Creative Connections: Nottingham
Creative Connections connects young people with contemporary artists to create new art that explores people and place. Taking inspiration from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, the project supported young people’s creative skills and promotes a sense of pride in their neighbourhood.
GCSE students from Farnborough Academy worked closely with Artist Katherine Green to capture the people and places that make up their community in Clifton. Together, they created a series of portraits to celebrate local people and everyday stories of pride and community spirit.
Over a period of four months, the Farnborough Academy students visited the National Portrait Gallery in London; went behind the scenes, met the curators and discovered the portraits and stories of inspirational people from Nottingham. With the Artist, Katherine Green they discovered new photographic techniques and learned about social documentary work. Students explored their local area of Clifton, and interviewed people to learn about their lives and histories. Working with organisations such as the Hope Church, Clifton Food Bank, Lark Hill Retirement Village and local businesses. At Nottingham Contemporary, they were introduced to exhibition curation, learning how art and archives can be combined to tell a story.
Their work was displayed at Nottingham Contemporary and at the National Portrait Gallery alongside the portraits that inspired them from the National Portrait Gallery, as well as archival images and a social history of Clifton.
Creative Connections: Nottingham was a partnership between the National Portrait Gallery and Nottingham Contemporary, generously supported by the Palley family.