About

The Visible Art Project (VAP) has been conceived by me, Antonia Grove, Artistic Director of the dance theatre company Probe (See probeproject.com for more details).

VAP was originally established as an audience engagement project that would run alongside performances of my solo work Now You See It, but it has evolved into a stand alone community art project in its own right.

VAP uses Art as a tool to enable people to have a voice, and for their creativity to be made visible. It  takes inspiration from themes explored in the live dance theatre work Now You See It; strategies for survival, my own feelings of invisibility & the fear of missing something important.

How it works…

In a nutshell, VAP involves setting up an informal space where people can sit with a cup of tea to create a piece of Art.

Participants will use the art materials supplied by VAP to create their own work of art, poster, message, slogan, abstract expression etc… Like in any artistic process, there is no right or wrong result, no expectation placed on the participants, only an instruction to be open and curious to the outcome.

The work might consciously or unconsciously be influenced by or in reaction to something political, social, popular culture, personal experience etc…. people are often surprised by what comes out! VAP is rooted in encouraging freedom of expression. To facilitate this I provide clear starting points for participants to begin to tap into what they want to share and communicate: paper templates inspired by the themes and images in my work, cut out words from my script, images and text chosen from newspapers and magazines. These are complemented by collage materials, paint, marker pens, pastels, glue, scissors etc, all of which I provide as part of the project. At the end of a VAP residency, the resulting art works are made visible through an exhibition.

 

Each piece is displayed anonymously with an accompanying title and shared on VAP social media sites.

@visibleartproj #NowYouSeeIt #VAP

“To see everyone’s creations up on the wall, jumbled together, and on an equal standing was really nice… We’re just a bunch of people with something to say through Art.”
Rowena
“Loved it. Such a great idea. Loved the freedom you gave us and I was fascinated with what I came up with!!”
Emily

Who for, where and when

VAP can work with groups that meet regularly or as a space that people drop in to.

The work space could be a performance venue, a public building, community arts centre, cafe, village hall, college or university. VAP can travel to the group, but ideally the group would travel to the designated venue where all the Art will be displayed.

When working with or joining an existing group for a session we will spend time as a group discussing issues and feelings around visibility, invisibility & isolation. I talk about how my own feelings of invisibility manifested themselves in ‘Now You See It’

VAP is suitable for all age groups from teenagers upwards (although younger children can participate when accompanying an adult) .  I am interested to engage with different generations on the challenges they face around visibility: from isolation due to growing up in an internet driven culture to invisibility issues experienced by the older generation.