I have been fascinated by Art Abandonment for some time. Its a really fun thing to get involved in and something you are probably more aware of that you might think. Although the concept started as a predominantly american concept, there are examples you can find all over the place if you look hard enough.
A good example is the decorated rocks you can find in and around the city
centre and its parks. I know at the moment, this isn't so prevalent because of restricted movement and risk factors associated with Covid-19, but I am sure you have come across pretty designs and
motivational rocks. Its a fun activity for adults or kids to make, find and re-hide.
I became aware of the 'Art Abandonment' movement a few years ago. It came about as random acts of kindness as well as encouraging creativity. There are books on the subject as well as corresponding Facebook groups for those who find the work - similar to the 'Worcester 'love on the rocks' Facebook page. The general premise of this is that a piece of
artwork (or sometimes jewellery, anything handmade) is abandoned in a public place, this is commonly in parks or hospitals where they will be found and seen fairly quickly and give someone some joy. They are packaged up anonymously and securely in something waterproof (just in case it needs to stay there a while) and they act as a gift for whoever is lucky enough to come across the package.
You can find more information about the movement and some great projects in this book 'Art Abandonment Project' which is a collection of prompts and ideas and includes downloadable labels for peoples use.
Why is this important?
Well, right now more than ever I believe we need a spark of positivity and creativity in our lives. You are probably already aware that there are a lot of community project happening at the moment including a bunch of exciting things to take part in as a joint venture between Severn Arts and Worcester County Council under the heading 'Creating Connections'. We used a lot of our knowledge and enthusiasm around the Art Abandonment movement in-particular as an influence on our #CreatingConnections project. Below is a short introduction on what we are planning and working on producing with this funding and support.
Creating Connections - Creativity Chain and Virtual Exhibition.
Creating Space will be starting a chain reaction of creative artwork production in Worcester City. Using the qualities and ethos of the art abandonment concept we will be inviting individuals to create and get involved in a virtual exhibition of gifted artworks.
How will this work?
On 20th May Creating Spaces founder Claire, will be delivering and abandoning pieces in Worcester with calls to action attached. The recipient of each pack will be invited to:
Keep the A6 artwork enclosed (and photograph it)
Create a new A6 artwork to pass on (and photograph it)
Pass on or abandon your newly made artwork with instructions attached for the next person to take part.
Photographs will be sent to CreatingSpaceSessions@gmail.com to be added to an online virtual gallery which will be an ongoing record of artworks exchanged. One picture of each artwork will be used and the visual gallery will be ongoing.
We are designing and producing a designated landing page on the website with more in depth instructions for those who receive a call to action and the project will be continually updated as the collection unfolds. There is no theme, or suggested media, just size restrictions to ease in passing artwork on. We hope this project will serve as a creative motivation and connection between friends, artists and members of the public alike.
So now you know :) and we are really looking forward to see what is made and how many people get involved from our chain process. Don't forget to register on our web-page for our newsletter to receive regular updates on the project moving forward.
We'd love to know - have you ever abandoned artwork? Have you ever found a surprise creative gift? How did it make you feel? What did you find and where?
I hope you are continuing to stay safe and well.
Claire
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