Tag: artist

CM Artist becomes Artist-In-Residence for KRAN!

07/15/2019

CM Artist Rhiannon was thrilled to have recently secured National Lottery funding to run weekly art sessions at KRAN (Kent Refugee Action Network) for the next 12 months. She spent time living in the Middle East a few years back, and upon her return home, she felt inspired to help those who had traveled to the UK to seek refuge.

She began running art sessions at KRAN in October 2018, and was running them once a month. The sessions were a huge success, and participants really engaged with their creative activity. Now the funding is in place, she has been made their official Artist-In-Residence and will run a weekly art club at KRAN.

Many of the refugees are teenagers who have had little or no access to art education. Each week she will be providing a variety of different mediums for them to explore, whilst teaching them new artistic techniques. Rhiannon is also planning on running a number of Art Trips to local galleries to help them learn more about the work of famous artists.

Rhiannon has also secured an exhibition next summer at the Beany Museum & Gallery, Canterbury to showcase the artwork created by the refugees. She is making plans with a local school in Canterbury so that the A-Level Art pupils can work with the refugees at KRAN on collaborative pieces for the art exhibition next summer.  We can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

Here’s some examples of some of the projects they’ve worked on so far…

They recently redecorated the reception area at the centre and wanted it to incorporate patterns from the various cultures of refugees at KRAN. Rhiannon cut out the shapes and they decorated each one in a traditional cultural pattern. Each of the colourful pieces were then tessellated across the reception desk to give this lovely vibrant finish. Everyone loves the end result!

KRAN
KRAN

In another session Rhiannon got them to have a go at observational painting. They studied images of birds, which they then recreated in paint. Rhiannon was astounded at their level of creativity and some beautiful paintings were produced.

KRAN
KRAN
KRAN

In another fun session Rhiannon encouraged them to create more abstract work. In this session they created geometric portraits where prints of faces were placed over watercolour and tissue paper-bleed backgrounds. These vibrant colourful works looked really striking, and they had great fun trying out this new technique.

KRAN
KRAN
KRAN

Rhiannon says; “I really enjoy working with the refugees at KRAN. There is so much talent waiting to be wriggled out of this bunch. They’ve been creating some amazing work and I’m excited to see them grow in confidence over the next year.”

Creative Minds at the Tate Exchange!

04/07/2019

In May 2018 a number of CM Artists worked on an exciting art project at the Tate Modern’s Tate Exchange led by MA students from Westminster University alongside residents from Snowdrop House, Enfield and Appleby House, Epsom. They had the opportunity to not only visit this iconic gallery, but also take part in a ‘Dreamweavers Workshop’ creating a striking installation that was on display at the gallery over Easter! This was a very moving and thought-provoking project for all involved and was a wonderful experience for all the residents who took part. Nicky, Lifestyle Lead at Snowdrop House commented: “Residents and staff made art work using fabrics and textiles to incorporate dreams they’ve had. This was such a fun exercise and it evoked different emotions in everybody involved. One gentleman use to dream about his wife whom had passed a few years previously, and he found it very cathartic. All I can say is what a fantastic day we had. And it’s not everyday you can say that you had work displayed at the Tate!”

tate exchange
tate exchange
tate exchange

We’re excited to announce that we’ll back again at the Tate Exchange in May, working in collaboration with Westminster University on another project! This three-day workshop will run from 15th – 17th May and is open for anyone to come and take part and add to an interactive installation.

tate exchange
Art by Jenny Holzer, Photo by Timeout London

The theme this year is “Movement” and is a response to the current exhibition at The Tate Modern by Jenny Holzer. This has inspired the project to explore ideas surrounding migration and flight, reflecting the way in which we all move through life. On the run up to the 15th of May, our artists will be working on the project and will be joined by students from Westminster University, creating art work with their clients at Care Homes to bring along to the Tate Exchange. This will be installed as a starting point to inspire the 3-day workshop.

We’ll be sharing lots of updates across our social media channels on the run up to the Tate Exchange project, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the behind-the-scenes action. All are welcome to join us for this exciting workshop!

We hope to see you there!

The CM Artists included in the project are:
Hanna, Cherry, Caroline, Sasha, Alice, George, Kirsteen, Karen, Sarah Jane and Laura.

Clients include:
Residents at Chiswick Care, Arnold House, Kew House, The Burroughs, Foxes Den, Mountbatten, Kingsley, Gable Court, Moor House, Clara Court, plus some clients who receive one-to-one art sessions with CM Artists.