Making Space:Sensing Place

In October 2009, along with artist Thurle Wright, I was awarded a Making Space:Sensing Place Fellowship; part of the HAT: Here and There International Exchange Programme, managed by A Fine Line:Cultural Practice. The Fellowship includes residencies with Britto Arts in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with Arts Reverie in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with The V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London and with The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire. Working and collaborating with artists and craftspeople from the UK, Bangladesh and India, responding to the collections and spaces we encounter and sharing these experiences through a touring exhibition and educational workshops.

This blog, which is still developing and being added to, is a record of my experiences during the MS:SP Fellowship. Steven Follen.
www.stevenfollen.com

Sunday 7 February 2010

Arts Institute, British Council & Flowers


Met with the Dean of the Arts Institute to discuss the HAT project and possible opportunities for collaboration during our month long stay.
we had the opportunity to see more of the workshop spaces.
Fine Art studio:
MA Print studio:
Crafts studio:
Spotted a beautiful 'insect' made from reed.
Met with the British Council in Dhaka, discussion focussed on future HAT project possibilities.

The treat of the day was the flower market opposite the museum.
Beautiful strings of fresh flowers finely stitched onto cotton threads forming strings of intense colour.
I also passed these people making strings of flowers by the side of the road in Old Dhaka. Each petal is stitched onto a thread, the pink ones were so fine it was difficult to believe they could have been stitched, they were for sale for 1Tk - less than1p!

At the end of the day we met with Tarun (curator at the National Museum and artist) and Topan (rickshaw artist) the two project artists from Bangladesh.