Clancy Mason talks to Kerry Vasiliou, Education Officer at the Grundy Art Gallery, about the forthcoming contemporary art course.
CM: Please tell us a little bit about Art Course?
KV: This is a five week course for adults to learn more about contemporary art. It includes the chance to meet four practicing contemporary artists face to face and learn about their art, practice, career and exhibitions. It gives you the opportunity to ask questions about their work directly and find out how the ‘art world’ works. The course aims to demystify the language of contemporary art. We meet each Wednesday throughout the month of May for the sessions and on the fifth week we go on a coach trip to Wakefield to visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth.
How long have you been running this course?
Art Course is in it’s sixth year and it is so much fun to deliver. We run it annually and I always really enjoy the mix of people and opinions that emerge from this very popular course. We started it because of the change in Grundy’s exhibition programme to a majority of contemporary art and felt that this kind of course is important to assist people to build a relationship with contemporary art rather than dismiss it. There is so much to be enjoyed if you are prepared to look for the answers and this course aims to give you the tools to do that.
Can you tell us a little bit about the artists who are delivering talks/sessions?
Andrew McDonald is from Manchester and makes drawings, animations and sculptures, his work is currently showing at Grundy. He will talk about the dark side to his work and also its humourous nature. Ruth Claxton exhibited at Grundy in 2008 and recently made a new work for our stairwell. She is based in Birmingham where she was co-founder of an artist-run space called EastSide Projects. Tom Ireland is both an artist and curator based in Blackpool and will be talking about his practice and gallery space Supercollider. Serena Korda, based in London, comes fresh from an exhibition at Camden Arts Centre, London, to set up her show at Grundy. We will meet her in the installation week and find out about her work and the film she made in Blackpool Tower Circus with a 15 foot monster.
Who would benefit from taking part?
We would recommend this course to everyone over the age of 18. It has proven to be popular with people who have various degrees of appreciation for art, from avid fans of contemporary art to those who feel a real disconnect from it. We really welcome debates about what art is, what it should do and what a gallery should show. The course is also a great way of making new friends and spending time with like minded people.
How do people sign up and what do they need to know (costs/ dates/ commitment)?
If you would like to enrol on the course or have any questions please contact the Grundy’s Education Officer, Kerry Vasiliou on 01253 478170 or [email protected]
There is a one-off fee of £15 which includes all talks and trip, but if you would like the lunch option on the trip it would be a total of £21.
This can be paid at Grundy by cash, card or cheques made payable to Blackpool Borough Council.
Is there anything else you would like us to know?
For full details of the course follow this link: http://www.grundyartgallery.com/learning/adults/
For details of our current exhibition follow this link: http://www.grundyartgallery.com/programme/current/
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