This week Jo Offer, senior lecturer of inclusive arts at Brighton university was in residency. She is described by the university as being “avisual artist and designer who’s practice and research is concerned with communication, collaboration and engagement and how inclusive arts strategies can connect people from diverse backgrounds.”
The room differed quite a bit from Sara’s time at Fabrica; on arrival there lay a painted piece created by the pubic on the floor and hanging above, like a pendulum was a dried bunch of lavender and other plants, gently swinging in a mesmeric way. The public were asked to respond to this movement and the painting by using different paper typed on a clipboard and drawing, etching or doing as they please on the paper. I had a go in the session and it felt freeing to let charcoal glide over the newsprint, onto watercolour and black paper.
There was also a table set up inviting people to doodle their most common doodle. Jo was interested in the subconscious mind and that when we doodle; we all have something that we repeat, without thinking about. She challenged viewers to dig deep and try and draw out what they thought this was, delving into their subconscious. I found this activity the most popular as it really made people think before drawing, the opposite of what a quick doodle is known to be. I enjoy the approach of trying to understand why we do certain things and bringing a more scientific aspect into art. The nature of the activity highlighted the importance of allowing everyone to participate in art and was continued by her questions written on a whiteboard.
The questions were broad and it was fantastic to see the diverse range of people that answered, illustrating that there were no correct or incorrect responses. Although I don’t have an image of the final board, people were writing things that I had never thought about before or didn’t perhaps agree with, but this all worked towards Jo’s necessity to open up art to all.
Bryony's Blog 