Young people get creative ahead of the British Art Show in Plymouth

Children's artwork for BAS7 in Plymouth. Credit: PVAC

In the build up to the opening of British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet in Plymouth this September, young people from across the region are being given the chance to get involved in a wide variety of arts projects.

The projects are designed to develop young people's understanding of contemporary art and to help them create their own innovative responses to the show and its themes.

The British Art Show is held every five years and is a showcase of the most influential artwork currently being created in Britain. Plymouth will host the show at five venues across the city from 17 September until 4 December - a huge honour for Plymouth which has never held an art exhibition on this scale before.

Before and during the event, young people from Plymouth and throughout the south west are taking part in a series of school and community group initiatives. These include family art workshops, multi-media projects, exhibitions and activities involving professional artists.

Some of the education programme highlights already underway include:

• A range of activities in Efford including film making, photography and creating giant sculptures from cob and recycled materials.
• A-level students from Lipson Community College will be given exhibition space at one of the venues during the British Art Show and have been creating art with both traditional and modern materials and techniques using same brief as the British Art Show artists.
• Primary school students from Plymouth's Excellence Cluster have been experimenting with contemporary art during a series of workshops with local landscape artist Andrew Hartley.
• Plymouth University is working with Somerset College of Art and Technology, Exeter College, Cornwall College and Petroc College, Barnstaple in a project inspired by the five themes in the British Art Show. Students will make presentations on research in progress, produce written texts and exhibitions of work.

The Arts Council's Director for the South West, Phil Gibby, said:
"The British Art Show provides a fantastic opportunity for young people to engage with contemporary visual arts. Taking part in these projects will give students from local schools a chance to create their own work in response to the Show as well as helping them to understand more about the way artists work. The British Art Show will be a major event for Plymouth, and we want as many people as possible to experience it."

All events during the Bristish Art Show in Plymouth are free to attend. For more information visit www.plymouthbas7.org

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