We are sorry to inform you that, due to concerns around COVID-19, we have made the decision to postpone this workshop. We hope to reschedule this event later in the year.

Taking place inside and outside, this workshop with Sean Roy Parker combines psychogeography (exploration of (sub)urban environments in a playful way), civic collaboration and economical art-making to bring into focus how we move around our neighbourhoods and how spending slow time outside can add to our relationship with nature and architecture.

Starting with the term dérive and what Situationist writer Guy Debord meant by it, we will discuss our (dis)orientation and emotional connection to places. Then, heading outside with litterpickers and bags, we will wander aimlessly around places well known to us and observe them through organic and synthetic findings. Wildflower identification books will be available, and mindfulness exercises will be demonstrated during this part of the day.

Upon returning to OSE, we will share our objects and impressions of the dérive. Has this journey technique affected your connection with the environment? Can we learn to observe and describe without judgement, and why is this important? How does this impact the way we move, think or make art? After processing our found materials, we shall make individual artworks based on the artist’s Content Wallets series, developing new visual languages around waste, surplus and appropriation. These images will be scanned into preserve forever and collated into a pdf file that will be shared with all participants.

Schedule
Artist’s presentation: 12-1pm
Lunch break: 1-2pm
Outdoors activity: 2-4pm
Indoors activity: 4-6pm

Practical information
Please wear warm clothing and hats for the outside parts of the day, and bring with you a smart phone and some clear plastic wallets – these can be the type used for documents, or they can be improvised/repurposed from clear plastic packing etc. This a free workshop and you do not need to book. You do not need to be an artist to take part.

About the artist
Sean Roy Parker is a visual artist and environmentalist living in south London. His practice focuses on material lifecycles, complexities of civic responsibility, and collaboration as methodology. Parker creates post-capitalist frameworks for distributing abundance and care, encouraging multiple non-linear narratives and alternative currencies. He was a part of School of the Damned 2018 cohort, is currently Associate Artist at Haberdasher Aske’s Borough Academy for a project with Freelands Foundation, and runs Brixton Pound Surplus Canteen, a pay-what-you-can food project using produce diverted from landfill.

Below are links to some suggested visual inspiration for this workshop:

http://turf-projects.com/fungus-press-residency/fungus-press-residency-sean-roy-parker-inorganicmatters/ 

http://www.ginnyprojects.com/index.php/project/sinkhole-/

Accessibility information
OSE is on the 1st floor of the Margate Adult Education Centre. The building has a lift but we advise you to call us on the day to ensure that it is currently operational. Parts of this event will be taking place outside, using mostly pavements and pathways, with some movement on grass. Please email info@openschooleast.org for more information or if you have any questions.

Easy read
Join Sean for a talk about his work at 12pm and then a two-part practical workshop which is outside from 2-4pm and inside 4-6pm. Please wear warm clothes and bring a smart phone and plastic wallet with you. You can take your artwork home with you at the end of the day. This a free workshop and you do not need to book. You do not need to be an artist to take part.