On the 12 July the first public event of the Pass It On project kicked off with a small gathering in the sunshine to celebrate the reveal of a large artwork inspired by Chichester Festival Theatre, displayed on the hoardings around the building.
A couple of blog posts ago Pass It On volunteer, Natasha Rose, wrote about her experience helping with art workshops which took place back in April with families from local charity and Pass It On partner, PACSO (Parent and Carers Support Organisation). Last Friday we were very proud to officially reveal the artwork that had been produced using prints and designs created during these workshops.
Rachel Johnston, a local artist and lecturer at the University of Chichester (another Pass It On partner) has been busy working behind the scenes since running the workshops with us in April. From the hundreds of prints and drawings produced by the families she has created a piece of art that represents the work of the almost 50 people that took part in the workshops – and we think she’s done a fantastic job! Sun prints and poly-prints* are interspersed with photographs of props and items already found in our archives and memorabilia collections to create an incredibly vibrant and striking design.
The work could not be in a better location to show it off to its full effect. Located on the north west side of the hoardings around the Festival Theatre it looks directly across to the incredible Theatre in the Park and is right beside the decked path that leads up to it. The thousands of visitors coming to Barnum and Neville’s Island over the summer won’t be able to miss it. Many of the designs are inspired by the architecture of the building and for the next year, until the building work is complete, the art and its inspiration will be side by side.
We had a great turn out for the unveiling with families from the workshops, Pass It On volunteers, Chichester Festival Theatre staff and Project partners coming to show their much appreciated support. It was the perfect event to publicly kick off the Pass It On project and let’s hope for many more such successful events over the next three years.
*Sun Prints are made by placing items on photosensitive paper and exposing them to sunlight. Poly-prints are made by working into a block of poly board (similar to foam board) and then covering the remaining surface in ink to print from.