Artist Paul Harrison visited St George’s C of E Primary School in Ladywood yesterday to view a new art exhibition inspired by the works of Harrison and his collaborative partner John Wood.
Pupils aged between 4 and 11 years have made a gallery in the school hall showing artworks they created in response to Wood and Harrison’s exhibition Some words. Some more words which took place at Ikon earlier in the year.
One of the works on display is a whole-school video inspired by Shelf, a film which shows everyday objects moving along the screen on a seemingly never-ending shelf.
As part of today’s visit, the children were able to discuss their work with Paul Harrison and in turn he talked to the whole school at a special event to which parents were also invited.
The visit is the culmination of the Ikon Insiders project, in which primary school children from the city made two visits to the Brindleyplace gallery in one academic year, with the intention of building a strong relationship with Ikon and providing opportunities to improve creative, personal and academic skills.
The three schools taking part in Ikon Insiders are St George’s C of E and St Thomas’s (VA) C of E Primary Schools in Ladywood, and Osborne Primary School in Erdington.
Emma Bowen, Ikon’s Learning Co-ordinator, said: “Paul Harrison is an artist from the region who is now working internationally. Today’s visit gives the children a chance to see what they can achieve. Ikon is really pleased to provide support for this kind of learning opportunity.”
John Wood and Paul Harrison are best known for their screen-based works evoking a diverse range of references. Their works are held in collections across the world, including Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Britain and Centre Pompidou, Paris. Their work has also hung in 10 Downing Street as part of the Government Art Collection.