The Big Issues Watts Gallery Trust
Art for All exhibition 2015
GALLERY www.gallerydifferent.co.uk
Published by Watts Gallery 2015 Watts Gallery, Down Lane, Compton, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1DQ 01483 810235 www.wattsgallery.org.uk Project led by Kara Wescombe Blackman, Head of Learning Project Coordinated by Lucy Cordingley, Learning Coordinator Publication Designed by Francesca Salino, Marketing Assistant. Photography by Kyle Young. All images and text © the artists and authors Publication © Watts Gallery, Compton Front Cover: Portrait after Watts, Zoe, Surrey Youth Support Service Back cover: Mary Watts and students of her Home Arts and Industries Association class decorating the interior panels for the chapel in her studio at Limnerslease, c.1902
All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owners. Watts Gallery is a company limited by guarantee (company number 6147572). Registered office as above. Charity No. 313612. VAT Reg. No. 924 8349 02 With thanks to: Kirsty Anson, The Art Worker’s Guild, Kathleen Bacon, Sarah Bayliss, Peter Blake, Ben Byrne, Dr Helen Bowcock OBE DL, Matthew Bowcock CBE, Mary Branson, Marcus Cornish, Simon Cox, Sandy Curry, Anne Docherty, Karen Damon-Aspen, Anna Finch, Natalia Goldman, Matthew Hebbditch, Anna Hennings, Anne Henry, Jennie Jewitt-Harris, Perdita Hunt, Joyce Hyslop, Barbara Jones, Peter Lee, KD Fine Art, Amanda Kelly, Clare Kuznik, Cindy Lass, Lauren McCombie Smith, Carol McFarlane, David McNulty DL, Patti McPherson, Lady Angela Nevill, Anne North, Krysztof Ochedowski, Richard Paxton, Karina Phillips, Virginia Ray, Adrienne Roberts, Dame Theresa Sackler, Kate Siebert, Lucy Shipp, Sally Varah DL, Ann Varlow, Vicky Williams.
The Big Issues Project is supported by
Women in Private Equity Billmeir Charitable Trust Mary Watts Guild
The Big Issues exhibition 2015 Watts Gallery Trust working in partnership with: Artventure HMP & YOI Bronzefield The Cellar Art Group HMP/YOI Feltham HMP Send Surrey Youth Support Services Street Level Arts Opportunities 2 – 20 February Pottery Building, Watts Gallery GU3 1DQ Free entry, Monday – Sunday, 10.30 – 5pm 23 – 7 March Gallery Different, London W1T 1DR Free entry, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10.30 – 6pm Thursday 10.30am – 8pm Saturday 11am – 5pm Sunday & Monday – Closed The Big Issues exhibition is shown at Gallery Different alongside Free Spirit, an exhibition of work by Sandy Curry, Watts Gallery Michael Varah Artist in Residence, HMP Send, 2007-13.
Foreword Dr Tristram Hunt, MP I have been aware of the Watts Gallery Trust revival since 2004, when I was asked to give a talk about my book on Victorian Cities – Building Jerusalem. In the audience was Elizabeth Blunt, the cousin of Wilfrid Blunt, the former Curator at Watts Gallery and brother of the famous Anthony Blunt. Elizabeth Blunt, who lived in Compton at the time, was very clear to point out the importance of Watts Gallery and the ethos of Watts who believed in Art for All. I have watched as the Wattses’ philosophy of providing access to art for the many has been brought back to life by the current team. It was most interesting to narrate the film, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which recounted the tale of Watts and his importance in the 19th Century. A firm favourite of mine is Postman’s Park – which captures all the ambitions and yet the true social conscience of the opinion formers in Victorian society. How well we know some of these same issues today! I was invited to give the very first Watts lecture in 2005 at Charterhouse, an annual lecture given by such prestigious figures as A N
Wilson, Sandy Nairne CBE, Nicholas Penny, Alison Smith, Charles Saumarez Smith and Fiona MacCarthy. The fact that Watts inspires such luminaries to contemplate the meaning of his art and the man in the 21st Century is credit to the importance of his revival. It is therefore with pleasure, that I shall be speaking at the Artworkers Guild on Monday 3 March to explore the link of the Big Issues of the 21st Century with those of the 19th Century. Sadly some persist, gladly some continue. Philanthropy is an important strand which needs revival and respect, while poverty and the extremes of society’s wealth need to end. What strikes me as I learn more about the Big Issues Project is that art can transform peoples’ lives. Solutions are not just financial – long-term solutions come through a process of healing and respect for the experience of each individual. When that experience is explored, heard, honoured and relieved - a process which creating art enables so powerfully - then change can happen and new journeys can begin. It seems that The Big Issues project achieves this. Well done and may it long continue.
Left: Be Your Own Ecstasy, Tatiana, HMP Send Above: Jake from Surrey Youth Support Services constructing his own canvas
Introduction Perdita Hunt, Director of Watts Gallery This year, we are delighted to be showing the art of participants in the Big Issues Project at Watts Gallery for the eighth year running and also for the first time at Gallery Different in central London. Here, we are fortunate also to be showing the inspirational work of Sandy Curry, Watts Gallery Michael Varah Artist in Residence at HMP Send 2008 – 2013. The exhibition is complemented by a talk given by Dr Tristram Hunt MP in London on Tuesday 3 March.
participants, whose stories you can read in the exhibition. Some have felt the confidence to talk for the first time about their experiences. Disengaged young people have returned to college. One prisoner has gained a place at an Art College and another work experience. Opportunities, one of our partner groups has been inspired to create their own art project. You will read too in this catalogue how the programme has also been transformational for staff at the Gallery and partner organisations.
Founded in 2008, the Big Issues Project continues to touch the lives of underprivileged, socially excluded and vulnerable young people and adults and has grown out of the work and ideas of G F and Mary Watts. They cared deeply about a number of social and cultural issues which are still pertinent today. These concerns are reflected in the art of G F Watts, in the philanthropic projects that he and Mary supported and in the public art and community projects they founded. At the heart of their work was their belief that art could transform lives and they campaigned to widen access to art for people in society the most marginalised. In Compton, Mary led the creation of the Watts Chapel, involving seventy local people to whom she taught craft skills in evening classes. The Gallery was founded with an adjacent hostel for apprentice potters to offer skills and employment.
Each year we continue to face a number of challenges. Will the participants living in challenging circumstances attend or find that their difficulties and crises overwhelm them? Will our materials turn up in the prison? Will the prison have a lockdown on the day we are running the classes? Despite these hurdles, with the generous support of donors, partners and volunteers and the energy of freelance artists, the staff at the Gallery and partner organisations, Watts Gallery Trust is able to continue to offer to participants a ‘second chance’.
Following their example, the Big Issues project provides people affected by social exclusion with an opportunity to work with a contemporary artist to explore the collection at Watts Gallery and the ideas behind it. Participants learn art and design skills, how to express ideas and issues they care about and they are given opportunities to show and sell their work in an exhibition on the very site where Mary Watts’s apprentices worked and sold their work. The Big Issues Project has been transformational this year for so many of the
Above: The modelling room of Compton Pottery showing Tom Wren working on a figurine, from the Country Home, November 1911, Watts Gallery Archive Right: Charlie from Youth Support Services working on the potter’s wheel in the Foyle Art for All Learning Studio.
HMP & YOI Bronzefield HMP & YOI Bronzefield is a modern, category A, adult and young offender women’s prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey. Watts Gallery Trust has been working with HMP Bronzefield since 2009, providing artist- led workshops. In 2014, the Watts workshops helped women work towards an a NCFE Level 1 Occupational Studies for the Workplace (Graphic Design and Communication & Creative Industries and Business Pathways). Jennie Jewitt-Harris, Artist in Residence at Watts Gallery
Peter Blake, Tutor, HMP & YOI Bronzefield
I ran a three-day workshop at HMP & YOI Bronzefield with Learning Coordinator, Lucy Cordingley. The workshops covered two subject areas, personal journeys, and hope, in response to Watts’s famous painting Hope. We encouraged students to start with drawing and collage, using a range of materials. Most of them had never worked in collage before but really responded once they had found images that resonated with them and their own stories. They were then able to build other images and drawings around these.
Sir, I can’t draw! Working in partnership with Watts Gallery and the Big Issues Project, I always find it fascinating to see how art can impact on female offenders who often feel isolated, no good at anything and depressed. Art provides a means of expression to those who think that art is simply not for them and gives many of the women a new focus and sense of achievement particularly when they see their work on display to the public for the first time.
The subject of hope brought out a diverse range of responses, some of which were very unexpected. It really brought home the role of art in encouraging contemplation and expression where words fail us.
‘The course has given me confidence in what I can do. I have problems believing in myself and with mixing with other people and this programme had helped with that too. This week I have actually wanted to get up in the morning and come to class. I have actually felt motivated.’ Kerry Anne, HMP & YOI Bronzefield Left:Thoughts of an Angel, Ellen, HMP & YOI Bronzefield Opposite far left: Picture Perfect, Patricia, HMP & YOI Bronzefield Opposite far right: Still Life Flower, Kerry-Marie, HMP & YOI Bronzefield.
‘I had no idea I could draw but I can, and I have enjoyed the workshop very much. It teaches you that anyone can be an artist if they try. I hope the workshop carries on for women in prison as it takes your mind away from the problems you are facing. Thank you very much to Jennie and Lucy for sharing their knowledge of art.’ Patricia, HMP & YOI Bronzefield
HMP/YOI Feltham HMP Feltham is a prison for male juveniles and young offenders between the ages of 15 and 21 and is located within the London Borough of Hounslow. Watts Gallery Trust has been providing workshops at HMP Feltham since Summer 2013 led by artist Sandy Curry.
Sandy Curry, Artist This year I was able to run workshops at Feltham Young Offenders for young adult males in July, with follow up sessions in December. It was impressive to see the on-going development that had taken place in those few months. This lively, enthusiastic group had really grasped the concept that an idea can be interpreted into your own visual language. They were eager to exchange ideas and compare their thoughts on Watts’s ideas and titles. Taking Watts into this challenging environment seems to make his ideas and ethos and the value of artistic expression all that more tangible and including the young men’s art work in The Big Issues exhibition is an important step in changing their own sense of worth and reassuring them that people could possibly be interested and value what they think and feel.
Kris Ochedowski, Deputy Education Manager, HMP/YOI Feltham The young adults who took part in the project gained a wealth of artistic as well as personal development. The project provided them with a boost to their self-efficacy whilst learning new transferable skills and attitudes such as improved self-awareness, communication skills and a positive sense of self. Many learners became inspired and considered potential new pathways for their lives about which they had never previously thought. The greatest dangers to these young adults’ eventual rehabilitation are exclusion, separation and alienation. Projects such as Watts Gallery’s Big Issues Project are a banner of inclusivity and hope.
‘We find the input from Watts Gallery invaluable. Some of the pictures generated by our young men this year are quite dark in nature, and certainly have a therapeutic benefit in allowing them to express themselves purely in a way that our accredited courses do not.’ Matthew Hebditch, Education Manager, HMP/YOI Feltham
National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice Kate Davey, Arts Communications and Adminstration Assistant The work the Watts Gallery Trust is doing with prisons in the Surrey area, along with its important community outreach, is invaluable in breaking down the barriers between those in prison and the general public. By displaying the work of the project participants in an acclaimed gallery space, they are accepted as artists and are able to have their voices heard. Participants also have a new, more positive ‘label’ – artist, rather than offender or ex-offender. Additionally, major national institutions such as museums and galleries can provide a link between being on the ‘inside’ and the ‘outside’ world. When the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice team visited Watts Gallery to find out more about this project, we were told about a female prisoner who had been working from photographs of Watts Chapel (a Grade 1-listed building designed by Mary Watts and made by local villagers) during her time in prison. On her release, she finally got to visit the Chapel in person; an overwhelming and very powerful moment considering the amount of hope the images of the Chapel had given her. This individual has now found employment in the creative industries. Exhibitions and public displays, such as The Big Issues, really serve to highlight the fantastic work being done by people so often pushed to the margins, and what can be achieved if we recognise them as a part of society and invite them into national institutions as a way of connecting them to the local community, the general public, and the wider art world. Having work shown in such a renowned venue validates their high-quality creative work and empowers them to turn their lives around, ultimately helping to prevent re-offending.
Above right: Pixit, Dena, HMP Send Top left: Seeing the Light, Iman, HMP/YOI Feltham
About the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice The National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice is a coalition of over 600 members: artists, arts and criminal justice sector organisations and individuals who work with prisoners, those on probation and ex-offenders in the community. We aim to ensure that people within the Criminal Justice System get access to arts opportunities as a springboard to positive change through policy influencing, research, promoting good practice in the sector and raising the profile of arts in criminal justice. We have been working on a case study with Watts Gallery Trust about The Big Issues project, as well as looking more generally at how national galleries can work with local prisons and community groups to reduce stigma and combat the marginalisation of vulnerable people. Find out more at: www.artsincriminaljustice.org.uk
HMP SEND Sally Varah, Chair of the Michael Varah Memorial Fund HMP Send is a closed female training prison in Surrey. Watts Gallery Trust has been working with HMP Send since 2008 providing regular workshops supported by the Michael Varah Memorial Fund. Women make their own work in a studio, facilitated by the Artist in Residence who supports and mentors them. They submit their work to competitions and exhibitions and every year, exhibit their work in the Big Issues Exhibition at Watts Gallery. Our small charity first funded the Artist in Residence programme at HMP Send in 2009. Initially, we made a one-year grant to Watts Gallery Trust, to support this Big Issues outreach flagship project. Very quickly, the outstandingly positive outcomes achieved with the offenders confirmed for us the transformative ability of creative art to lift the human spirit, and to revive a sense of self worth and new confidence in vulnerable women within the criminal justice system. That is why – six years on – we have continued to fund the Residency and to help to rehabilitate women offenders. This is our single longest alliance and we remain immensely proud of all that has been achieved: by the changing cohort and dynamic of the women artists who have gained so much, and by the two women Artists in Residence. Sandy Curry led the project from 2009 to 2013 and Mary Branson during 2014. There have been approaching 1,750 attendances at the workshops to date. Up to 16 women at any one time can develop their existing artistic skills, or discover for the first time hidden creative talents. How long they stay on the programme depends on the length of the sentence. It is especially appropriate that Sandy Curry’s 5+ years at HMP Send is being marked with a retrospective as part of the 2015 Big Issues exhibition. Her extraordinary canvases are inspired by the Residency and hang alongside the work of some of the many ‘Sisters in Art’ whom she herself inspired. Mary Branson has used her recent 10-month
‘The workshop programme led by Mary Branson has opened up my world. Art has become a way to express the depth of my feelings and provides a welcome escape from the rigidity of prison life. My work reflects the essence of me - my real self and inner thoughts. Thank you Mary and thank you Watts for giving me the chance to be myself.’ Gloria, HMP Send Residency to share her experiences as a wellknown installation artist. She also continued the practice of inviting visiting artists to introduce a range of stimulating new artistic mediums, inspiring the women offenders to explore new ways of working. For Send Prison, too, there are surely positive spin-offs from this initiative delivered by one charity, funded by a second within its walls. Many of the participating offenders have become accomplished artists and gain recognition for their work in national exhibitions. Right: Camouflage, Susanna, HMP Send
This surely helps build the profile of HMP Send itself. The women’s art also becomes a vital part of their rehabilitation journey and their personal development programme to meet Home Office targets (and recommendations within the 2007 Corston Report), and gives them a focus that might lead into training or employment after release. I have witnessed personally how the Residency workshops at HMP Send are a way for vulnerable women to express their hope, joy and pain, to reflect on the pathways that led them to prison, and to realise that there are people who believe in them (often for the first time). Critical acclaim and ‘being believed in’ is such a positive reinforcement for the progression pathway of any offender. It can give them new confidence and real pride in themselves and what they have created. And ‘being believed in’ is equally an important part of desistance … the process of abstaining from crime or antisocial behaviour among those who previously had engaged in a sustained pattern of offending. Art programmes in prisons, in the view of Dame Anne Owers, former HM’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, contribute the most to desistance because rather than being seen as a ‘soft option’, art actually ticks all the desistance boxes. Those boxes are: hope and motivation; being believed in and recognised for your talents. Discovering that you have something to give – people who feel and show concern and empathy for others, and find ways to contribute to society, are more likely to desist from crime. Having a place within a social group is similarly important, hence the success of the Watts programme.
These cards, together with the art in the current Big Issues exhibition, have another significant impact. They help to influence society at large to value offenders differently, to embrace their achievements, to celebrate their talents with them, and to give them hope that they might be able to take a new pathway going forward. That onward pathway might ultimately not have anything to do with art BUT it is art, through Watts Gallery, that gives them confidence to take the first steps. That is why we fund this programme.
‘Watts - where would we be without you? Thank you so much for your support, the materials, the advice. The visiting artists are wonderful. Most of all for your attitude to us, we are ‘normal people’ and when you have visited us you have made us feel ‘normal’.’ Susanna, HMP Send
Each year, our charity invites the Send women artists on the Watts Residency to design Christmas cards, which we then market widely. In 2014, an astonishing 4,900+ cards were sold, sending not only seasonal goodwill around the world but also the message that art can be self-improving and life-changing for offenders who want to rebuild their lives. Centre: Basque Fishermen, Susanna, HMP Send
Kelly Nethercoat, Head of Offender Management, HMP Send The Watts Gallery ‘Sisters In Art’ group is a hugely valuable part of the curriculum of activities at HMP Send. It provides the prisoners with an outlet for creativity but also an opportunity for personal and social development. A member of the HMP Send staff who recently joined the Watts Gallery ‘Sisters In Art’ team describes the provision as a unique opportunity for the women to work together, explore ideas for future projects and develop as individuals. It is an outlet for the women to channel their creative energies and emotions in to a really positive experience which teaches them so much more than just art, it teaches them about life. HMP Send are extremely grateful and proud to work with Watts Gallery Trust and partners in providing the women with this fantastic opportunity. Long may it continue.
Cindy Lass, Artist How AMAZING to be escorted by lovely Kara and Lucy to exchange time, thoughts and energy with the very talented women inside. I was taken back how fabulous their art was. I asked them to paint a tree or something from their heart that made them feel happy or sad. As I walked around admiring their art, I engaged in conversation with these women who seemed so vulnerable and caring. I found it fascinating how they all were so aware of colour, feeling and emotion. The Watts Gallery scheme is such a wonderful life line for these women to help them through a healing process and allow their minds to flow endlessly through art. I was so touched and impressed. Thank you all for having me, WELL DONE!
HMP SEND Mary Branson, Artist in Residence, HMP Send, 2014 I have just finished a year’s residency at HMP Send, the women’s prison in Surrey. I am the second artist to have been awarded the Watts Gallery Michael Varah Memorial Fund Residency at the prison, which combines an opportunity to lead regular workshops and facilitate a studio for some of the women. I must admit that I embarked upon the Residency with some trepidation. After all, prison was an alien environment to me, an unknown entity in which, until this point, I never expected to find myself. Our weekly sessions began with conversation about how artists – including George and Mary Watts find in art a channel to explore and express their innermost feelings and responses to life. Together, we considered diverse work by a wide range of artists. We talked about what we felt the artist might be communicating and how the work made us feel.
The next step was for the women to start creating their own art. For some, this was their very first opportunity they have been given to experiment in expressing their feelings through art. Each week of my Residency, I saw a change in the women. Some were new to the group, others had been involved for several years. They encouraged each other, shared each other’s successes and helped one another when someone was stuck. Visiting printmakers from Ochre Studio and artist Cindy Lass also introduced the women to new media, techniques and approaches to making art. The women have been successful in external art competitions and created more and more work as their self-confidence grew. Several members did extremely well in forging arts pathways for themselves. Through art, they have discovered new talents and rightly increased their self-esteem. I see them all as very talented. As for my own work, I created a large-scale installation at Watts Gallery that spoke directly about my experience of working with the Watts group at HMP Send. I talked
through and shared my ideas with the women along the way and listened carefully to their comments and suggestions, which helped me to conceive the piece and evolve it. Like the women in the group, it was tough to reflect my feelings. The work has a truth within it that I feel I couldn’t have been able to communicate unless I had witnessed the reality of prison life close-up for a brief moment each week. These women have given me a window into their world, and so the piece that I created felt like one of my most powerful works to date – quite different in tone from my previous installations. I hope that the women will continue to find a vehicle for self-expression through art and that, thanks to the vision and generosity of organisations such as Watts Gallery Trust and the Michael Varah Memorial Fund, there will be an opportunity for the project at HMP Send to continue, develop and make a positive impact on the lives of many more.
‘The Watts group is our lifeline and it enables us to express creatively with an artistic flow.’ Dena HMP Send
Containment HMP Send prisoners are issued with ‘volumetric boxes’ in order to store their personal possessions over the duration of their sentence. The size of these black cardboard containers sets the limit for their official quota of physical possessions in the prison. In the event of cell searches or relocation, inmates are required to store everything they own within the confines of the box; additional material is forbidden. The box structures are a representation of each of the members of the Watts Art Group – their presence, their individual personalities, their creativity – each reduced to a symmetric symbol imposed by their circumstances, into which once a week, I am allowed a small window. An installation is created with the same boxes laid out in the Gallery displayed and lit as artistic pieces. ‘The group’ is interposed within the classical surroundings of the gallery space, surrounded on all sides by the socially engaged paintings of George Watts, and housed overall within the bigger Watts Gallery Trust, with its ethos of The Arts as a vehicle for social transformation. Above: Containment, Mary Branson, 2014 photography by Emma Brown
Sandy Curry Watts Gallery Michael Varah Memorial Fund Artist in Residence at HMP Send, 2008 - 2013 Sandy Curry is exhibiting a body of work called Free Sprit at Gallery Different alongside the Big Issues Exhibition, inspired by her six-year residency. I was awarded an Artist in Residence prize at HMP Send in 2008 by Watts Gallery Trust. What was planned as a six-week programme at this Surrey women’s prison transformed into a six-year role when the Michael Varah Memorial Fund agreed to fund the programme. Those six years have been some of the most formative in my development as an artist. At times, the experience was intense and all encompassing. To be surrounded by the aura of untapped creative energy, within a unique environment that sparked unusual dialogue and feedback, led to this being a profound experience. It is only now, that I can stand back and realise how much my own work and indeed, my perspective on life, has been changed and moulded by this opportunity. ‘Artist in Residence’ is a huge title to live up to in any environment. Within the prison, it came with its own complications. Here, a title did not automatically transfer respect and I had to learn not just to work with the prison managers and officers but, so importantly, to earn the trust and gain the respect of the women offenders who chose to enrol on the programme. Whilst simultaneously nurturing and mentoring those women, I had to recognise and work through my own prejudices, too. With my own art, I had to figure out how to create in a very structured environment, where rules are enforced rigorously. It is a cliché to say that we must look for the beauty in all things, but within the Send prison context, this was put to the ultimate test. I had to develop my imagination, to let my art become a visual representation of storytelling. This is what art is; a way to connect and make sense of life experiences, to escape the physical and mental
boundaries of the immediate environment and to imagine how the elements around me could be interpreted in other ways. Ultimately, prison honed my skills in exploring my own creativity.
Developing the Residency
This was a start-up initiative, I had a clean canvas. For the programme to be sustainable, I had constantly to recruit new women, encouraging and mentoring them to develop their artistic talent, motivating them to commit to the programme and to work to deadlines. I did not set criteria or develop a syllabus. It was not a pre-requisite that those who enrolled should have had any experience or indeed prior interest in art. Instead, the programme needed to adapt organically to the personalities and the abilities presented to me, yet still be greater than the sum of the participants at any moment in time. I knew I carried a responsibility not only to these women but to those that followed me in the role. I had to ensure that I was laying groundwork for the next Artist in Residence.
A chance to build a new future
For this community of women, this was not ‘free time spent with a paintbrush’ but a chance to build a new future, to see and connect to their own life experience through a new channel and occasionally, to reach parts of themselves that had been locked away. It was my responsibility to use art to motivate, inspire and influence them to think in ways that many of them had never known existed, or that others had thought belonged to another time in their lives.
Managing group dynamics
The group was varied, from diverse backgrounds both academically and culturally. It was not my place to know the individuals’ life stories, or their sentences and this meant that we could start with a blank slate, without Right: Free Spirit, Sandy Curry
reference to stereotypes or hierarchy. Yet I discovered quickly that, if this programme was to flourish, I needed to be adept at managing group dynamics. While some of the women had committed, crimes, others had, had the worst possible life experiences that we would all prefer didn’t happen anywhere, to anyone, ever – and their sentence may have been a result of those experiences, or the life choices they made when they tried to change them. Many had been stereotyped and labelled since their childhoods, with accompanying low self-esteem and little confidence. Some had been the victim of abuse, or been told they would never be ‘good at anything’. Some had no real tools to communicate in a respectful way. There were women who had lost their voices and would not speak, keeping themselves to themselves. Others had an abundance of confidence.
‘Being introduced to Sandy and the girls doing the Watts Gallery project quite literally saved my life.’ Tatiana, HMP Send Learning life skills through art
As the Artist in Residence, I was there to facilitate each individual as she created a body of work of which she could be proud. In some cases, this was an individual’s first experience of that; others were rediscovering latent talents. We learnt life skills together, skills that didn’t matter whether you were the Resident Artist or a participating artist. We learnt to work to deadlines, to remain motivated and committed, to be respectful of each other’s opinion and work. We shared that a creative environment is supportive, and is often a safe place within a world that often doesn’t feel safe or kind. Here we discovered the ultimate human experience: that there is no right or wrong way to create. Each of these pieces was as individual as the person who created it. Together, these elements led to the women prisoners who attended the programme in 2010 creating a name for our group: ‘Sisters in Art’. The women on the programme came
to appreciate that art builds awareness; it develops the input and distance required to see connections, to translate time and other abstract ideas into a physical product on canvas. It forces us to see the familiar as something different.
A force for creativity
For my part, I learned not to be so afraid to take creative risks. Risk might be uncomfortable but, turned on its head, it is a positive force for creativity. Creativity fuels activity: to imagine ‘something’, to want to see it interpreted in life – whether as a piece of art, an outcome or a life choice – turns that ‘something’ into reality. Whichever side of the prison fence you are, there is an inherent force that resides in all of us that can imagine, and therefore create. Art is a leveller, it is a communication tool, it is a method to foster hope. I knew this as theory, but working with the offender artists I experienced it first-hand. And so the canvases in this exhibition speak loudly that all of us are more than we could have imagined, as we set out on our collaborative journey at HMP Send. They are testimony to the fact that we need hope, a sense of a future not yet set in stone, one which we can create as our circumstances allow. We need freedom, or whatever that illusion of freedom is, to rise above our immediate surroundings. Ultimately, the work in this exhibition – my own and that of the women artists’ – shows the finer elements of humanity and the human condition: that the human spirit will endure. But as much as Free Spirit is about my perceptions and the influence of this Residency on my work, I realise that the greatest life lesson has been the privilege of being a part of others’ journeys. One of the women I worked with told me: ‘Art has saved my life. I am redefined as an Artist.’ This is a living example of the humanity and the power of art. I hold dear the ethos of George Frederic Watts, that ‘Art is for All.’ Through my work and this great opportunity, I have been able to live the philosophy that he believed: ‘Hope is physical energy’. I shall be forever thankful to the Michael Varah Memorial Fund and to Watts Gallery Trust for this.
Right: Weapon of Choice, Charlie, HMP Send, 2012
Opportunities Opportunities is a Lone Parent Project based in the areas of Ash, Farnham, Godalming and Farnborough, and works with approximately 50-60 Lone Parents. The Project offers training in I.T., supports and nurtures the students in returning to the work market or further education. For most of the groups this is a very big step, but this has been made easier by participating in craft workshops at Watts Gallery since 2011. Carol MacFarlane, Project Co-ordinator We have been very fortunate this year to make visits to Watts Gallery and everyone returns from the workshops feeling, relaxed, self-satisfied and inspired, to the point where we would now like to set up a social enterprise within our communities in the near future. During the last year we have been able to undertake workshops in lampshade making, printing and textile printing. In addition we have also been able to introduce the children of our students to a new world, by taking part in a clay workshop – they were so intrigued and enthralled, we have never known them so quiet! We constantly have the question “when are we going back” – they are growing up appreciating art and knowing the pleasure and relaxation this can bring to their lives. We very much appreciate the support and encouragement the staff at Watts Gallery Trust have given to our students, and the ongoing affect on their lives of building confidence and self-belief. Thank you from all of us.
‘Coming to the workshops has given the students confidence in moving outside their own comfort zones, and a belief in themselves.’ Above: Flower Elf, Delma, Opportunities Right: Opportunities working with potter Joyce Hyslop on Terracotta tiles inspired by a visit to Watts Chapel
Dr Helen Bowcock OBE, DL Founder and Trustee of The Hazelhurst Trust, Benefactor to Watts Gallery Trust and member of the Mary Watts Art Guild Over the last three years a small charity called Opportunities has worked closely with Watts Gallery and, with great pride, encourages its members to display their work in the Big Issues Exhibition. This partnership is characteristic of the way the Gallery’s Learning team reaches out to other organisations and invites them in. It is not just about providing physical space or inspiration from the permanent and temporary collections but also about a culture that places great value upon making others feel welcome and able to develop their artistic capacities.
its founder recognised that people need the enrichment of art and community to flourish. This collaboration with Watts Gallery has contributed significantly to building confidence amongst people for whom social isolation has been one of the most debilitating problems. The warmth of the welcome that they have received at the Gallery, the participation in shared activities and the sense of purpose in exhibiting their art is serving to change their view of themselves and the world around them.
For the leader of Opportunities it was a leap of faith to introduce her members to the Gallery. For most of them visiting an art gallery was a new and very daunting experience and they did not know what to expect. They could not have imagined that they would keep returning to experience the satisfaction of working with clay, painting and designing. Some members particularly enjoyed making the lampshades.
The Big Issues Exhibition is a highly collaborative effort and is the result of the Gallery’s invitation to others to share its resources and be part of its community. And, after all, G F Watts and his wife Mary supported many other charities during their lifetimes. They were not only great artists but also great philanthropists who believed in the sharing of assets and the power of art to bring people together and to raise their ambitions. ‘Art for All’ is as much part of Watts Gallery Trust’s mission today as it was in the late nineteenth century with a programme that keeps adapting to the requirements of the modern day.
Opportunities is an educational charity that provides tuition in information technology and other vocational skills to enable its members to enter employment. But, from the start,
Kathleen Bacon Chair, Women in Private Equity Women in Private Equity Supporting a Second chance for women through the Watts Gallery Trust Big Issues Programme Inspired by Watts Gallery’s co-founder, the artist, designer and social reformer Mary Watts and instigated by Watts Gallery Trust benefactor Mrs Kirsty Anson, a dinner of 80 people was held at Watts Gallery in May 2014, organised by Women in Private Equity (WIPES) to support the launch of the Watts Gallery Trust Second Chance Scheme to provide support for marginalised and vulnerable women through artist-led workshops. The Second Chance Scheme encourages women prisoners, young offenders and women facing hardship from abusive relationships, mental health difficulties and the isolation of bringing up children alone to gain the self-confidence required to make a new start. The evening raised sufficient funds to support more than 50 participants in workshops this year through the Big Issues Project. Since 2008, the project has helped hundreds of disadvantaged people to gain the self-confidence and fundamental life and social skills that can help them to change the course of their lives. A registered charity, Watts Gallery must fundraise in order to deliver The Big Issues Project. The Gallery is determined to continue to serve the communities of women it currently supports and, in order to meet the expressed need of many more groups of disadvantaged women, is seeking to secure funding through the Art for All Second Chance scheme. Recently formed, Women in Private Equity is a group dedicated to using its collective skills and talents for philanthropic purposes. Amongst the group are a number of pioneers, the first generation of women to have forged a career in Private Equity, opening doors to enable other women to follow. The group includes investors, managers, recruitment firms, placement
agents and lawyers, all of whom share a drive and commitment to improve outcomes for women. Following the success of the fundraising event, I felt clearer on the philanthropic goals for WIPES. We must support an organisation where we can really make a difference; we want to ensure that the organisation and project is sustainable and deliverable; we want to have fun, and we want to promote the development, sustainability and profile of women in the private equity sector. The launch and development of the Second Chance scheme has had real resonance with our members. This is the start of an ongoing relationship where we all learn and which gives us all a second chance.
‘It’s a lifesaver being in the group, and I love the diversity and contrast of the girls. I think it educates us and inspires us – because if everyone painted like me I wouldn’t learn as much. The group opens my mind to different possibilities. I love coming in and seeing a new piece of work go up.’ Susanna, HMP Send
Centre: The Way he Walked, Jo, Cellar Art Group
Cellar Art Group The Cellar Art Group are based at the Cellar Cafe in Godalming which provides a relaxed and friendly setting for disadvantaged or misunderstood groups. They have taken part in the Big Issues project since 2009. Virginia Ray, Big Issues Art Tutor Working with the Cellar Art Group for the first time, I was greeted with great warmth and was so impressed with the wonderful support the group gave to each other. Through workshops, individuals explored a variety of media, tools and techniques, beginning with a visit to the archive at Watts Gallery which gave them a deeper understanding of how Watts worked as an artist. The group went on to tackle the local landscape with acrylic paint at easels, drawing on the knowledge that George and Mary Watts were inspired and influenced by the colours and physical aspects of their environment. Considering the short time the group had to work on their paintings, the results were delightful. The group often felt out of their comfort zone but approached everything with deep breaths, good humour and enthusiasm. Watching their confidence grow as artists was so satisfying.
Adrienne Roberts, Big Issues Art Tutor The atmosphere in the group is one of mutual support and enthusiasm, a really good way to enjoy making and sharing art. This year the group have created 3D work in addition to paintings. Inspiration was taken from the Watts collection, and the group focussed on details within the paintings which inspired them including drapery and organic forms. They then made interpretations in white earthenware clay as well as in porcelain, using incision and piercing techniques to enhance the play of light through the pieces that had been created. There was much enjoyment experimenting with these new skills and seeing how receptive porcelain is to fine detail and texture. Clearly the project has helped to build more confidence, and experimentation is greeted with great enthusiasm which happily means that creativity flows and develops more with each project.
Street Level Arts Anna Hennings and Joyce Hyslop, Big Issues Art Tutors Street Level Art is an art rehabilitation group set up to offer creative activity for people recovering from homelessness, substance addictions and mental health problems. Since being based at the YMCA it comprises a wide age range of participants, from young people living at the YMCA for just a few weeks or months to some of our older members who have been coming to SLA since it began nearly a decade ago. Creative activity at Watts Gallery provides a therapeutic break from the sometimes lonely, difficult or chaotic lives of some of our participants and the chance to enjoy social time in a warm and friendly environment. The group have been very lucky to see some wonderful art during the project this year through visiting the following exhibitions at Watts Gallery and The Pottery Gallery; Peter Blake Pop Victoriana, Ellen Terry, The Painter’s Actress and A Russian FairyTale: the Art and Craft of Elena Polenova. This has really helped to motivate and inspire them. We have developed the group’s artistic skills through printmaking, printing on clay and using ceramic transfers.
produce some outstanding work and gained much more than merely improving their artistic skills. Having regular support workers has really helped - with thanks to Anne Docherty of the YMCA, Ann Varlow and Clare Kuznik and to the Watts Gallery Learning Team.
Their abstract paintings have been inspired by Watts’ looser paintings such as The Sower of Systems and After the Deluge with discussion about emotions, use of colour and expressive mark making to develop their free paintings. Group critiques have been beneficial to all participants. The slab built ceramic houses were decorated in response to discussion of the turbulent life of Ellen Terry, of family, home and homelessness. The group reflected on their own life experiences and to some the clay house became the lost home of their childhood, or the hoped home for their family, container of their feelings or the outlet for their creative writing. The result has been some very interesting, individual and symbolic representations. It has been very rewarding for us to teach collaboratively and there is a great group camaraderie. Everyone has worked hard to Above: John from Street Levels Arts working with terracotta in The Foyle Art for All Learning Studio
‘If you had asked me about whether I liked art ten years ago, I would have said that I wasn’t interested. The art group gets me up and out of the house and I really enjoy being part of it. It gets me out from where I’m living, we can have a laugh, a joke, a talk and do art.’ Trevor, Street Level Arts Above: Glazed terracotta houses completed by participants from Street Level Arts
Surrey Youth Support Service Watts Gallery has been working in partnership with Surrey Youth Support Service. The Youth Support Service works with young people aged 1619 years in order to help them achieve their goals in work, education or training. Watts Gallery Trust has provided regular workshops led by a professional artist as well as opportunities for young people to undertake Arts Awards. Anna Hennings, Big Issues Art Tutor It has been a great pleasure to be involved in the planning and delivery of Bronze Arts Awards workshops for young people from the Surrey Youth Support Service. It is always interesting to see how each group adapts to new surroundings and relationships during the course and there are great benefits in being in the peaceful environment at Watts Gallery, a very different environment experienced by many of the young people. Some natural creative talent has been revealed whilst others were just beginning to explore their creativity but everyone seems to have enjoyed the experience of working in the different media offered, including print making, painting, sculpture, drawing and pottery. The groups have visited Watts Gallery and had a chance to explore the lives of Mary and G F Watts, to visit their home, to see behind the scenes of the Gallery, to visit the Chapel and to learn firsthand of the ethos of Art for All that still thrives here, the Wattses desire to improve the lives of others. Participants develop both creative and transferable skills which helps them move forward in their lives with greater confidence and self esteem and I am delighted and proud that everyone who completed the course has achieved their Bronze Arts Award.
Lucy Cordingley, Learning Coordinator As well as well as working from the studio at Watts Gallery, this year participants from Surrey Youth Support Services were able to visit Charleston House and the working studio of sculptor Marcus Cornish in East Sussex as part of their ten-week Arts Awards course. At Charleston the group made links between the work of Mary Watts and the craft-based objects and furniture designed by the Bloomsbury Group. Everyone spent time carefully sketching patterns and designs that appealed to them as inspiration for future artwork. In the afternoon we visited the studio of sculptor Marcus Cornish just outside Lewes. It was fantastic for everyone to gain an insight into a real artist’s working life and to see so many sculptures, made of different materials at varying stages of completion. The young people were all very inquisitive and grilled Marcus with questions on what it is like to be a practising artist, the practicalities of his studio, his inspiration and the processes involved in using so many different materials. We were lucky enough to see the terracotta roundels of George and Mary Watts which are now installed on the front of the Gallery. To everyone’s surprise, he used a clay wire to slice off a section of Mary’s face in order to allow us to see inside her hollow terracotta head to illustrate his technique. Shannon commented “The sculptures inspired me, I thought they were amazing”. Everyone left Lewes feeling motivated and inspired, and were thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit another Gallery and the studio of a professional artist.
‘During the time I have spent at the Watts Gallery, I have produced many different types of art whilst working towards my arts award. I have gained confidence in the arts which has assisted me with moving forward to starting an Art course at college. My thanks go to the staff of Watts Gallery and Joy, my mentor, and also to my family for their hard work, encouragement and for giving me the opportunity to develop my skills. Overall, my time here at Watts has had a huge impact on me. I am finally doing what I enjoy and have a lot of hope that it will take me far.’ Samuel, Surrey Youth Support Service
Above: Samuel from Surrey Youth Support Service glazing his terracotta coasters in the Foyle Art for All Learning Studio
Art Venture The Artventure Trust is a creative day centre in Guildford for adults with learning difficulties. Founded in 1984, the charity was set up to allow vulnerable people to explore the arts in a safe and secure environment. Kathy Prince, Arts Worker A group of participants, artsworkers and volunteers made their way to Watts Gallery on 24th of September 2014. Our first project was a visit to the inside of the Chapel, where the participants looked round in awe and asked questions on various items. A few started to draw various aspects of the decorations within and studied different forms of flowers and animals, a couple of the participants attempted to draw the Angels. Next we went to study the outside of the Chapel. And the different forms of images used there. Participants were presented with a peacocks feather and were asked to look for this image in the decoration. Quite a few participants did rubbings of the decorations and noted that they were repeated over
and over again all around the outside of the Chapel. All this took us up to lunch time and a well-rewarded break. After lunch the group went into the ceramic room where we made tiles using some of the different forms we had seen. Some participants used their drawings on the tiles whilst others used materials that were supplied, including grasses, flowers. All the participants thoroughly enjoyed their day especially as the group do not have many opportunities to visit galleries, hear about the art on display and contemplate it for themselves. The visit to Watts Gallery was wonderful experience for our clients and they all really enjoyed themselves.
Above: Members from Art Venture working with potter Joyce Hyslop in the Foyle Art for All Learning Studio
Can you help transform lives through the Big Issues Project? Watts Gallery Trust receives no regular government funding and is completely reliant upon voluntary income to deliver the Big Issues. We need your support to ensure this life-changing project continues.
£10
Could buy a canvas and paints to unlock artistic potential in a homeless person who has never had the opportunity or confidence before.
£25
Could provide sketchbooks for a group of prisoners to continue drawing in their cells preventing isolation and allowing self-expression.
£50
Could give a group of young people their first chance to explore an art gallery by paying for a minibus to transport them to and from Watts Gallery.
£150
Could fund a professional artist to lead a workshop for a group suffering from mental health difficulties.
£500
Could enable a young person who is not currently in education, employment or training (NEET) to complete their Arts Award.
£5,000 Could cover the costs of the exhibition, raising awareness of this valuable work and inspiring self-worth. Buying an artwork will provide a valuable source of income for a disadvantaged person, which could help provide essential items, such as clothes and food. Many participants have also volunteered to give a percentage of the proceeds back to the Big Issues Project allowing this valuable work to continue. It will also encourage a sense of self-worth and achievement. Some of the artists will never have received praise or positive recognition in their lives before. Volunteering your time will help participants to develop relationships, confidence and team skills, as well as supporting the Watts Gallery team in providing and running the workshops. Donate either online at www.wattsgallery.org.uk, by cheque made out to ‘Watts Gallery’ or by calling 01483 813 597. Every donation is important to us. Thank you.
‘Watts Gallery really is a magical place where everyone is welcomed and I am sure that George and Mary Watts would be thrilled to see what is happening and what is being created here. We are thrilled to be invited as participants.’ Sue, participant, The Cellar Art Group
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