Artlink has pioneered a unique way of working, the Ideas Team, a laboratory of experimental approaches where contemporary artists explore sensory experiences in partnership with people with profound learning disabilities. These have included adventures in olfactory memory, sound and vibration, time spent immersed in intense colour and pattern. Some remarkable work has resulted from this approach which promotes new forms of collaboration and greater agency; articulating a new and more positive identity for people with complex disabilities within the communities they live.
This site provides a concise background to the exhibition Human Threads and includes images from a series of performative events designed to add another ’sensational’ dimension to the exhibition.
‘The huge silk sail in soft perpetual motion gives endless movement to the space, and blends floor to walls, walls to ceiling. I had a sense that there weren’t the perametres usually encountered in other rooms. And if there were, they were far away.
Much of my performance comprised of layering vocal refrains. Recording and looping melodies and sentiments over and over to build a tower of sound. The natural reverb of the exhibition space pulled my words out like threads and yarn and spun them out in every direction, filling the space with a swirling sound.
My silver suit reflecting the light projections through colours and flora and glass, and behind me, those colours and shapes magnified to form a gentle backdrop. But my own giant shaddow was also magnified behind me, and threatening that carefully curated calm as it mimicked my every movement’
This workshop was a bit of an experiment. The musicians were asked to explore slow time with staff and service users. Sometimes the experimental is just what people need.
As part of Human Threads The Spatial Opera Comapny performed Whale Opera, a piece which combines whale song, voice and violin. Spatial Whale Opera is one of the first works by SPO, which has now developed into multiple experimental opera projects, all based on the idea of spatial sound travel.
Spatial Opera Company are a small team of three musicians: Scotland based Lithuanian composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė , Swedish composer Jens Hedman , and soprano Åsa Nordgren.
“Our ‘Spatial Whale Opera’ composition by Spatial Opera Company was created for a very reverberant Miner in Norberg in Sweden. It includes various whale sounds (played by Jens Hedman), and imitation of whale song, as well as operatic arias (Asa Nordgren) and virtuosic violin passages (by myself). We were excited to bring this piece to Human Threads to especially plug our whale sounds into the vibrating floor. On the day, we happened to have so many technical issues with plugging sounds into the floor, that only some minutes before the performance we finally knew it would work! Of course, all came together when the audience gathered, and we started playing the music. Me and Asa (soprano) walked around the space, playing whale sound imitation (I especially liked hiding behind the fume tower, and playing sounds from there). Most of the audience seemed to have gathered on the amplified floor. Coloured in blue, and in the context of whale song, the floor seemed to be like a wave. For the last movement of the piece, Asa and I made an ascending walk, avoiding stepping on people’s heads, while singing and playing more and more dramatically, finishing on the major high pitched chord when we reached the top of the floor. I think the experience for those on the floor was especially powerful – a vibration of deep whale sounds through the floor, and dramatic operatic soprano above their heads. People seemed really spaced out, wobbling out of the venue, after our performance”.
A 45min.deep listening workshop led by composers Rūta Vitkauskaitė and Emily Doolittle. Participants were invited to sit down or lie down in the space, and be guided to tune into the sounds around them and inside of them.
Listen to the sound bar below to hear what happened
‘We prepared a few exercises for our Deep Listening workshop with Emily Doolittle. Some singing, some listening, some imagining, and some walking around the space. As we started, it was quite clear we might need to change our plans. Our participants made themselves comfortable on the sound floor, and me and Emily skipped most of the walking around exercises. The exercises asking for attention did not work that well, but the one with repeating words faster and slower seemed to have generated quite a lot of fun! For the good part of the workshop, I personally felt exercises weren’t quite working, or our participants weren’t quite engaging with them. But as we were nearing the end, and left it to free improvisation, listening, and making sounds, something has suddenly changed – one of the participants got hold of the mic, amplifying the floor, and had a very long imitation duet with myself, which engaged the rest of the group. The attention of the group seemed to have setted to the quieter sounds, the floor vibration, each others’ voices: some really deep listening experience had happened just minutes before we resumed the workshop”. Rūta Vitkauskaitė
For several years Aya (dance) and Alex (clarinets) have been improvising movements and sounds together as part of Glasgow-based Collective Endeavours. In their first duo performance they provided a dynamic and playful response to all aspects of the exhibition, combining bravura, elegance and tenderness.
The first part of a two part performance. Jonathan wanted to explore how the audience would feel music or hear music, rhythm as a universal language . The ‘conversation’ started with Jonathan playing drums, slowly the audience started to take part, dancing and playing drums along with him.
Kirsten Lloyd in her essay Uncommon Ground makes so much sense. After reading the Scotsman It would appear that people feel more comfortable putting others into pigeonhole’s. But do they really need to do that?
Soprano Stephanie Lamprea performed solo pieces for voice, based on the sounds from nature and improvised to accompany the acoustics of the exhibition. She completely captured her audience. Her voice was truly beautiful. The exhibition shifted onto a different level.
For people with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD), the COVID-19 pandemic saw a traumatic loss of routine, activities and contact with family and carers that was hard to understand and to cope with. In addition, the increased risk of dying from the disease is significant for people with IDD, compared to the general population.
This forms part of the LGA’s A Perfect Storm report, published April 2021.
Data released by Mencap in February 2021 in the graph below revealed that the death rate from COVID-19 amongst those with a learning disability rose steeply during December and January. The data refers to deaths of people with a learning disability in England that were reported to the Learning Disability Mortality Review (LeDeR) – although it is not a requirement for deaths to be reported so many could be missed.
The data of COVID-19 deaths of patients with a learning disability from LeDeR and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also shows that in every week since the end of November, people with a learning disability have died from COVID-19 disproportionately compared to the general population. This disparity between the proportion of COVID deaths grew dramatically throughout December and January.
Proportion of COVID deaths of people with a learning disability compared to the general population (MENCAP)
Earlier in the pandemic, a PHE report COVID-19: deaths of people with learning disabilities found that after standardising for age and sex, 451 per 100,000 people registered as having a learning disability died with COVID-19 between 21 March and 5 June 2020; a death rate 4.1 times higher than the general population of England (109 per 100,000). However, researchers estimated the real rate may have been as high as 692 per 100,000, 6.3 times higher, because not all deaths in people with learning difficulties are registered on the databases from which this data was taken.
The report found that deaths were also spread much more widely across the age spectrum among people with learning disabilities, with far greater mortality rates in younger adults, compared to the general population. The death rate for people aged 18 to 34 with learning disabilities was 30 times higher than the rate in the same age group without disabilities.
DJ Dynamite is one of the youngest members of KMAdotcom, a group of artists with and without learning disabilities. His mobile sound system Dynomobile was built in the KMAartists studios and runs off its own battery. DJ Dynamite plays all over Scotland at festivals and events. He played lots of different music and yes, you were expected to dance!!!
Puppeteer Jemima Thewes created and performed a short, improvised performance with one of her unique shadow puppets. Animating the artwork created by Laura and Lauren using her shadow puppetry skills, storytelling, further enhanced by music and song.
Gong Bath by Daniel Padden was a unique and immersive sonic experience. People could participate or just observe. When you relaxed into it, the special sonic power of gongs, let the soundwaves wash over you. In past workshops at Cherry Road, people connected with the sonic and vibrational power of the gongs. Its both therapeutic and meditative.
This workshop was hosted by Ruta Vitkauskaite, MD of CoMA Glasgow and attended by regular musicians from CoMA Glasgow. The group rehearsed Emily Dolittles’s Gardenscape, where musicians and singers imitated bird songs, and from this they made their own soundscape to correspond with the sounds of exhibition. CoMA musicians performed ‘birdsongs’ by Emily Doolittle within the exhibition.
“I was excited to bring Emily Doolittle’s Gardenscape into the workshop at the Human Threads exhibition. We have played through that score with CoMA Glasgow before, and it was interesting to see whether the score could work with people who do not have an instrument, or do not play in conventional way, or can not read conventional music notation. We had a few members from CoMA Glasgow on the day, and people who are not (yet!) part of our group. Immediate challenge for me was to change my workshop plan to accommodate people with hearing impairment, but as soon as that was adapted, and we started playing music, it all fell into place. My personal highlight was walking around the space of the exhibition, playing bird sounds, and interacting with the sounds that other participants made, including the natural sounds and objects of the exhibition. We also had hand fans, and I walked around making some wind for the audience, – there were families with small children, who especially seemed to enjoye hand fans – they were rolling on the floor with eyes closed, listening to bird song, under the hand-made wind”. Ruta Vitkauskaite
A vibrant and exciting piece inspired by West African music and dance, clowning and the magic of feeling the world from a different point. It lifted our spirits and made us smile for the rest of the day.
Ubuntu vibes is an Edinburgh-based group – Raquel Ribes Miro, Beti Mencal and Andy Cooke. All have studied African music and dance for several years. Drawing on their experience, they have been creating and performing dance pieces with live music to delight audiences. Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning: “I am what I am because of who we all are”
There was a mistake over timing and we decided to put an additional event on to ensure that those people turning up for an event had something to watch and take part
Alex South (bass clarinet) and Nicola Scrutton (voice) and the blue wedge as a massive speaker. Beautiful.
A playful, inclusive, and interactive sharing of the exhibition through live improvisations performed by Red Note Ensemble inspired by the intricate landscape of ‘Human Threads’. The musicians interacted with artworks and visitors exploring the exhibition, blurring the lines between ‘audience’ and ‘performer.’ This work was not mic’d The musicals placed themselves next to the different artworks and played in t]repsne to each artwork and the people within the gallery
Alex (clarinet, bass clarinet, interactive electronics) presented a part-composed, part-improvised set built around the idea of immersion and featuring music by composer Jan Foote inspired by humpback whale song. Alex’s improvisations attended closely to breath, bodily rhythms and the dark microtextures of bass clarinet sound. This was incredible. In an email sent from someone in the audience, their response beautifully sums up the event: “I absolutely loved experiencing Human Threads and found the live performance from Alex South, and the full-body reverb through the ramp, very moving.”
Humpback Whale recorded off Mo’orea 25.09.2019
Ellen Garland (University of St Andrews)
Michael Poole (Marine Mammal Research Programme, Mo’orea, French Polynesia)
We are always looking for points of connection to find meaning and purpose within what we do. What follows is a series of images and texts which in some way illustrate the build up to the exhibition and the artworks on show. This is all about the people who have informed the artworks, its intention and what happpens when we are more inclusive and open in sharing involvement .
Four Irish dancers performed, the sound of their dance steps was at the same time recorded and channelled through Wendy Jacobs’ Human Threads exhibit, Felt Mountain. The artwork is a ramp leading to a level platform, which has been specially engineered to carry low frequency sound. Observers experienced the performance, both visually, physically, and sonically, experiencing the artwork in multiple ways.
For more than two decades, Artlink has pioneered the use of contemporary arts practice as a form of collaborative research with partner Cherry Road Learning Centre in Midlothian, Scotland.1 Through the Ideas Team, an Artlink project, it paired artists and thinkers with individuals within a care setting over a sustained period, creating the conditions for new ideas and influences to radiate from people with profound and multiple developmen- tal disabilities (PMLD) and their carers. In 2015 Artlink and partners began to devise a large-scale exhibition that would bring these insights and sensi- bilities to a broad and diverse public—an exhibition that would celebrate the common threads that make connection between people with complex disabilities and the wider world. The exhibition would provide an oppor- tunity to look at who we are through a completely different lens. Artlink set up a partnership with Tramway, a publicly owned and run arts space on the south side of Glasgow. The immense scale of Tramway’s exhibition space and its utilitarian fabric would allow us to devise an exhibition that was ambitious in size and accessible to the widest range of people. In 2019 Artlink organized some public performances at Tramway to test out some of the principles of the upcoming exhibition. This essay written by free- lance curator and writer Nicola White and Artlink Artistic Director, Alison Stirling traces the development of the challenging road to realizing an exhi- bition that centers on the experiences and interests of one of society’s most marginalized groups. At the time of this writing, work is in production, and the exhibition is scheduled to take place in May 2022
The people we work with are incredibly complex, as are all human individuals. We often have to confront the separation that exists between people, and how this can be heightened when someone communicates using their own language or physicality. Often, this barrier feels thinnest when we are working in the session, using materials and are in a ‘moment’. It’s this space we’d like to extrapolate, exploit, catch and make ‘reside’ in the work. We want to suggest a reappraisal of existing hierarchies within education, art practice and beyond – giving thorough consideration to what we value and why. We want to recognise the experiential qualities of materials , textural / tactile information held within materials and what that experience looks like through individual eyes and when shared / observed with others. Reevaluating what is ‘within’ by taking familiar materials and refreshing our perspective to reveal overlooked details and experiences. (ever)lasting will comprise a series of three-dimensional objects which act like ongoing rotating slides, through which our made light source would project and throw(
O
Project materials / concept drawings or prototypes
The projector is housed within a contained wooded structure which is functional in design but will also feature several textural and sculptural elements. The projector will be on castors for ease of movement, it is also self contained so can be stored as a single unit for ease of transportation. The material filters will be user friendly and easy to change. Spare filters will be stored within the structure.
The work consists of a free standing analogue projector. The projector is modular and consist of; of a light source (high lumen torch), a material filter (heat sealed perspex disks that contain materials and liquids and also objects attached), an internal conveyor belt which rotates the free standing material filter, and a water lens which magnifies and distributes the images created.
In addition to the projector, the work will be installed with two intelligent lights (MAC 250 Krypton – artists own) – these lights will sit on top of two simple complementary plinths to create a suite of objects. These lights will be connected to a surface tablet which will control the programming of the lights.
The screen will be as high as the lighting rig and approx 3m wide .
The projector base is approximately 90cm x 120cm – the intelligent lights will sit on plinths or may possibly be rigged up.
Our piece is very much a dimensions variable, it will respond to the other work.
The project will consist of approximately 3 “cabinets” that have elongated viewing slits that allow viewing, smelling, or hearing some sort of activity. Imagine a wooden box, the approximate size of a large double door kitchen cabinet, that is closed on all sides, except for a slit in the front. Inside this box, to use just one example, is a humidifier that accepts therapeutic oils under it’s misting apparatus. Also inside this box is a LED light that is commonly sold as a “ fake tv.” This light is actually several LEDs that are programmed to flicker randomly and replicate what a TV looks like in a room (it is a security device that tricks people outside you home into thinking someone is home a watching TV.) There would also be a small oscillating fan inside this box that would push out this fragrant mist. Other boxes would utilize small sounds or deep base sounds to draw attention to the holes. Even other cabinets with holes may utilize something small and shinny that moves in an out of the sight line of the hole. Each cabinet will be slightly different but all will utilize a similar “lure”; a cabinet with a hole from which something draws attention. The height of the cabinets sits on legs. Each cabinet is at wheelchair level.
.Project materials / concept drawings or prototypes
The prototype for testing has been made from 1/2’’ MDF but the final will most likely be made from 3/4’’ ply.
The extended viewing box at the front ensures the viewer is kept at a distance to the surface of the box, the dimensions also ensure that hands cannot be inserted through.
The interior and exterior of all 3 boxes will be black
Each cabinet will sit on legs and will be at wheelchair accessible height.
The boxes will be placed together or in different sites throughout the gallery. The work will be fabricated by Leila Smith.
As part of her research Wendy worked with participants and carers at Cherry Road on the Sound Diary Project. Her aim was to ask questions to carers about the soundscapes that are part of the individual day to day life. Sounds that we take for granted but are an integral part of the individuals personal soundscape. . This was a journey, observing and exploring what it means to be immersed in listening together and how to describe sound. Wendy from the beginning placed importance on observing and recording the detail of sounds that in the first instance may appear to be somewhat insignificant. She asked care staff to track these sounds and try to understand individuals reactions to them, separating sounds from the cacophony of noise at Cherry Road. She asked them to disregard nothing, encouraging them to explore every new possibility. This involved recording the smallest of details, discussions about how was heard, the experience and feel of sound, sharing personal accounts, of sound Journeys around the centre. The sounds they unearthed will be part of the wedge soundscape.
The project consists of a wood platform and slope, and a program of live performances. The platform functions as both a seating area and giant speaker. Large transducers attached to joists under the platform’s surface activate the structure and carry the sound of the mic’d performers. Audience members, seated or standing on the platform, “hear” the sound with their bodies.
Performers may include step dancers, opera singers, cats coaxed to purring by their owners, tuba players, drummers or a chorus of electric tea kettles. For the rest of the time, the platform is programmed to play a recording of the live performances and sounds that have been collated from cherry road and are linked to very particular interests – purring cats, boiling kettles, a coke machine
The final site for the artwork has not been decided
Commissioned Essay as part of Reading In Between the Lines
Over lockdown Artlink commissioned a series of personal narratives written by artists and activists. The starting point for the texts is informed by an issue experienced by individuals with PMLD and their families, e.g. fighting for rights, crumbling support structures, loss. Each writer was asked to delve deeper into a specific issue exploring it from their own experience and unique perspective. This approach allows us to create a space for diverse audiences to ‘read between the lines’ and explore the narrative from their own perspective and form points of connection with the issue it explores; leaving us all more open to establishing creative dialogues that better respond to what challenges us in these exceptional times
Excerpt from Make Space for Everyone by Laura Aldridge
‘In one form or another creativity is what we all have in common. It is a form of universal communication, creating spaces and moments of self-expres- sion in which any individual, regardless, has the freedom to play, experiment, teach, learn, inform, share and make choices.’
The silk form is now pretty large scale and reaches up to and over a steel beam, taking up a bay and a bit, (a bay defined by the columns). See images. As well as being visually arresting from a distance it creates a kind of tunnel and tent-like form that visitors will be able to pass through. There are a number of different factors that need to be considered in relation to covid safety but the physical experience of being in the artwork is key. The work is starting to connect more directly with the space, the beams the floor the tramlines will all play a part in the artwork. The silk fabric blows organically with the breeze from two floor-standing fans and is quite mesmerizing from all angles.
We will attach some metal rings to the silk, so that they move, scrape and ping off the concrete floor and make different ringing sounds. Stuart has helped us record these sounds that will be amplified and played on an intermittent loop through speakers. We need to be sure about the balance of sound as we need to stay aware that over stimulation could be an issue.
We have an idea of what kind of fans we need to use and how these affect the fabric to make it come alive. A steel mesh box will be constructed to house the fans for safety reasons. The air draft from them will be able to be touched and felt by visitors.
We may also use small microphones within the tramline grooves that will amplify different materials contained within them that make surprising sounds, squeaks or rustles when walked on or ridden over in a wheel chair. We are also considering using UV lamps that may affect the work momentarily. This will become clearer when we test against sound and light sensitivities.
A structure not unlike a beacon in the ocean, at night, in the fog, or a clocktower that marks the passage of the day. This work started from a wish to connect to people, not with a language of words, but with touch, scent, light and sound. The tower, a 24’ tall tapered wooden frame, clad in plywood sheets will act as a beacon, drawing people towards it. At intervals through the day, a series of events will occur in or around the tower. For example: the tower may cast a shadow, shine a spotlight, emit a cloud of smoke or bubbles, toll a bell, or simply exude a scent. These events will serve to both beckon a viewer, and invite them to experience other elements within the show in variable and spontaneous ways. The artist will play with the idea of building anticipation in what is about to happen.
Devices and wiring could easily be stowed inside the structure and connected to timers so that events can be triggered on schedule throughout the day. In this way, the tower can serve as a time-keeping device.
Update
The tower
1 Construction uses 3″x2″ CLS,Clad with 9mm MDF
2 Construction is fixed to floor with 10mm fixings to steel strap at 4 corners
3 Strap is 6mm x 30mm steel L bracket 450mm x100mm
4 it will now be 6 boxes (different to sketches) all 48″ high Constructed to lock and be internally connected.
‘A severe decline in behaviour. Frequently walking around shouting and rocking. Sleep patterns completely disrupted and frequent bouts of bad temper and frustration. An almost complete unwillingness to cooperate with caters at
home. High incidence of incontinence both at home and while travelling.”
To read the whole document click her“After so many months with nothing even this is an improvement and she is happy to be back to a part of what she was used to.”
“As a family we have worked round the clock to minimise a negative impact on our son. But we are absolutely exhausted now but as he is happy and healthy it is worth it.”
“Bored. Frustrated. Exhibited some violent behaviour. Forced to spend too much time with housemates he didn’t choose. After some months became lethargic. Resigned to reduced life.”
“Currently going through transition from children to adult services. Already seeing changes in arranging respite etc.”
“Everything has changed and her mental health has suffered. She has stopped eating and now has supplements from the dietitian. She has lost almost 9 stone
in a year.”
“Less contact with friends, gets bored at home and sometimes frustrated and is grumpier. They eat more out of boredom and have put on weight.”
“Made his dementia worse.”
“Much less social interaction. Individuals now have to organise themselves to meet with friends in public places. This is obviously more risky than meeting at day centres etc (which are closed as they are deemed risky!)”
“She is frustrated at lack of meaningful activity and is not allowed to go to a day service that she used to enjoy, even though it has been open since April.”
“Support staff have to prioritise clients needing 24/7 care; with many staff sick or self isolating, shift cover has been stretched very thin, & shifts cancelled.”
“The impact of not being out of the care home in nearly 18 months has resulted in mobility being reduced, deteriorating mental health, reduced quality of life.”
In developing the ideas the artist made many sketches. Firstly talking about stage sets and a series of events, all the time returning to the idea of a tower. Adam – Tower A structure not unlike a beacon in the ocean, at night, in the fog, or a clocktower that marks the passage of the day. This work started from a wish to connect to people, not with a language of words, but with touch, scent, light and sound. The tower, a 24’ tall tapered wooden frame, clad in plywood sheets will act as a beacon, drawing people towards it. At intervals through the day, a series of events will occur in or around the tower. For example: the tower may cast a shadow, shine a spotlight, emit a cloud of smoke, toll a bell, or simply exude a scent. These events will serve to both beckon a viewer, and invite them to experience other elements within the show in variable and spontaneous ways. Devices and wiring could easily be stowed inside the structure and connected to timers so that events can be triggered on schedule throughout the day. In this way, the tower can serve as a time-keeping device.
The silk form is now pretty large scale and reaches up to and over a steel beam, taking up a bay and a bit, (a bay defined by the columns). See images. As well as being visually arresting from a distance it creates a kind of tunnel and tent-like form that visitors will be able to pass through. There are a number of different factors that need to be considered in relation to covid safety but the physical experience of being in the artwork is key. The work is starting to connect more directly with the space, the beams the floor the tramlines will all play a part in the artwork. The silk fabric blows organically with the breeze from two floor-standing fans and is quite mesmerizing from all angles.
We will attach some metal rings to the silk, so that they move, scrape and ping off the concrete floor and make different ringing sounds. Stuart has helped us record these sounds that will be amplified and played on an intermittent loop through speakers. We need to be sure about the balance of sound as we need to stay aware that over stimulation could be an issue.
We have an idea of what kind of fans we need to use and how these affect the fabric to make it come alive. A steel mesh box will be constructed to house the fans for safety reasons. The air draft from them will be able to be touched and felt by visitors.
We may also use small microphones within the tramline grooves that will amplify different materials contained within them that make surprising sounds, squeaks or rustles when walked on or ridden over in a wheel chair. We are also considering using UV lamps that may affect the work momentarily. This will become clearer when we test against sound and light sensitivities.
A Clocktower, a Belfry, a Lighthouse – not unlike a beacon in the ocean, at night, in the fog… this project started from a wish to connect, not with a language of words, but with touch, scent, light and sound. At intervals throughout the day, a series of events will occur in or around the tower. (It was the initial hope that visitors would trigger these events but, we are rethinking this around issues of health and safety due to Covid-19) . For example: the tower may cast a shadow, shine a spotlight, emit a cloud of smoke, toll a bell, or simply exude a scent. It is the hope that these events would not only beckon a viewer but provide a trigger or a frame around which to experience other elements of the show in a new and interesting ways. (As if it were a giant sundial) My current wish is to construct out of locally sourced building materials on hand, ie. Red sandstone or Brick. Currently I am thinking about a version that can be taken down and put back up with ease. Perhaps a steel framework, filled out with sheets of wood or vinyl or some other composite material.
adam
Dear Adam,
I am finally finding time to do this.
Can you better describe what you think your artwork will be – that way i will flesh it out a bit – putting in the prompts you will need in order to make it relevant to people with pmld.
at the moment we have ……
1. Tower – Adam Putnam
The tower will be completely multi sensory, offering sounds, smells, light, touch and possibly lifting people off the ground. It’s a work in progress, a coming and going as the work needs to form around the people. Adam is currently working with his team to begin drawings of the actual piece
Would you like to elaborate.? Can you send me images of your actual work? I can add in your ideas for the exhibition but oit would be good to have some images that perhaps illustrate the sensory aspects of your work
I have been thinking on the inner tube/vibration problem and have another possible solution. I like the idea of using big, fat inner tubes (car, truck and tractor), but not having to depend on them as the primary medium for carrying sound.
So…
I proposed installing a low wooden platform, a dozen rubber inner tubes, and a collection of miced appliances/machines. The sounds from the machines are carried to the platform. By sitting in the inner tubes, visitors can feel the vibrations of the machines through the platform and also (but to a lesser degree) through the tubes.
The appliances could be scattered throughout the large hall on the ground (washing machine, coke machine) or on pedestals or shelves (electric teakettles). We could also mic working machines in Tramway offices or the cafe, such as copy or espresso machines. The mic cables feed into a mixer, then amps and transducers, all under the platform.
Each machine has its own cycle, including periods of silence. The sounds in the platform would thus be constantly changing, sometimes carrying the sounds of a single machine, or the cacophony of many.
Platform ramps make it possible for wheelchair users to access the platform and experience the sound through their chairs. The inner tubes are themselves not critical for hearing/feeling the sound, but serve the important function of inviting visitors to get down and sit in them (and on the platform).
XX Wendy
PS I asked Greg, my friend at BU who studies vibration, about the balloon/inner tube problem. He says:
Balloons only work if the internal pressure is high enough. You are prestressing the membrane and hence changing the propagation of waves on it (their speeds). Transmission of sound waves in air to structural vibration only can happen if the structure is easily vibrated.
The following report outlines our findings from a series of events we pit on as part of Nick Caves exhibition in Tramway.
We wanted to find out what worked and what didn’t in relation to how we could involve people equally. What would happen when everyone was involved but on the terms of people with pmld.
Could we create equal ground? How could we ensure that people with pmld were at the core and who could we work with who would help to push this forward?
For the last year I’ve continued with figurative pieces. They range in size from 6″ to 3ft tall. It will be good to talk and hear what you both are thinking about.
Here are a few images of recent work:
Untitled, clothing scraps, plaster, plaster gauze, fabric collage, watercolor, 6 ½ x 9 x 4, 2020
an essay from a soon to be published book by Amanda Cachia excerpt from intro to chapter For more than two decades, Artlink has pioneered the use of contemporary arts practice as a form of collaborative research with partner Cherry Road Learning Centre in Midlothian, Scotland.1 Through the Ideas Team, an Artlink project, it paired … Continue reading The story behind the exhibition
For the last year I’ve continued with figurative pieces. They range in size from 6″ to 3ft tall. It will be good to talk and hear what you both are thinking about. Here are a few images of recent work: Untitled, clothing scraps, plaster, plaster gauze, fabric collage, watercolor, 6 ½ x 9 x 4, … Continue reading JENNIFER PAGE COHEN – idea development
Visual evaluation coordinated by Greer Pester & Sally Hackett Sense Field by Steve Hollingsworth & Jim Colquhoun. photos by Anne Elliot Part performance, part workshop, Sense Field featured sound, movement, costume, masks and improvisation to alter our sense of time and space.This performance was informed by the interests and insights of individuals with profound and … Continue reading Visual evaluation from Sense Field as part of Altered States, Human Threads at Tramway
Yesterday’s session with J and D saw D drawing with some new apps on the ipad to make projections that lit up J who was working with Laura A. He was enjoying a good dance and some time under the leaf…
CYMBOL + SILK RIBBON + WOODEN HOOP = PROPOSITION HOLDING + TAPPING + CONNECTING = ACTION More experimenting with Ben today. Thinking on from Steve’s work that he does with Ben – Ive started making random objects/propositions that have a kind of purpose. Ben seems to understand that he can have an affect what we are doing, … Continue reading Ben i cause & effect – Laura Aldridge
I (Aldridge) have been thinking a lot about what direction to take the work we are doing in. I’ve been thinking a lot about the sensorial and experiential in sculptural practice lately, in relation to my own work, a teaching project I am doing and of course the Sensory workshop. How to do we make … Continue reading RELATIONAL OBJECTS
I met Ben in the Cherry Road Learning Centre in Bonnyrigg. He seemed to be on the fringe of things, passive, his potential untapped. Week upon week, for an hour or so at a time, Ben took me on a journey. As an artist I absorbed his world. This began with the idea … Continue reading Sensorium – Steve Hollingsworth
Brief for artists Laura Aldridge and Laura spring Collaborative environments This project offers its artists the freedom to imagine their most incredible ideas and the resources to realise them. We would like you to think about day centre environments as theatrical/carnival/fairground spaces. By this we mean that we would like you to think about all … Continue reading ARTISTS BRIEF FOR COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS
Steve Hollingsworth: The impact of art in this context (art as relationships and new perceptible forms-light, sound and performance) is enormous in this area. The art is really in the relationships that form over time between the disabled, their carers, parents and other professionals (as well as new physical and tangible art objects) Opinions change … Continue reading Sensorium – impact of my practice on the individual and care staff
Dr. Gordon Dutton As a clinician who has spent many years working with children and adults with impaired vision, often associated with developmental and learning disorders, this contributor’s view is that it is important to bring about a sense of pleasure and fulfilment through the medium of artistic expression, for all those whose normal is … Continue reading THE THRESHOLDS OF PERCEPTION
The notes below are from a workshop by artist Steve Hollingsworth exploring ways in which staff could be inspired to inform the progression of Nathalies (the person they cared for) project. I blind folded both of them and gave them a large sheet of paper to write words down as they listened, so they wrote … Continue reading TO INSPIRE CARE WORKERS
This is a prototype device that comprises of an umbrella projection screen, a video projector, small speakers and amplifier, a colour changing LED strip and a specially designed interface. Bens sensory preferences are combinations of Sound and Light (high pitched sound seems to be favoured) The planetarium is a computer based system that Ben has … Continue reading A bespoke sensorium for Ben
Kelly visited artlink on a regular basis. During these visits she would meet with different people who would help her to form her ideas. Her interest in personal spaces for people kept being talked about. What sort of space would each person require? How would it benefit them? Was it one space or several? If … Continue reading KELLY DOBSON – idea development
To ensure that we were going in the right direction we asked staff to feedback on their staff training. We asked them how they would apply what they were hearing to their everyday work. By working in this way we ensured that they had to think about the relevance of the training and how they … Continue reading Feedback on staff training – Conscious Calm
To ensure that we were going in the right direction we asked staff to feedback on their staff training. We asked them how they would apply what they were hearing to their everyday work. By working in this way we ensured that they had to think about the relevance of the training and how they … Continue reading Feedback on staff training – observational writing
To further enhance the work being done through the ideas teams and to strengthen the links to care staff, we put on a series of staff seminars. Each seminar was directly linked to Ideas Team work e.g. classes in descriptive writing enhanced staff abilities to write more descriptively in the sound diaries that they were … Continue reading Staff Seminars
To ensure that we were going in the right direction we asked staff to feedback on their staff training. We asked them how they would apply what they were hearing to their everyday work. By working in this way we ensured that they had to think about the relevance of the training and how they … Continue reading Feedback on staff training – ways of being
Opera for a small room There are twenty-four antique loudspeakers out of which come songs, sounds, arias, and occasional pop tunes. There are almost two thousand records stacked around the room and eight record players, which turn on and off robotically syncing with the soundtrack. The sound of someone moving and sorting albums is heard. … Continue reading Cardiff & Miller (artists we are inspired by)
“I don’t know enough to say whether a person is in possession of a disability, or a disability is in possession of a person. My point of departure either way in writing these portraits is that the person exists independent of the disability; not that it isn’t bound up with their being, but that the … Continue reading Oliver Sachs
It took some time for information from the week-long classes at Reggio to sink in. It took a while longer for it to impact on the Ideas Team. When it did, it took the following forms:- 1. Public exhibition and posting of documentation of activity (workshops, ideas, diaries, diaries and seminars) 2. spreading knowledge … Continue reading Impact of reggio on ways of thinking within Ideas Teams
Reggio Emilia Introduction In march 2013, through Creative Scotland PEP funding, I attended a week-long course at reggio Emilia in Italy. I was interested in understanding just how some of the learning strategies could be adapted to meet the needs of adults with profound learning disabilities. Notes I entered this week, feeling unsure as to … Continue reading Notes from reggio emillia – relevance
Introduction In march 2013, through Creative Scotland PEP funding, I attended a week-long course at reggio Emilia in Italy. I was interested in understanding just how some of the learning strategies could be adapted to meet the needs of adults with profound learning disabilities. Notes about Documentation Everything is documented. Each part of the … Continue reading Reggio 4
Introduction In march 2013, through Creative Scotland PEP funding, I attended a week-long course at reggio Emilia in Italy. I was interested in understanding just how some of the learning strategies could be adapted to meet the needs of adults with profound learning disabilities. Learning Documentation becomes a tool for reflection and rethinking. Adults … Continue reading Reggio 3
Notes on Research – reggio style Education is about research. It would be of interest to shift focus from day care to education, looking at the way people with profound learning disabilities learn. Supporting people to explore their own particular interests on their terms. Allowing them to take it in their own particular direction. Regardless … Continue reading Notes from Reggio Emilia 2
As ways of working within the Ideas Team began to take effect, it became apparent that if we were to work with the individual in the longer term then we also had to work with the care staff around them. It led to a shift in emphasis, away from individual ideas team meetings to a … Continue reading Changing ideas
In March of this year we organised a day long presentation in which artists talked of their practice and its crossover into their work with Artlink. These presentations were an exploration of the possibility of future collaboration as much as they were a presentation of current ways of working. Presentations from Laura Aldridge, Steve Hollingsworth … Continue reading Ideas Team presentation
Artist, Steve Hollingsworth work with Mark and the Ideas team consisting of his mother, care workers, psychologist, OT’s and physios. The group agreed to the following aim: to encourage deliberate movements and intentionality and increase his motor skills. This was the first of many group meetings.
A look at The Reggio Approach The Reggio Approach derives its name from its place of origin, Reggio Emilia, a city located in Emilia Romagna in Northern Italy. Shortly after the Second World War, Loris Malaguzzi, a young teacher and the founder of this unique system, joined forces with the parents of this region to … Continue reading the next step?
Following on from all the additions Steve and I have been making at the day centre, ive been working on a series of poster works for the walls at the centre. I’ve been thinking about how each individual at the centre have informed and inspired the changes – but ive also been thinking, that these … Continue reading in·di·vid·u·al
Laura and I were working today on changing a former smoking room at the care centre we’re working in, into a much more useable sensory space. All the walls are glass and it gets a great deal of light, Laura ordered some red gel and we placed this on glass on all the walls. When … Continue reading The Red Room
Steve and I have been working hard to get the wheeled walls I mentioned in a previous post into being. We were bending metal on this machine from another dimension it took some serious elbow grease, but we got it done in the end. Here is a sneak peak of the wheeled walls bare in … Continue reading WHATS IN A NAME……..
I came across this book whilst shopping in the sales over the christmas holidays – its a really great book full of patterns and instructions for making you own soft sculptures. It got me thinking about the sensory library Steve Hollingsworth has been talking about for the Day Center we are woking in. They have … Continue reading DIY! (and with others)
I’I’ve started making a series of cushions to activate the communal area in the day center I have been working in. The cushions, quite simply are COSMIC! as in, they are like the cosmos! infinite! each cushion has several different combinations, to be changed throughout the day, soft furnishings need never be dull! This is … Continue reading Cosmic Cushions
Continuing with my thoughts for the day center we are working in, I like the idea of a building being more than just a building. Transforming it with interesting forms, colour and shape – here are some images ive been finding, it lead me to a term called ‘supergraphics’ – popular in the 80’s apparently, … Continue reading MAKE IT GOOD AND MAKE IT BIG!
With the advent of the diode laser, coherence is finally available at a hobbyist price. Search eBay for “laser module” and you will find lasers from $5.00 and up. There are basically two kinds of laser displays: screen effects, where the laser shines on a screen (which is what we are doing here), … Continue reading Lunch Box laser light show – for the HOLIDAYS
We are going to start to post the beginnings of some new ideas. The development of the Ideas Team within a traditional day centre structure. This is not about technology alone, although it is part of it. What’s very important with a project of this nature is that it reflects the interests and needs of … Continue reading Ideas Team
Enactive Musical Instruments from Sile O’Modhrain & Georg Essl at Media Lab Europe I particularly like this project because the interface is so simple but even from this demo video you can see how effective it could be: a box with a cheap microphone stuck on the bottom, and some pebbles. Would be easy enough … Continue reading Pebble Box
http://www.eyewriter.org/ Members of Free Art and Technology (FAT), OpenFrameworks, the Graffiti Research Lab, and The Ebeling Group communities have teamed-up with a legendary LA graffiti writer, publisher and activist, named TEMPTONE. Tempt1 was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, a disease which has left him almost completely physically paralyzed… except for his eyes. This international team … Continue reading Useful technology?
A website to play with, try out. Some of the stuff appears to be easy to do. So, if you want you can set up your own wee sensory games. Perhaps using them with some of the people you work with. Imagine clapping your hands and a cardboard box starts to jiggle!!! http://www.pienetwork.org/
Copied directly from website http://hirshhorn.si.edu/visualmusic/organs.html Light Shows The psychedelic light shows of the 1960s and early 1970s blended the cool carefree attitude of the pop arena with the seriousness and mysteries of high art. Comprising elements from painting, film, color-organ performances, coffeehouse jazz concerts, electronic-music events, rock music, performance art, Happenings, Actions, underground Beat poetry … Continue reading Hirshorn Light Shows
We’re about to start using one of these in our sensory workshops to encourage people to create their own sounds and create a changing visual field as well that corresponds to the sounds made……….
This is brilliant……..a new kind of interface for making music. As used by Bjork. Each object on a table with a back projection has an assigned sound, as they are moved around the table by a user changes the relationship between objects resulting in new sounds……….(apparently there is a way to do a DIY version………..)
The Emotion Organ (2007) is a synaesthetic simulacrum machine where players can explore the sensational interplay of feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling and motion. It is also a time machine – a re-engineered pump organ from 1895 that combines both old and emerging technology and builds upon a trajectory of several centuries-worth of ideas about synaesthetic … Continue reading T H E E M O T I O N O R G A N amanda steggell
The artist Steve Hollingsworth talked of a sensory site he had come across. Its all a bit expensive but some of the ideas are good. Go to Experia Sensory Innovations. It would be good to see something new out there whch bears no resemblance to a Snoozlun or Snoozlum room. Anyone got any ideas? Want to tell us about them?
Perfect for creating sensory environments. Helpful if you know anything about hacking. The camera can be used with Scratch and with Glowdoodle as well as countless other things I have not come across. http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Hack-the-Microsoft-Kinect-Overview Specifications In early November 2010, Microsoft introduced the Kinect. In essence it is a hands-free motion detection device for gaming systems. … Continue reading How to Hack the Microsoft Kinnect
Learning disability care slammed People with learning disabilities risk becoming institutionalised A health trust has been heavily criticised for “institutional abuse” of people with learning disabilities. The Healthcare Commission, which carried out the review at Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT), said care was “simply not acceptable”. It is the second report in six … Continue reading Learning Disability Care Slammed
I have posted this info on Longplayer because I liked the idea of an ongoing piece of music that is part of a community. A sound which last for many years and slowly develops. I suppose its a bit like what we do here at Artlink. We keep going, slowly evolving, changing projects and ways … Continue reading Longplayer
Paleo-Future reader Mark Plus sent me a very interesting piece from the June 1981 issue of Future Life magazine. The author, F.M. Esfandiary, insisted that the Right/Left political and social dynamic was outdated. The new direction was Up. Mr. Esfandiary would later change his name to FM2030 because he was convinced that he would live … Continue reading How wrong can you be ?!
The Music Toys developed by Tod Machover and his team at the MIT Media Lab for Toy Symphony are very sophisticated instruments designed simply to be played by any person with the desire to make music, with the specific needs and capabilities of young people in mind. There is no skill prerequisite-only the willingness to … Continue reading Tod Machover
SixthSense Pranav Mistry ‘SixthSense’ is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. By using a camera and a tiny projector mounted in a pendant like wearable device, ‘SixthSense’ sees what you see and visually augments any … Continue reading SixthSense as posted by bobertd
This is documentation of a 2 hour live performance and interactive installation with original sound track that took place in Los Angeles in 2006, by Australian artist Jemima Wyman. more about this artist click here:jemimawyman.wordpress.com
I like Mark Leckey’s work. He is an artist based in London. He has a performance coming up to conincide with his exhibition at The Sepentine Gallery – its called BigBoxStatueAction (2003-2011), and it consists of Leckey placing one of his soundsystems ‘in conversation’ with a modernist sculpture. I think he wants a response … Continue reading
So, a good friend showed me this video: http://youtu.be/3yaZyyIp1f0 – its crazy in love singer beyonce dancing her socks off at the biilboard music awards this year with her new song “GIRLS RULE THE WORLD” – the visuals are incredible, and I want to know, is beyonce just amazing at time keeping, or is the … Continue reading HOW’D THEY DO THAT?
Could anyone please respond to this question. A 40 year old woman with profound learning disabilities who likes music, vibration, lights. Particularly keen on quick movements. How would you work with her? What would you do? The best answer will be rewarded with a box of chocolates.
Excerpt from Utopia – a magasine which describes what could be (and in some cases what is) 04 Words like knives A person for hire who articulates what you need to express. Feeling misunderstood? Not getting through? Fed up of hanging on the phone? Your call is fifth in the queue, thank you for your … Continue reading Got something to say, but dont know quite how to say it?
The first round of Utopia magazine distribution is about to start in early May. We have joined forces with the Variant Magazine to share distribution. As part of the distribution we have included a letter in the Variant Magazine ……… Taking another tack Ive worked with Artlink in the area of learning disability and the … Continue reading Utopia Magazine
I know a woman who sits in her wheel chair everyday in a day centre, everyday in her home, in fact, every day in the same place. She is dependent on her support workers to do everything for her, she cant speak, communication is difficult but her eyes tell you everything you need to know. … Continue reading Changing Spaces – some questions which need an answer
Artists in Context: Connected and Consequential Friday, June 10 – “Stories From the Field” Saturday, June 11 – Case Studies and Skill Building Workshops Sunday, June 12 – Reporting Back and Next Steps Northeastern University Eagan Center Artists in Context is launching a new two-year program that both enhances its public programming in Boston and … Continue reading Artlink presentation at……..
Strange sounds and other worlds The tuesday workshop sensory sessions: Our workshops have taken place in Penicuik town hall for several years, with an hour’s session in the morning and afternoon. We work with up to about 6 people with varying levels of disability, some can walk about the space and some are wheel-chair users. … Continue reading Notes on sensory workshops -Jim & Steve
Birds….. tired of the same old nest? look no further than this new range of designer accommodation for the cowboy, or cook in you. Satellite, pistol and oven ready, these new pads will get the neighbours talking. Work made by artists Francesca Nobilucci and Jonathan Owen in conjunction with John Chant Centre, Penicuik and Cherry … Continue reading Bird boxes for the future
Hospitals in the Sky! (1958) This “hospital in the sky,” as imagined by Arthur Radebaugh in the May 11, 1958 edition of his comic Closer Than We Think, operates under the assumption that the “weightlessness, irradiation and low temperatures of outer space” would allow for more effective treatment of patients. The American Rocket Society has reported … Continue reading Hospitals in the Sky
SOUND PROJECT involved an artist, an informatics specialist from Edinburgh University and a man with a liking for music. The man in question had a learning disability, a sight impairment and physical disability, which meant he was reliant on others choosing what he listened to. He listened to Radio Forth a lot. So we invited … Continue reading The Ideas Team – Sound
‘There appears, particularly within the field of dance and learning disability, an overall need to sanitise difference, to hide it away or make it sentimental. For most people working within this area, a sophisticated aesthetic approach has not developed over time. Many seek to create images of people with learning disabilities that allow us to … Continue reading Oh Brave new world – ideas forming
This film was made around 2004/5, artist Matias Ring worked with R. The intention was to make a disc, which would allow R 360degrees of freedom. It was the work that informed the start of The Ideas Team. Click here to view footage of the work in progress. The disc was used by people in … Continue reading The disc – an early project that informed the creation of Ideas Team
Visual Evaluation coordinated by Greer Pester and Sally Hackett Sensational Brass By Wendy Jacob
Photos by Anne Elliot
A performance of music and vibration by artist Wendy Jacob, featuring freely roaming balloons and the community band “Brass Aye?”The balloons act as speakers that receive and carry sound you can feel with your fingertips, feet or with your whole body. Unplugged, untethered and unimpeded, musicians, balloons and guests were free to move and bounce amongst each other.
During this event participants were asked to draw their experience as part of evaluation. The following images are excerpts from that evaluation
Visual evaluation coordinated by Greer Pester & Sally Hackett Sense Field by Steve Hollingsworth & Jim Colquhoun.
photos by Anne Elliot
Part performance, part workshop, Sense Field featured sound, movement, costume, masks and improvisation to alter our sense of time and space.This performance was informed by the interests and insights of individuals with profound and multiple learning difficulties who have collaborated with the artists over a number of years.
During this event participants were asked to draw their experience as part of evaluation. The following images are excerpts from that evaluation
Visual evaluation coordinated by Greer Pester & Sally Hackett
Whose Comfort Zones by Robert Softley-Gale
Photos by Anne Elliot
In this discussion-workshop, Robert looked at the ways in which we can stretch our comfort zones and meet those around us in an equitable space. He discussed how the arts create environments that allow us to share experiences that brings us closer together and how we challenge ourselves to become less divided by removing the boundaries we construct around ourselves.
During this event participants were asked to draw their experience as part of evaluation. The following images are excerpts from that evaluation.
Im realizing I might not have responded to some of you directly! THANK YOU so much for taking the time to engage with this idea! I love all the suggestions/input you gave Alison! A lot of these are in line with what I have been thinking about but it is really helpful as I am fish out of water! I am used to taking my audience for granted and this project is really forcing me to consider my audience in very specific ways! Im going to scan some sketches and send to you guys soon!
Ive been thinking a lot about my time at cherry road as well as yours and everyone’s suggestions and it seems to me the challenge or question is a little bit more complicated than how to simply attract people to the tower but to think through some activities and actions that can happen once at the tower. A big way that I am thinking about this is a relationship between experiences that are both BIG/small or subtle/explicit, LOUD/quiet, etc.much of what I am hearing revolve around tactile input paired with visual or auditory… in close quarters, but can a stimulus from across the room also be effective?
for example: what would happen if a participant, through interacting with some element of the tower somehow triggered another event in the space. like a bell ringing or a spotlight suddenly turning on… or a cloud of smoke shooting out of a hole in the tower. could an event be triggered from far away that could also be tailored for someone with PMLD? or would that be too subtle?
or does it matter?
perhaps the tower could be thought of as a giant instrument to be “played” that triggers various auditory/visual/textural/olfactory events both near the tower and farther away?
many thanks again!
Adam
Begin forwarded message:
Subject:RE: Questions
The tower has to attract people with PMLD to it. What do you think will make them move towards it? Describe what it should look like.
What is the tower made of? If you touch it what do you think it should feel like.
Just go for it with your answers. Nothing is too outlandish. Use your imagination
alison
Hi Alison,
Love the sound of this project, I personally find that different ideas for each side of the tower to see what works best in order to attract people.
– So one side I would go with abstract lights i.e. different coloured high fluorescent bulbs that flicker and flash at different speeds and timings. Almost like a xmas tree but with really different colours.
– the next side I would use more sensory materials and different fabrics hanging and stuck to the side of the tower almost like a carpet of curtain sample book but on a massive scale so that the individual could actually encase themselves within the different fabrics and textures.
-side three I would reserve for a more organic feel. I would use materials such as brick and stone, sand and leaves things that individuals will be able to recognise from everyday life all brought together in one side of a tower.
-Side 4 now this is going to sound crazy but….. a black light from the top of the tower and the bottom shining onto a huge bag like creation filled with illuminous liquid that can be squeezed and pressed into different forms. I’m thinking like as if you were too laminate the liquid or something like that so it didn’t all just sit at the bottom. And the liquid would have to show up under black light as highly fluorescent almost like what you see on a crime scene when they use black lights to spot blood stains etc.
A season of immersive events aimed at breaking down barriers of difference through shared experience.
In response to Nick Cave’s shimmering installation, and his prompt to use it as an alternative town hall, Artlink has devised a series of interesting encounters. These will focus on how the shared experience of art can honour the human threads that connect people with profound learning disabilities to the wider world and the wider world to them.
For more than a decade, Artlink’s Ideas Team has pioneered collaborative research within communities of care. Ideas and practices have radiated from a small group of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their carers in a Midlothian day centre called Cherry Road. Their responses and perceptions of the world have informed this international programme of events.
Altered States will create radical insights and bodily experiences for an inclusive public, experimenting with sensory stimuli, slow time and differing states of being. Events are open to a diverse range of audiences, to come together within a safe space to investigate who we are through a completely different lens, ultimately discovering what we have in common.
Tickets for the events at the Tramway, Glasgow are free but must be booked. 16+
This programme of events has been funded by Creative Scotland
Details and links below:-
SENSE FIELD, 1PM – 2PM, 23RD SEPTEMBER, 2019. Participative performance by Steve Hollingsworth & Jim Colquhoun
