out during the day. Every pod will have a quote on to inspire and be full of seeds for you to grow your own green space. Jailbirds info

Alice Pool will be inviting festival goers to select there ‘perfect skimming stone’ from the stones she has collected for you to use. She’s keen for people to take time, choose a stone, skim it and in doing this create a memory. https://skimstones.wordpress.com

Processions is a group of women from across Peterborough who came together to make banners to celebrate the centenary of some Women getting the Vote. For Green Festival this group is inviting festival goers to sit, sew, talk and eat together with them. They will be making a giant picnic blanket to host a bring-and-share picnic.

'Wander With' commissioned

The Poly is pleased to have commissioned Katy Hawkins and photogrpaher Sandra Keating to deliver these Wandering Workshops as part of our The Best Things in Life Aren't Things project for PECT in Peterborough. This commission is the first of 5 we will be managing alongside the development of a new sound piece we are creating with city residents and visitors alike

Venice/Sheffield New Film

We completed our project film this week for We are not an Island.

We are proud to have been commissioned by Peterbrough Environment City Trust [PECT] to work on their Green Festival this year in August. This is the title of our proposal which will see us collecting audio and sharing it with visitors through 'silent disco' wireless headsets. As part of the project we will also be commissioning 4 other Peterborough based artists to develop and deliver new artworks for the city and festival

Photos by Nigel

When we were printing and then projecting in Sheffield we met a kind man who was keen to join and now has sent some great photos. PLease find his Postcard site HERE and this photo above is his too. Thank you Nigel

What is Urgent?

The Poly-Technic was invited by Suffolk Libraries and Metal Southend to deliver an arts development training session that asked What is Urgent? Suffolk Libraries is one of six library groups across the country who have become NPO's for the Arts Council. As they begin their journery of change to centralise the arts for their users we were happy to help them think deeply, make and learn. Feedback from the session has been positive and includes this: "Thank you for the great session last week I think it got everyone thinking -  feels like there may be a revolution a foot."

Projection in Sheffield

Our week in Sheffield was rounded off on Friday evening with a projection in the Canal Basin. Venice and Sheffield connected by us, ideas, energy and of course water. We've made lots of prints, had lots of conversations, captured lots of thoughts  - here are just a few

Now Then...we're in print

The Poly is proud to be in the current Sheffield Now Then magazine talking about We are not an Island... PLease pick up a copy if your in Shef or follow this link the read the article

Liceo Artistico Guggenheim coming to Sheffield - if only by Skype!

From April 30th - May 4th the Poly-Technic will be taking up residence in Sheffield culminating in a large scale projection. We will be completing the We are not an Island project with different city residents by asking What is urgent? During the week our friends and partners in Venice will be joining us over Skype from their exhibition. The work we made in Italy and now Sheffield will be connected and form an exciting pan european link between the 2 cities. If you'd like to get involved, make a poster or just see the ongoing work then please call in to Access Space Labs : Fitzalan Square. Sheffield.

"Don't drown in the water you make for yourself".

The Poly returned from our week long working residency in Venice on Monday full of ideas and new connections. It was a great week, with us feeling we contributed something to a place so often taken advantage of. We made good friends, built on exisiting relationships, undertook workshops with art students and installed an exhibition that was well recieved. Ca'Foscari University are keen to keep working with us and the Liceo Artistico Guggenheim school and we are excited to be bring work and ideas back to Sheffield in May. We met some really interesting people, who said revealing things such as the title of this blog which enabled us to generate new posters and think further around what the Poly can do to help in different sites to promote access to new ways of seeing, new ideas and new opinions.

Venice Workshops and Exhibition: 19th- 26th March

The Poly leaves for Venice on Monday and is looking forward to connecting with students and staff of Ca Foscari University and Liceo Artistico Guggenhiem School. We will be displaying the new poster based works after discussion around our provocation: We are not an Island? The responses will, we are sure, be revealing and we hope too that when shown at CFZ in Zattre further thoughts will be initiated. During the week we are also presenting as part of a lecture at Liceo Artistico Guggenhiem and then bringing the posters back to the UK for projection as part of a showcasing event in Sheffield in May for Making Ways