Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

Something Strange will reflect on the process and outcomes of three projects involving BA Fine Art students from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, working with local people in King’s Cross. Using a methodology of pairing people to work together, (initially developed by Anna Hart, AIR Studios), and supported by the XD Pathway (Eggebert, Cole and Bannerman), this work has revealed what one participant called ‘the unlikeliness of us’. For the past two years Fine Art degree students have been paired with local elders, trainee construction workers and users of an urban community garden. We have explored what happens when two people, who might not normally meet or get to know each other, discover they have something in common and how they might go about generating art work from this. This paper will reveal some of the results, including videos, readings and images. We will present a critical analysis of the creative processes and outcomes of these projects and reflect on how art practices can be used to explore difference, in age and culture and approaches to making.