A Year In Review: Guest Blogger Mary Strickson

Image by Ben Harriott

Illuminate have been busy the last year, often juggling several projects at once! We had a successful Takeover back in March linked to themes of A World to Win:Posters of Protest and Revolution exhibition at Nottingham Castle which was touring from the V and A. In the Long Gallery at our event we had emerging music acts, spoken word, poetry, protest marches and ran workshops in zine-making and badge-making! We worked with artists who put on poetry and T-shirt printing workshops.

Following this we began work learning everything we could about the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition and the Royal Collection. We designed and created the project lab space which launched for schools and families in July until October. Exploring invention, anatomy, technical drawing, science and art, we produced ‘Leonardo’s workshop’; a space for creativity, fun and exploration of themes that introduced the exhibition upstairs.

Since this summer we have been working on an exciting film commission, working with Film-maker Ben Harriott, facilitated by Sam Metz. On the 8^th March ‘Close Distance’ will open in Wollaton Hall’s Prospect Room, an exhibition which is a collaboration between artists Caroline Broadhead, Nic Sandiland and Angela Woodhouse.  Illuminate are creating a ‘making of’ film which will show the process of creating this exhibition, exploring the themes behind it and a chance to make the Prospect room and this exhibition accessible to everyone. The film will be shown at Wollaton Hall. Illuminate have story boarded, filmed and assisted with editing this film. We are excited to see the final product!

Hannah and Callum have been busy producing a feedback machine. Illuminate ran a stall at Derby Mini Maker’s Faire, where they produced an interactive installation but also gathered ideas for this machine. The machine had its first outing at Light Night, making evaluation fun and creative!

The rest of Illuminate had been working on creating interactive animations which were projected onto screens outside Brewhouse Yard at Light Night. We used traditional drawing techniques combined with digital graphic design and stop-motion animation to create a film which reflected Katja Hock’s links to forest and industrial themes.

We are currently editing our final cut of the film and can't wait to see it installed at Wollaton Hall. Illuminate are always looking for new members so if you or someone you know are 15-24 and would like to get involved in our next project please contact the Volunteer Coordinators. We meet on Wednesdays 4pm-6pm supplied with interesting projects, a friendly environment and a Jaffa cake or two.

Mary Strickson.