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Press Pages

January 2002 - Feel free to copy any text or images from this page

These pages provide up to date information about AccessArt (www.accessart.org.uk) for journalists and reporters.

Photograph - New online workshop for ages 16 and upwards

The Arts Education Exchange and AccessArt have launched their latest online visual arts workshop - Photograph - aimed at ages 16 and upwards. Photograph is accessible free of charge from the AccessArt web site at www.accessart.org.uk/photograph

Created by Paula Briggs and Sheila Ceccarelli from AccessArt, in partnership with Sarah Horton and Doris Rohr, artists/lecturers at Norwich School of Art, the highly visual resource aims to inspire and encourage learners to explore black and white photography through a variety of practical means. The resource sets out to show that photography doesn't have to be about expensive cameras and equipment, and that through re-visiting early photographic techniques such as making a pinhole camera or a camera obscura, or making photograms, users can experience for themselves the excitement of harnessing light to create an image. A section on snapshot and narrative explores how photographs can communicate their message, and another section introduces basic, low-cost darkroom techniques. The aim throughout has been to keep the explorations as low-tech as possible to encourage experimentation.

The resource has been cleverly constructed to allow users to absorb ideas through visual animations which are accompanied by text. The user can access ideas at his or her own pace, and then use the practical print-out pages to recreate experiments off-line. The resource can be used by individuals or by groups, by students or by teachers.

Photograph was created with an award made through East England Arts Regional Arts Lottery programme. Images may be taken from the resource, or screenshot captured, for press purposes - acknowledgement must be given to "Photograph, Copyright AccessArt and The Arts Education Exchange 2001"

Further workshops will be added during 2002, including "Installation Art" for Key stage 3, and "Red, Yellow, Blue" for children with special needs.

To be notified of new additions email info@accessart.org.uk For further information contact Paula Briggs at paula@accessart.org.uk or 01223 520213

November 29th 2001

Casting and Construction - Latest online workshops for children aged 8 upwards

In time for the school holidays, the latest animated online sculpture workshop is available at www.accessart.org.uk .

Aimed at children aged 8 and upwards, Casting and Construction is a practical sculpture workshop which demonstrates how to make sculpture out of plaster. Introducing to children the idea of positive and negative shapes, the workshop shows how to make simple moulds out of clay, and then to cast and construct in plaster. A Practical Notes page can be printed out which will act as a reminder of the process when users try the activity for real, and there is also a Gallery Page which shows sculpture already made by children. The workshop is based upon workshops led by sculptors working in schools and the community.

As usual AccessArt would like to continue to shape the resource in response to user feedback - an email link is provided on the resource making it easy for users to tell us what they think about the resource.

In addition AccessArt invites children/educators to send jpeg images of any sculpture made as a result of the workshop. Some of the images will then be posted back on the resource. Send optimised images to gallery@accessart.org.uk, and include your name and age.

Teachers or leaders of community education can contact AccessArt on 01223 520213 if they would like further information about trying out the ideas illustrated in their school/centre.

Working with Withies - New Online Resource aimed at Key Stage 2

AccessArt has launched the first of its workshops to be created with an award made through East England Arts Regional Arts Lottery programme.

The online workshop Working with Withies, is now available online at www.accessart.org.uk The resource is aimed at older Key Stage 2 children and above, and their parents, carers or teachers. Working with Withies is based upon workshops led by a number of artists who have used withies (willow sticks) with children to build and construct quite amazing small and large scale sculptures.

The workshop introduces children and adults to how we can develop structural shapes to make sculpture, and then introduces the practicalities of working with withies - how to bend and shape them and join them using wire or modroc.

As with all the workshops which make up the AccessArt resource, the idea is to get users to experience ideas online, and then go out and try the activities for real. With this in mind the final section of the resource is made up of a series of "Theme pages" - Architecture, Body, Creatures & Flying Things, and Fashion & Carnival. The Theme pages provide inspiration for what to make - and include references to other artists, user tips, and images of previously made sculpture. Practical Notes provides information for adults relating to where to purchase materials, technical advice etc.

Users can give feedback on the resource via email forms at the site itself (feedback@accessart.org.uk ). AccessArt would also like to encourage children and adults to send images of any sculpture made as a result of the workshop. AccessArt will then incorporate these images as examples of sculpture on the Theme pages.

AccessArt is coordinated and managed by Paula Briggs. Working with Withies has been designed by David Streek and Paula Briggs, and the artists who originally devised the workshops - Sheila Ceccarelli, Judith Brocklehurst and Jenny Eaden

Further workshops will be added during the year. To be notified of new additions email info@accessart.org.uk

This resource has been financially supported by East England Arts Regional Arts Lottery Programme

For further information contact Paula Briggs at paula@accessart.org.uk or 01223 236615

June 26th 20001

Visual Arts Education Web Site Secures New Funding to Create Online Learning Resources

AccessArt has created a unique identity for itself in its first year through a series of online visual arts workshops aimed at children and adults of all ages. It has fast become recognised that AccessArt has taken a lead in exploring innovative ways in which the Internet can be used for educational purposes, and has developed a highly visual, intuitive and flexible approach aimed directly at both learners and educators.

Funded in its first year by the Department for Education and Employment Museum and Galleries Education Programme, AccessArt has now been awarded a second major grant to develop its online resources further. This time the grant comes from East England Arts through the Regional Arts Lottery Programme and will enable AccessArt to create four more online workshops over the next year.

AccessArt is in the process of identifying artist-led educational workshops which are taking place in schools, museums and galleries in the Eastern Region, and which will form the basis of the online resources. Once these workshops have been identified members of the AccessArt team will work with the artists and host organisations to create an online version of the activity, which will serve to disseminate the good practice further a field through online learning.

The first workshop to be created will be Withie Working, a resource aimed at children aged 7 to 11 and their parents, carers or teachers. Withie Working will be based upon workshops led by a number of artists who have used withies (willow sticks) with children to build and construct quite amazing small and large scale sculptures. The workshop will take children through the basics of thinking about structure, and about fastening and bending withies into three dimensional shapes. The second part of the workshop enables children and adults to think about theme, allowing the workshop to be taken a number of ways, including Body, Fashion/Carnival, Architecture, Flying Things and Creatures. Once children and adults have absorbed the ideas online, they can then print-out specially designed pages which will enable them to make the sculptures for real. The resource will also encourage users to photograph sculpture they make as a result of the resource and send their images back to AccessArt to be included as examples on the resource to inspire future users.

Other workshops aimed at children aged 5 to 7, special needs aged 5 to 11 and adult learners will be added during the next year. Interested users can request to be notified when new workshops are added by sending an email to info@accessart.org.uk, or visiting the web site at www.accessart.org.uk and clicking on the contact us button.

Withie Working will be online from June 2001. The AccessArt site has a number of workshops online now including The Sculpture Chain, Draw!, What is Sculpture? and I See What You Mean. www.accessart.org.uk

For further information contact Paula Briggs at paula@accessart.org.uk or 01223 236615 Deadline: End June 2001