Another accidental, life changing event happened at Manchester Art Gallery in 2011. Whilst running a drop-in weekend workshop I noticed a woman quietly observing from the edge. On approaching and inviting her to join in, she introduced herself as the Learning Curator for a gallery in Gdansk, Poland, who was researching new ways of working. We briefly chatted about our approaches to gallery education and, never wanting to miss an opportunity, we exchanged contact details. Fast forward 5 months and I find myself in Gdansk, running workshops at Łaznia CCA funded by the British Council and later in the year having supper with Gilbert and George! (this really is another story). But with these lines of communication open I ensured they never closed and have subsequently been back to develop other experimental workshops with the public of Gdansk and beyond.
Not only have these opportunities allowed me to share my practice and exchange knowledge with others, they have provided a space for me to reflect on what I find important in art and have developed an awareness of creative communication; how does my practice and ideas translate within a different country, without speaking the language?(more on that later).
I made contact with Ania Meronk late last year and shared the autism-friendly workshops and research I’d been developing with Manchester Art Gallery and Tate Liverpool. Earlier this year I was invited to present my ideas and practice at the Why and How? conference at the Royal Academy of Arts, and Ania was able to attend as a participant.
And this is where the Travel Bursary comes in, with it I was able to set up the sensory-inspired project, Space in the Process; a 6 week residency, co-curated by myself and Ania Meronk, Head of Education, Laznia II, Nowy Port, Gdansk, Poland. I worked with families local to the area and together we explored handmade sensory objects and environments, that bonded us through actions and non-verbal language. The next posts will guide you through the processes we all went through
