An art school on the water
FOR 10 years Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) has steered Slow Boat around the canals of the West Midlands and beyond.
A converted narrowboat, it is a unique floating space for IYP, local communities and artists to make and experience art in a stimulating and creative environment.
With the support of Freelands Foundation, over the next three years IYP will continue to navigate the waterways, collaborating with creative thinkers and makers to reimagine Slow Boat as a local art school.
Set against the backdrop of funding cuts to arts education, it will expand the alternative curriculum offered by IYP, raising fundamental questions concerning the definition and relevance of art.
An Ikon spokesperson said: “We hope to generate new ways of thinking that will result in positive conversations with art schools, transforming social narratives and building on radical histories that reflect our everyday experiences.
“We are all looking forward to the future discourse around this project, including the changing space of Slow Boat; a space of provocation, a space of transformation, a space of us.”
In the first year, members of IYP will be introduced to various histories, materials and processes, including painting, sculpting, printmaking, ceramics and glassblowing.
In collaboration with the artist tutors, IYP will also curate its own public events, also with Celebrating Sanctuary for Ikon’s fourth Migrant Festival (August 19-22) and film screenings with Flatpack Festival for the August bank holiday weekend (August 28-30).
“With the support of Freelands Foundation, we are able to expand Slow Boat’s reach to communities and celebrate the radical history of the Arts and Crafts movement, the architecture of which lines the canals and underscores the diverse cultural ecology of the West Midlands,” said Ikon head of learning Linzi Stauvers.
Freelands Foundation creative director Henry Ward added: “We are delighted to support Slow Boat, and excited to see this innovative alternative art school get under way on the canals of Birmingham and the West Midlands.”
Visiting Ikon: Entry is free (donations welcome). To book a ticket or for more information on current opening times and visiting guidelines please visit ikon-gallery.org
Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square,
Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HS Tel: 0121 248 0708
Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @ikongallery #IkonGallery
@FreelandsF Links: ikon-gallery. org freelandsfoundation.co.uk