Art? It’s child’s play
Members of the local community, young and old, will be using recycled materials to transform an empty gallery space in Leamington into a giant installation about play.
Community groups, individuals and artists are taking part in the ‘Playspace’ project until 21 July at the Community Arts Workshop in Leamington. A variety of groups have been invited to work with professional sculptor Matt Shaw to explore the theme of play using recycled materials.
The efforts of those taking part in the project will be on show at an exhibition running from 14-21 July, when the public will get a chance to see the transformed space for themselves.
Playspace has been organised and devised by Matt Shaw working in partnership with the Community Arts Workshop (CAW). The project has been funded by the Arts Council.
Playspace is being supported by the Warwick-based CREATES (Creative Recycling Enviro-Arts Training and Education Service which is run by Warwickshire County Council’s Artists in Warwickshire Education team in partnership with recycling company Trees are Green.
CREATES aims to encourage children and teachers to find new ways of re-using waste materials, promoting a positive attitude towards recycled goods, and encouraging new opportunities for communication and creativity. CREATES collects, exhibits, and offers alternative, reclaimed materials and discarded materials from industrial production, with the aim of reinventing their use and meaning.
Matt Shaw, who is artist in residence for six weeks, said: “I feel that play is a common experience for us all and our memories of play and how we played as children can have a direct influence on our adult lives. We want to explore how people’s memories of play feed into their every day life and their ability to imagine, to create and to be happy.”
Matt Shaw’s artistic background is in sculpture. Over recent years he has moved into large-scale interactive installations and environments.
Play Space runs from 4 June-21 July at the Community Arts Workshop, Community Gallery, Avenue Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 3PP. It is open to groups on a pre-booked basis on Mondays and Tuesdays and open to the public Wed-Fri 10am-4pm and Sat 12-2pm. Members of the public are welcome to come along and see what is happening throughout the project. Visits can be made outside of opening times by prior arrangement.
To find out more, log on to the Playspace website http://www.playspace.org.uk