2009

Outreach in Birmingham and the Black Country

The year commenced with an important outreach day in West Bromwich held at the Jammia Association. The team organised the day around three separate workshop themes for two sessions each (morning and afternoon) giving a total of six workshops. Mixed age ranges were encouraged including adults. The workshop themes were: Clay; Stone carving ; Drawing from nature.
In addition there were presentations on the Trust (mainly for adults and older children to engage them in what they could expect when visiting and to give confidence about going to the countryside) and on the ecology of the farm.

Family Workshops at the Rodd

“Organisation: Wonderful. Teaching: Great. Content: Brilliant.”
This intergenerational weekend event for all ages and sections of the community at the Rodd involved a variety of sessions all related to sculpture and three dimensional work. The arrangements were similar to the Outreach day described above, but on a larger scale with five workshop groups spread over two sessions (morning and afternoon) making 10 workshops in all.

Regular Workshops: Developing Longer Term Commitment

Ulfah Arts is beginning to evolve as a potentially significant partner to the Sculpture Programme and The Trust looks forward to further development in this aspect of the programme. Ulfah Arts is an innovative Birmingham based organisation whose mission is to engage groups from different cultural backgrounds, in particular Muslim women, and give them opportunities to participate in aspects of mainstream society such as, via The Trust, arts and culture.

The MacIntyre Trust

The MacIntyre Trust runs two schools in the area for children with learning difficulties. Some of the children have major problems to overcome and all activities are run on a one to one basis with one member of staff to one child. The MacIntyre Trust arranged to camp at The Rodd for a week, during which time they commissioned a one day sculpture workshop. This was based on the clay throwing project developed by our tutor, Tony Hall. This had captured the imagination of young people at the open day and was agreed to be a strong basis for a project with children from the MacIntyre Trust.

Jammia Community Association

The Sculpture team’s relationship with Jammia has grown over the two years. This group is possibly one that has needed the most support. It is led by volunteers who give their time to developing projects for the Muslim community of Greets Green, Sandwell. This has been challenging for them both in terms of finding funding as well as a place to operate. The outreach day had helped forge links but follow up dates have been difficult to organise mainly due to a lack of transport.

Continuing Diversity and Intergenerational Programme

The core programme of workshops continues over the whole of the summer and into the autumn. Interest generated by the family day and other activities led on to the setting up of a three week series of stone carving workshops in the Autumn months led by Tania Mosse.

Family Workshop with Atsuo Okamoto

Situated in the middle of the year’s programme was a very special event run by Atsuo Okamoto as part of his month-long residency at The Trust. This superb, informal, family day actively involved Atsuo talking about his work and collaborating with participants to put the finishing touches to the intriguing work ‘Cocoon’ now housed in The Trust’s offices and exhibited regularly. See International Residencies below for more detail on Atsuo’s residency.

International Residencies

“The bringing together of artists from all over the world to The Rodd is of the greatest significance and fundamental importance both to the practice of art and the way art responds to cultural values and the preoccupation of man with the environment – a topic of very major interest today.”
Over the past two years The Trust has welcomed sculptors from across the world to participate in the Sculpture Programme. Distinguished artists from Japan, China and Australia, as well as countries across Europe – Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Turkey, England and Wales have worked in and from The Rodd farm and landscape.

International Week

The International Week was set up and run by Professor Rod Bugg as Lead Artist and run in association with the International Association of Independent Art Schools.
This was the second International Sculpture Residency at The Rodd and drew together a group of sculptors in a programme of activity and discussion around issues of sculpture, the environment and the particular location of the Sidney Nolan Trust. It provided an opportunity for artists from Australia, China, Italy, Poland and Turkey, all members of AIAS, to work with sculptors from the UK.
The artists who took part in 2009 were: Dario Arcamone [Italy], Rod Bugg, Sculpture Programme Lead Artist, Magda Grzybowska [Poland], Nigel Harrison [Australia], Steve Hutton [UK], Jun Li [China], John Taylor [Italy], Seyma Ustener Uzunoz [Turkey].
The work generated was show the Tithe Barn and the courtyard in an exhibition entitled ‘Sculpture at The Rodd: The First Two Years’ showing work by 21 artists involved in the project from 10 countries in September and October. This included work by David Nash, Sjoerd Buisman, Richard Wentworth and Atsuo Okamoto, as well as the artists from the AIAS project in 2008 and other contributors to the programme. The exhibition attracted a large audience at its private view and at a public lecture by Mel Gooding, a leading UK commentator and writer on the visual arts, which was concurrent with the exhibition.

International Residency: Atsuo Okamoto

sponsored by the Daiwa Foundation

”Amazing contribution by Atsuo: remarkable sculpture, remarkable personality, potential for links with Japan. Having someone here like that opens doors, opens eyes, and opens horizons.”
Atsuo joined the 2009 Sculpture Programme for a (near) month long residency to develop links with UK sculptors, undertake work of his own, visit national institutions specialising in sculpture and meet/undertake workshops with sculptors/people in the region. Central to his residency Atsuo worked on three pieces of sculpture. Two of these were lighter in tone and approach – nevertheless of significant interest to participants and visitors. The third work was a serious construction developed within Atsuo’s unique approach to understanding people and the environment they live in while also an important three dimensional work. This piece, ‘Cocoon’, is now on permanent exhibition at The Rodd .

Artists’ Professional Development including Master Classes and other activities

The Programme’s Lead Artist, Rod Bugg, led the first session with a group of eight. Rod’s approach is very much about working with the individual to facilitate their ideas and interests and pursue them in depth. His visual presentations prepare the way for discussion and debate followed by exploration of the surroundings and the identification of materials.
Richard Harris was Lead Artist for the second session. Richard’s approach is clearly to do with the landscape and it was this that attracted the participants as well as working with a distinguished artist whose work is internationally known. Commencing with a short presentation about land art, the group walked the farm and neighbouring areas exploring possibilities and assessing options. The group decided to work on a bend in the river and, through discussion, arrived at a proposal for a collective project of a snake in the river.
Nick Lloyd led the third session for five students, commencing as before with a short presentation. This Master Class was specifically aimed at wood carving and attracted experienced artists and crafts people. The level of expertise among participants was high, ranging from experienced furniture makers wishing to reorient themselves to sculpture to a highly skilled potter/sculptor wishing to extend and develop his skills with wood.

Promoting Awareness and Understanding

This year’s programme of lectures extended to three separate occasions. The first public lecture was presented by Peter Murray, Director of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Peter’s talk covered a range of issues from the challenges of developing the park over a 25 year period to a detailed exposition of many of the works that are located there.
The final event of the year for the public and a key follow up to the symposium of 2008 was Mel Gooding’s lecture, “Two Renaissance Philosophers, a Modern Artist and a Walk in the Woods”. In some respects this was the final part of the 2008 symposium and part of a continuing high level discourse around sculpture and the environment. On the occasion of the symposium the artists spoke for a major part of the evening and Mel’s contribution was limited in time. The lecture this year completed that event enabling Mel to develop his thinking in a formal lecture.
He developed his thesis, cogently linking the work of Herman de Vries to the philosophical treaties of Descartes and Gassendi. Furthermore he related the three themes to the key social and environmental issues faced by society today in particular in relation to global warming and a sustainable environment.

Linking with the formal education system

The 2009 programme has continued to develop important links with schools, colleges and universities. Fewer projects directly linked to the formal system were planned than in 2008; nevertheless the Trust values these links highly and is determined to continue their development. The link with Hereford College of Art remains important and the flying sculpture day was continued for the second year running.

Exhibitions

At the end of September the Lead Artist curated a representative exhibition of work from all the artists and tutors who have been involved over the whole of the two years. The result demonstrated the extraordinary success of the programme and indicated how well it is being received. The exhibition included work created on site at the Rodd, work from international residents and distinguished artists who had visited the during the past two years and other work which reflected the views and creativity of artists who had been inspired by the place as a whole. It offered an insight into the programme and the work that is being generated as well as a celebration of what is being achieved.