{"id":332,"date":"2017-05-31T10:20:29","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T09:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/?p=332"},"modified":"2017-05-30T10:20:43","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T09:20:43","slug":"seven-stories-showcases-new-student-artwork-for-the-late-shows-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/seven-stories-showcases-new-student-artwork-for-the-late-shows-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Stories showcases new student artwork for The Late Shows 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

In May, cultural venues across Newcastle Gateshead participate in The Late Shows,<\/a> part of the Museums at Night<\/a> initiative. For this year\u2019s Late Shows, Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children\u2019s Books<\/a> presented new artworks by students from Newcastle University\u2019s MA in Creative Arts Practice,<\/a> a postgraduate programme which focusses on creativity, interdisciplinary projects and digital technologies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MA in Creative Arts Practice programme director, Dr Tom Schofield,<\/a> suggested the collaboration as part of an existing module around Enterprise and Research Methods.<\/a> Dr Schofield said: \u201cIn our programme, we think about professional practice in terms of the way that our work makes sense in public. What does it mean to work with others? What do you need to make your work work<\/u> in this environment?\u201d <\/em>This fitted with Seven Stories’ commitment to supporting emerging arts professionals, and presenting art and engaging audiences are core activities for the organisation.<\/p>\n

Following a successful application for Teaching Development Funding from the University, module leaders Dr Schofield, Tim Shaw<\/a> and Professor John Bowers,<\/a> the Seven Stories team<\/a> and I discussed a programme of activities that would lead to the MA in Creative Arts Practice students presenting a new artwork for The Late Shows 2017, when Seven Stories offers free entry late into the evening and attracts a large and diverse audience. The starting point was collaborating to come up with a suitable commission brief for the students to respond to.<\/p>\n

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MA in Creative Arts Practice students at Seven Stories for a site visit. Image: Newcastle University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In March, the MA in Creative Arts Practice students came on a site visit to Seven Stories, where Seven Stories\u2019 staff explained the commission brief, talked about our experience of The Late Shows, and the students had the opportunity to explore the different spaces at Seven Stories. They even took part in a story time!<\/p>\n

The students had around a month to respond to the brief with a costed artistic proposal. All the proposals submitted showed creativity, and the students had clearly thought about Seven Stories as an organisation, and what might be suitable for our spaces and audiences.<\/p>\n

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Will Finn and Rosie Calvert perform at Seven Stories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seven Stories chose to commission two of the students, Lewis Brown<\/a> and Mike Hirst, to deliver new works.\u00a0We worked closely with the students as they planned their Late Shows activity over the weeks leading up to Friday 19th May, so that all of the partners were fully prepared.<\/p>\n

Lewis curated a series of pop-up musical and poetry performances around Seven Stories, which responded to the building\u2019s spaces and themes. Lewis said: \u201cWith Seven Stories\u2019 support, I was able to facilitate a diverse programme of local performers popping up throughout the venue for guests to discover. Working with Seven Stories has been a pleasure and a great opportunity to apply my creative practice on a larger scale than I ever had previously!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr Schofield observed that \u201caudiences formed naturally around the events and they gelled nicely with the spaces\u2026 the performers referenced parts of the exhibition around them, using props and standing in different places, which contributed significantly to the integrated feel of the performances.\u201d<\/em> From Seven Stories\u2019 perspective, Lewis\u2019 programme really brought the bookshop, caf\u00e9 and galleries to life. Operations Manager Jayne Nicholson said: \u201cIt was all very well planned \u2013 the whole building was buzzing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n