Through Summer Term 2024, Stanley Picker Gallery were excited to continue running our popular (and free) Saturday Art Clubs for children and young people of the local community who are enthusiastic about art and design.
Sessions were led by Alex Warren, a Kingston School of Art alumna, and Jamie Young, who studied Graphic Design and graduated this year. Their sessions were designed to complement the gallery’s summer exhibition, Thomas Pausz Haunted Ecologies, which, through an immersive installation of moving image, print, filtration sculptures and sound, the show considers how our perception of contemporary environment and culture can be haunted by spectres of the past, and by hopes and visions of the future. Pausz’s research reflected upon transformations of local ecosystems, in particular the Hogsmill River that surrounds Stanley Picker Gallery, and flows alongside the Hogsmill Community Garden, who were partners for this exhibition and host to some activity.
Young artists delved into the themes of the exhibition in fun and engaging ways – combining interactive games, making, drawing, and discussion – as they explore the practice and processes of contemporary artists and learn new techniques.
Leading the young artist art clubs on a Saturday morning have been a great way of engaging local kids in creativity, play and making. It’s a pleasure to come up with fun and imaginative activities that relates to the main gallery exhibitions by the Stanley Picker Gallery fellows. We have looked towards nature and the community Hogsmill garden this term, which links to the current show involving Thomas Pausz, an ecological artist. Our art clubs have included a range of activities including plant pot painting, collage, badge making and making wings for World Bee Day, looking at the Hogsmill river, the painting Ophelia, and the language of flowers for inspiration. – Alex
Some of my favourite activities that I lead this year have been the collage workshop I ran with the 14 to 18s in response to Thomas Pausz’s ‘Haunted Ecologies’, and prior to that, a pixel-based collage workshop with the 7 to 11s which ran alongside Larry Achiampong’s ‘A letter, A pledge’. Collage has been a fantastic way to see attendees translate their thoughts and feelings towards these exhibitions into exciting visual exploration and hearing them talk about their work is always a joy. – Jamie