Curated education project with Fine Art undergraduate students
Hey Presto was an innovative new project in partnership with regional universities which aimed to offer support, encouragement and a focus for undergraduate students. Exploring links between magic and art the project brought together the activities of artists & professionals with a selected group of undergraduates to produce new visual responses towards this field of discourse which would later form part of an exhibition at the gallery. Hey Presto conicided with the exhibition, Con Art: Magic/Object/Action, which set out to explore the links between magic and art in contemporary visual arts practice; examining magicians’ and artists’ shared imaginations; and the relationship between the visual arts and strategies of deception/perceptual illusion.
The project was developed to enable students from regional universities to develop ideas and provided the context for further dialogue and discussion. A programme of practical sessions encouraged them to consider and expand upon the approaches and themes of exhibition using the galleries digital and photographic production facilities. Input from specialists supported the theoretical development of the project. Examining the shared languages of art and magic; presentations from curators, artists, theorists and magicians addressed issues including illusion and deception, sleight of hand and special effects. Contributors included performance artist Dr Roland Miller, Forced Entertainment member, Cathy Naden; artists Kyprianou & Hollington; theorist Andy Hubbard; psychology researcher, Dr John Frisby and Dr Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive
Hey presto was the 2nd stage of development project work with undergraduates at Site Gallery. The gallery had already undertaken a small scale pilot project in the previous year called quark antiquark which aimed to explore the links between visual art and scientific practice. Feedback from both projects has suggested that this model is successful in engaging real dialogue between the gallery and a student audience:
"The opportunity for collaboration has challenged and diversified both my studio practice and theory, essentially extending the possibilities of communication outside the context of the studio space...The possibility to engage with materials and technologies both familiar and new, has opened up opportunities for experimentation".
"It was good to be involved in making new work outside of my studio practice, not only to have a break and some reflection time from ongoing work, but to have the challenge of new ideas and a deadline to work to".
