New project at the Tate for talented students

GROUPS of Edge Hill University students from four creative subject areas are being given the chance to work alongside leading artists as part of a new project at Tate Liverpool.

Tate Exchange provides a designated space in the heart of Tate Liverpool for everyone to collaborate, test ideas and discover new perspectives on life, through art.

This new programme brings together international artists alongside partner organisations and members of the public, and Edge Hill is one of the Founding Associate organisations working with Tate Liverpool on the project.

Edge Hill’s animation students launched the Tate Exchange Liverpool programme at the gallery last Saturday.

Inspired by the gallery’s autumn Yves Klein exhibition and the artist’s interest in judo, their work sees the movements of live judo artists captured on camera.

This Saturday (December 3), Edge Hill’s creative writing department brings three leading international poets, Niall McDevitt (Ireland), Maung Day (Myanmar) and Edge Hill Creative Writing lecturer Dr James Byrne (England) to the Tate Exchange Liverpool space.

They will create poetic responses to Tate Liverpool’s free display, Tracey Emin and William Blake in Focus.

Maung Day and James Byrne will also lead a creative writing workshop on the day, which will ask writers to bring up to five pages of work that responds to the ‘in Focus’ display.

They will receive editorial advice and writing exercises on how to respond to visual artwork.

The workshop will be followed by an evening reading with all three poets.

Next, on Saturday December 10, some 45 performing arts students will bring a durational dance performance lasting five hours to the gallery. This will comprise a cyclical series of choreographies and staged improvisations that explore and celebrate dance as exchange.

Up to nine students at a time will perform and interact with audience.

Cathy Butterworth, arts manager at Edge Hill University, said: “Tate Exchange Liverpool is a fantastic, ground-breaking project and we’re delighted that Edge Hill is playing such a significant part in it.”