Snibston CPD Bursary

On the 23rd of September I attended a fascinating series of presentations at Snibston Discovery Centre by artists involved in Transform. It was an opportunity to see the outcomes of the first four Residencies 

• Geoff Broadway: LifeCycle – Future and Dreams
• Jo Dacombe: Snibston Myth Maps Project
• Brendan Jackson: Unearthing Stories
• Paul Conneally: Spoil Heap Harvest

and to hear from the artist pairings Claire Barber / Steve Swindells, Andy McKeown / Peter Walker and Shanaz Gulzar / Steve Manthorp, the day was hosted by the project's lead artist Maurice Maguire. Apart from seeing and hearing about inspiring projects, it was also an opportunity for the artists in the audience to meet with one or more of the pairings and to start to formulate ideas that might lead to securing a Transform CPD Bursary.

Each artist pairing had much to offer and were working in ways that interested me so, as usual, I found it hard to choose, I did manage to have a conversation with each couple and a mad dash around part of the Discovery Centre as well.

Not only are there many traces of the site's industrial heritage but there is also a fabulous Fashion Collection with garments made, sold or worn in Leicestershire. Although I don't have a body built for fashion, I've always had a passion for it, so this collection was an added bonus. 

It also helped me formulate an idea for my Bursary proposal and I'm delighted to say that my application was successful. I will be spending some time with Claire Barber and Steve Swindells during their Mining Couture Residency, will have access (within reason) to artefacts in the collections and a chance to explore my idea further. This will be research rather than making, but who knows where it might lead me!