ArtsHouse – Cyril Jackson

The ArtsHouse

Cyril Jackson Senior Campus’ (CJSC) ArtsHouse, provides an opportunity for artists to mentor, explore and collaborate with students, staff and the community in a range of arts projects. The initiative creates a rich learning environment and community building opportunity.

ArtsHouse began with the idea of ‘space for service’. Studio space, facilities and equipment are offered to artists in exchange for a service provided to the campus and community. Artists work with the wider community to build connections for students and the school with the professional art world.

In 2017, based on the current strength of the project, ArtsHouse was approached via WA’s peak governing body for artists Artsource, for a partnership that aimed to continue to develop the arts educational program and provide paid residency opportunities for artists. Funding was sought successfully sought via the National Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund for the sum $34,800 with Artsource providing an additional $11,800 in support. The funding enabled CJSC to deliver three paid residencies over the following two years (ongoing).

Another aspect of the project is the Bassendean community volunteer run, ArtsHouse Community Garden (AHCG) Inc. AHCG links community together with the ArtsHouse and CJSC campus sharing culture, knowledge, skills, experiences, fresh local produce and seeds.

The ArtsHouse Community Garden team have also successfully applied for numerous grants and acknowledge the generous assistance of their supporters: Cyril Jackson Senior Campus, CJSC ArtsHouse, The Town of Bassendean, Bassendean Arts & Events, The Waste Authority of WA and the Government of Western Australia Department of Communities Community Gardens Grants Program without whom this project would not be possible.

Artist in Residence

Gordon MITCHEL | Artist in Residence Semester One 2019

In 2019 Term 2 and 3 WA artist and teacher Gordon Mitchel will join us to collaborate and engage with the campus.

Gordon Mitchell is an artist, designer and sculptor. He has a successful background in the Visual Arts – Graphic Design, Art Education and Art Practice. His practice is defined by approach: Creative / Responsive / Innovative. His multidisciplinary practice is currently focused on the design and creation of site specific sculpture. He has been designing and making Public Art since 2008. He meets the unique challenges of each project with the creativity, expertise and experience required to successfully enhance the environment and inspire the people who see the work. He has exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe and Bondi. Gordon has been commissioned by private collectors as well as Corporate and Public Authorities.

Elizabeth PEDLER | Artist in Residence Term 4 2018 & Term 1 2019

Interested in perception, relationships, and the range of participation possible in art, Elizabeth Peddlers’ practice spans from playful and interactive installations to collaborative relational aesthetics. Exchange, food, and community involvement are areas of particular focus, and have led to significant artistic development in her recent arts practice, engaging with audiences through the sharing of experiences.

Elisabeth joins us in Term 4 2018 and will continue in Term 1 2019. She will use the residency to develop a dialogue with ArtsHouse; to explore and respond to the residency, its educational context, and how it functions in the community. Elisabeth has begun her journey towards running a series of engaging workshops based on relational aesthetics. Although at this point the shape and outcome of the project is unknown, it will be a new work, centered upon Harmony Day, students’ and staff learning requirements and the residency itself.

http://www.elizabethpedler.com/artwork

Sharyn EGAN | Artist in Residence Semester One 2018

During her residency, Sharyn Egan engaged with staff and students, supporting them in the development of new work and curriculum, engaging in collaborative works, providing one on one mentor support, and delivery of new skills and techniques. Students were working on a botanical theme during Sharyn’s residency; using the botanical theme in the areas of Print Making, Drawing, Ceramics and Colour Theory.

Sharyn’s residency culminated in an afternoon with Sharyn and Whadjuk Nyoongar elders, Mort and Vivienne Hansen speaking to the staff, students and community members in the Jacaranda Theatre at CJSC. Mort emphasized the need for greater recognition of Indigenous history and knowledge, calling on teachers and schools who have an opportunity to shape the next generation. Sharyn presented slides of her work, and discussed how her practice tells the story of her family, and her connection to her Nyoongar heritage.

Later, across the campus at the ArtsHouse building and AH community garden Viv led a workshop focused on edible and medicinal Indigenous plants.

To document the residency Artsource sent WA artist and writer Elizabeth Pedler to capture the day and the essence of ArtsHouse. The full article Re-invigorating the residency model: ArtsHouse at Cyril Jackson Senior Campus can be read below.

As the final part of her residency Sharyn worked together with ArtsHouse staff to develop and deliver professional development in the area of the Aboriginal Cultural Framework to teachers in the region. This workshop was a huge success where participants explored Aboriginal Art, and were introduced to a session on the use of Balga Resin to develop artworks.

The professional development session was collaboratively delivered with AHCG with an open invitation to community to engage with Viv and Mort’s Bush Tucker demonstration. The event attracted over one thousand interested attendees from the local and broader communities.

Claire BUSHBY | Artist in Residence 2017

Claire_Bushby_Photo_taken_by_Yvonne_Doherty_At_Cirrus_photography-768x512 Claire is an artist and curator based in Perth, WA. She completed a Master of Arts (Visual Arts) at Edith Cowan University in 2015 investigating collective production and participatory art in relation to the Internet and its impact on human connection and creativity.

In 2014, she completed a residency at Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan where she facilitated a socially engaged project called “#RT_samplr”. This project resulted in exhibitions in both Taipei and Perth, plus a bi-lingual (Chinese/English) publication.

Also in 2014, Claire co-curated the “Third Space” exhibition with her colleague, Dr. Donna Franklin, at Spectrum Project Space. That exhibition brought together 20 artists from Perth and Shanghai to develop collaborative artworks based on Homi Bhabha’s social theories of the “third space” in relation to modern societies and migration.

Claire successfully applied for funding from Department of Culture and the Arts, WA for a residency at Listhus Artspace, Northern Iceland to develop new works for a solo exhibition at Free Range Gallery, Perth titled, “Asking the Stones Where to Begin” which exhibited in July 2016.

Claire is the curator for the annual “Stations of the Cross” exhibition at Wesley Uniting Church, an annual event that showcases contemporary WA artists and aims to engage viewers in multi-faith conversations about the themes of life, mortality, empathy and transformation.

For Claire’s residency at ArtsHouse she explored the theme of “Borderlines”, looking at ways in which land is divided up for human use and how this influences the relationship we have with nature. Claire’s work is based in textiles including weaving, felting, embroidery and cross-stitch but often also employs multi-media/audio visual components.

Emma May LASHMAR | Artist in Residence 2016

2016 saw us graced by the extraordinary talents Emma-1 of Emma May Lashmar, Michael Grau and Elizabeth Morrison who put on a house warming exhibition that exceeded all expectations. Emma May Lashmar is a visual artist with a passion for large immersive installation works.

Trained in glassblowing at Monash University, Melbourne, Emma incorporates crafted glass components into suspended swarms of elements, often with integrated lighting or an interactive system at play. Having recently returned to her home town of Perth, after a decade based interstate and overseas, Emma is excited to get cracking on her first major work yet to be exhibited here in Western Australia.

Following a hiatus from her practice to have her first child, Emma’s focus has shifted towards feeling out the joys and limitations of the intensely domestic sphere of a new family, exploring shifting notions of “quality time” and priority, and reflecting on the sense of self constructed in early childhood.

This work will bring to life a theatrical dreamscape version of Emma’s grandparent’s garden… portraying a surreal subterranean version of the place etched in her memory as the space in which her most formative early experiences and relationships unfolded, and offering it up as a creative space of curiosity, investigation and reflection.

To see Emma’s previous works: http://emmalashmar.com/category/artworks/

Peggy McKenna | Artist in Residence 2015

Peggy McKenna, who was our first artist in residence 2015 and is back helping at ArtsHouse. Peggy is an Irish Ceramic Artist who, for the last 20 years, has been living between Perth and Ireland.

Peggy completed her Honours Degree in Ceramics at Cardiff College of Art, Wales and a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy at Edith Cowan, Perth. She ran her own Ceramic business and has exhibited widely in Ireland. Having spent 7 years as a Ceramic and Sculpture Lecturer on a Fine Art Honours Degree programme in Ireland, she is looking forward to immersing herself in her own arts practice at CJ.

While Peggy’s main work is ceramic based, she will engage with other materials to develop a theme around ‘Movement’, from both an emotional and physical perspective. Having experienced firsthand, several moves to and from Perth, she intends to explore the views of others who have made life changing moves.

As part of her residency, Peggy helped to set up the Ceramic Workshop as a new area to conduct classes for C.J. students and staff, as well as community groups.

Collaborations

Co3 THE ZONE

During 2017 students from CJSC partnered with Co3 Australian contemporary dance company to produce a spectacular collection of creative works across the visual art disciplines of drawing, sculpture, ceramics, digital imaging and painting.

Co3 Artistic Director Raewyn Hill’s initial point of inspiration for the dance work THE ZONE; and a specially designed curriculum by CJSC Arts staff, inspired students to research, explore and interpret historical and contemporary art theories and practices, while learning and developing new skills and techniques through their coursework to express concepts. The outcome of this process and the works created was exhibited during THE ZONE performance at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia (STCWA).

This project provided students and staff with the opportunity to work with both practicing artists and art industry professionals. Including Co3’s Artistic Director, Raewyn Hill, their marketing team and dancers, artist in residence Peggy McKenna (Ceramics), contributing artists Andy Quilty, Claire Bushby, Lucy Bromell and the behind stage and front of house staff at STCWA.

The creation of works for THE ZONE exhibition was an invaluable opportunity; expanding on the student learning program and actively engaging students alongside artists and arts industry professionals. This exhibition therefore not only showcases student achievement and teacher dedication, but rewards commitment to making and exhibiting artworks.

Artsource

In 2017 the ArtsHouse project received a grant from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and Artsource to continue its growth and to fund three residencies. Each residency would see artists spend at least one term embedded in the campus. While in residence the artists create new work as well as working with students to provide hands on arts and arts industry experiences.

The artists benefit from the experience of developing their teaching skills, interacting with the community, building awareness of their work, and having wider audience reach. They also have a dedicated studio space and facilities on campus to create new work in a supportive environment.

The program enriches students’ knowledge and understanding of contemporary arts practice, demonstrates the role artists play in society, encourages participation of all students, and provides dynamic learning experiences. It provides cross curricular activities to engage participants from a range of age and socio-economic demographics.

ArtsHouse sought artists to work under three different focus areas; the Aboriginal Cultural Framework, Digital Literacy and Students at Educational Risk. Sharyn Egan, Elizabeth Pedler and Gordon Mitchel were the succesful applicants.

Harmony Projects

As the culmination of a six-month research residency at Cyril Jackson Senior Campus ArtsHouse, the artist worked with students from Years 11 and 12, to create projects exploring and expanding on the concept of harmony. Seven groups participated in a series of three 90-minute workshops, from the varied learning areas of Photography, General Art, Community Service, Health, Educational Support, and Drama.

The first workshop with each group began with a listening exercise, a moment of mindfulness to open a space for inward contemplation. From the first workshop, each group wrote a manifesto, a unique and powerful expression of what harmony meant to them. In the second workshop, the students were facilitated in planning a project communicating their vision of harmony. In the third workshop the students carried out their vision, and were guided in rehearsal, production, or testing.

The results were as diverse as the subject areas involved, including: a decorate-your-own cupcake and cookie stall; the performance of an original choreographed dance work; installations wrapping and decorating the trees in a riot of colour; hand painted and photo collaged miniature houses, hanging from the same trees; more cupcakes; a photo-collage mural; frozen fruit cups — “to help people chill out,” and manifold other expressions and decorations spreading harmony throughout the school. The projects were presented to the rest of the school on Harmony Day in March 2019.

This residency realised with the generous support of Artsource, the Copyright Agency, and Cyril Jackson Senior Campus. This project was only possible because of the participation and dedication of the students, teachers, and community at CJSC.