Learn

Family Learning

At Nottingham Contemporary

Over the past year, we’ve been hard at work developing our family learning programme. Families from across the city have worked with our associate artists on a number of participatory projects. Each project has aimed to inspire families to work together to explore contemporary art for learning and enjoyment. The artists have provided families with highly imaginative activities that promote conversations between children and adults, experimentation with ideas and materials and most of all the enjoyment of taking part in new experiences.

All the projects have been made possible by working with partners from across the city. We will be continuing building our programme and look forward to working with new and existing partners. If you would like to work with us or find out more about our family learning programme, please contact Saima Kaur at Saima@nottinghamcontemporary.org.

Journeys: Celebrating Refugee Week. Spring 2011

This was a special partnership project between Beyond Borders, Nottingham City Library Service and Nottingham Contemporary to celebrate ‘Refugee Week’. The aim was to deliver a family learning project that brought families from diverse backgrounds together to explore the theme of ‘journeys’. Families were recruited from the weekly homework clubs that run in libraries across the city. Jo Dacombe, the project’s lead associate artist, led families on a creative walk through the city centre, explored the exhibition with them, encouraged families to bring in objects that were special to them or reflected their heritage and finally, create artwork inspired by all of these elements. The individual artworks produced by adults and children were woven together into a creative map that is on display in the Central Lending Library until the end of July 2011. Participating families were also invited back to the gallery for a celebration day and their artwork was displayed in the family room.

Quote from participant:

‘I enjoyed creating art with other families. My children enjoyed playing with other kids’.

‘I valued learning about other cultures and what their values meant to them. It was a learning experience for both myself and my children. The stories behind the artworks were very interesting. I would attend a project like this again’.

Family Learning project: inspired by Huang Yong Ping and Wael Shawky. Spring 2011

The gallery was commissioned by SOFIE (Supporting our families in education) a Central EIP family learning project - funded by the Big Lottery Fund - to deliver two creative and innovative family programmes. The first took place at Berridge Infants aimed at families with children in years 1 and 2 and the other at Bluecoats Secondary School for Year 6 transition children and their families. Projects were led by Associate Artists Chris Lewis Jones and Gillian Brent. Both projects took place in the school settings with families attending weekly sessions. The themes were personal identity and locality as inspired by the exhibition. Each group made one trip to the gallery exploring the artworks, brought in personal objects and photographed their local area. Final photographs created by the groups were displayed in the family room and on the screens in Nottingham Contemporary. Families were invited to view their work and share it with others.

Amazing Adventure: inspired by British Art Show. Winter 2010

‘Amazing Adventures’ was funded by Sherwood Education Improvement Partnership and aimed at families from their cluster schools. The project was led by Associate Artist Sian Watson and took place over six weeks at Nottingham Contemporary. These two hour weekly sessions used the British Art Show as inspiration for families to create their own characters, imaginary worlds and stories. Each family were supported to create their own pop up story book bursting with quirky characters and amazing adventures. Families were invited back to a ‘Family Extravaganza’ to showcase and share their books with other families at the gallery.

Quote from participant:

‘We enjoyed the whole experience- spending time in the gallery, getting to know the art really well. Sian is a great inspiration and very energetic. It was well organised and we were well looked after’.

Diane Arbus inspired photography project. Summer 2010

Families from Bulwell and Hyson Green explored the ideas and techniques used in artist Diane Arbus’s photographs. Families worked with Associate Artist Jo Dacombe to take documentary style photographs of themselves, their locality and unusual subject matters. Sessions were delivered in an intensive week at Nottingham Contemporary. The final works were shown in the gallery at a celebration day. The families were invited to view their images on large screens in the space.

Quote from participant:

“I didn’t think my kids could take good photos. This has opened my eyes to my kid’s ability, and now I have just left them alone. And this has given them confidence.”