How Art makes a difference...
Art is an enriching and highly effective tool in public involvement. The creative methods and processes of art production can help people understand concepts and ideas in a totally different way. An understanding of cultural uniformity, educational concepts and sectoral relevance in society can be understood better through collaboration and art. When making art, individuals interact with their own unique view point and this brings greater appreciation and understanding of ideas, and if appropriately considered, this could improve society.
Art making is also an excellent way of documenting social experience. We live in the digital age, this will inevitably bring social change and we can explore how this affects us through visual means. It’s important that we document social change through the Arts.
Visual methods are also a very effective way of helping people who may struggle with mental health address psychological issues. Sometimes a visual approach works best in explaining individual perspectives.
Getting out there...
My aim is to take art into the community and support people’s artistic process. I work with wide group of people such as schools, nursing homes, volunteer-based community groups and organisations.
I have worked with multiple schools in Leeds and I fully support them in their obligation to teach young people art as part of the national curriculum. Children should be encouraged explore their own creativity in a comfortable and supportive environment. I encourage exploration through activities where children learn the basics of art and design such as line form and contrast. They are taught how to translate what they see into images and sculptures, we also explore abstraction - a foundation skill for creative thought process. They also learn about objectivity and subjectivity and how we can appreciate both aspects within our visual world. I want to support teachers and art co-ordinators in maintaining their arts objectives within school and I can do this through training or classroom support.
I have worked with various community groups in project-based art activities. Art is a great way to engage with the public and raise awareness of various social issues. Part of my work as a community artist is to support groups who need to engage with the public to promote their purposes and objectives.
The Rocket
I also have a mobile art studio; I call it The Rocket. It’s is a dedicated space for people to focus on artistic process and development through new techniques in a relaxed environment. The mobile studio is 23ft long and can comfortably accommodate around 6 people. The mobile studio has an aluminium body-shell and is insulated with sheep’s wool. There’s plenty of light, a sink and storage for materials. There are also three skylights that can be opened for extra ventilation, five opening windows and an air conditioning unit for use during warm weather. The Rocket has an extra wide door with ramp to enable wheelchair access with a number of power sockets should they be required.
What you can do...
Art needs investment to reach the widest demograph, we want to work with private businesses who wish to contribute to the gift of art in the community. Business sponsorship is very welcome and if your business wants to sponsor an art activity in your local community, Penny’s Community Arts will always promote your kindness.
