WHITWORTH GALLERY

EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The educational programme specifically seeks to develop new audiences for this art form through workshops, residencies, gallery talks and explanatory material on display with the exhibition. Participating groups will be drawn from all age groups and levels of experience within the community. Japanese artists in partnership with U.K. artists are taking prominent roles in all these educational activities.

The Surrey Institute of Art and Design University College has an outstanding textile department, respected nationally and internationally, with an excellent textile collection. This exhibition affords the opportunity for students to absorb and understand the very particular approach the Japanese textile artists have to their art form. It is planned to follow up this exhibition with educational and cultural exchanges with Japanese educational institutions.

The first of these events was an international symposium held at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design University College as an opening event of the exhibition. This Symposium highlighted the different approaches taken to textile art in Japan and the UK with particular emphasis on the Japanese relationship with space and the use of textiles as a mediating influence in the built environment. Speakers were drawn from Japanese and UK artists, architects and cultural historians.

Each venue has its own education programme; the emphasis for each gallery will take into consideration their individual policy for outreach. Japanese artists from the exhibition will talk about their own work and give workshops. UK textile artists will respond to the work in the exhibition through guided tours and workshops. Some venue's have close links with Japan and will seek to use those associations in the education programme. For example Rochester Art Gallery, where the site-sensitive commission was in the Guildhall Chamber, based some of their education programme on the collection of Japanese artefacts housed in the Museum and also on the historical bond between Medway and Japan through Will Adams. In contrast, the site-sensitive commission in Brighton was placed in Fabrica, a de-consecrated church, and their education programme will include informal conversations on-site between the artist Machiko Agano and the general public.

The Whitworth Art Gallery
until 18th November 2001

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The Japanese have a history of commissioning large-scale textile works for specific environments and during the first three weeks of the exhibition Koji Takaki, one of the artists participating in the exhibition, will be working at the Gallery on a site-specific installation for the gardens outside The Whitworth. Drop in to watch him at work.

TOURS, LECTURES

West Meets East:
Artists and Architects Respond to 'Textural Space'

Philip Bintliffe, architect.
Sun 7 October 2.30pm

Clyde Olliver, artist.
Sun 21 October 2.30pm

Maggie Henton, artist.
Sun 4 November 2.30pm

Tour of Textural Space
Jennifer Harris, Curator of Textiles
Tues 23 October 1.15pm

Lecture "Curating Textural Space"
Lesley Millar, exhibition curator
Wed 31 October 1.15pm

All Textural Space events are free of charge.

Educators Preview Evening
Wednesday 26 September 5.30-7.00pm

This FREE Educators evening is open to all tutors and teachers. There will be an introduction to the exhibition, FREE teachers pack, refreshments and a performance of contemporary Japanese music.
Places must be booked in advance.
Please phone 0161 275 7453.

Space (KS3)
This teaching session looks at how our experience of space is affected by artists, designers and architects. Students will look at and record different forms of architecture, the built environment of the Gallery and artworks in Textural Space in a range of media and formats. Led by architectural historian Matthew Hyde, this session links to the QCA scheme of work 'What's in a Building?'.

Textural Space Teachers Pack
A specially compiled Teachers Pack, aimed at teachers and tutors of GCSE, A/S and A/2 levels is available for £3.50 from the Education Department.

At the same time as Textural Space, the Gallery will be showing Reflecting Japan, a collections exhibition exploring the influence of Japan on Western design since the 1860s.

Events and activities include

• drop-in origami making throughout the exhibition. Free.
• Noh mask-making workshops for families -
  Weds 24 and Fri 26 Oct, 2.30-4.00pm.
  
  Pre-booking essential. £2 per child For information about Japan events at the Whitworth, a special events leaflet is available.
  
  Please contact 0161 275 7450.

CONCERTS

Okeanos Ensemble Contemporary Japanese Music Performances Six young Japanese composers collaborate with Okeanos Ensemble, to bring two concerts of work inspired by 'Textural Space'
Sun 7 October 3.30pm
Sun 4 November 3.30pm

Shakuhachi concert Sun 21 October 3.30pm

SYMPOSIUM

THE TEXTURE OF SPACE

The Symposium held at The Surrey Institute of Art & Design University College on 4th May 2001 to coincide with the opening of Textural Space was a hugely popular event, completely sold out with standing room only. The day was chaired by David Reason Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies, School of Drama, Film & Visual Art, University of Kent.

The first speaker was Keiko Kawashima, Director of the Kyoto International Contemporary Textile Art Centre who set the work in the exhibition into an historical context through her explanation of the Japanese use of fibre within the built environment.

She was followed by Victoria Mitchel, Senior Lecturer at Norwich School of Art who addressed the particularities of locating fibre in space.

In the afternoon the architect Kathryn Findlay described her response to the relationship of buildings and space in Japan and her own architecture.

The day concluded with three presentations by textile artists. From the exhibition Shigeo Kubota and Naomi Kobayashi and from the UK Caroline Broadhead, each spoke about their work with particular reference to the texture of space.

Other educational events were equally well attended, in particular the Shibori Masterclass given by Shihoko Fukumoto and the exhibition tour by UK textile artist Michele Walker.

The Teacher's Pack sold out it's first run. It is now available again either from the venues or by mail order from Barbara Scott, the Surrey Institute of Art And Design. Price £3.50 + p&p

Education events from the opening venues

Educational Events at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich

For booking and further details please phone 01603 593199 :

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