York, UNESCO City of Media Arts, lights up its heritage with Viborg, Cali, and Tbilisi

YORK, UK

SPRING 2024

HOPE

S H A D O W

&

L I G H T

LOOKING BACK ON A LIGHT INSTALLATION BUILT ON A GLOBAL DRAWING CAMPAIGN

ILLUMINATING THE BAR CONVENT LIVING HERITAGE CENTRE, YORK

THE ARTSPACE

MAGAZINE

ORIGINS In 2023, Viborg UNESCO Creative City threw down a glittering gauntlet to the world’s UNESCO designated Cities of Media Arts: who wants to go global with a green drawing campaign?

Building on the groundswell of #DrawwithDenmark, where Viborg had invited children and young people from all over the world to submit art, and ‘Viborg Municipality’s Green Together’, a celebration of sustainability, #DrawWithDenmark – Green Together 2023 interfused and invited the rest of the world to pause, get creative, and send art to Viborg’s Head of Operations, Henrik Holmskov. The touch paper had been lit.

HENRIK HOLMSKOV OF VIBORG THE VOICE FROM VIBORG CREATIVE CITY THANKS YORK, UK

As a UNESCO Creative City Viborg is very inspired by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. His fairy tales, storytelling and ground-breaking understanding of children’s ability to understand art and complicated issues continue to give young people a voice to become active contributors to community.

Since 2021, Viborg UNESCO Creative City has provided a creative portal via the Draw with Denmark campaign for youth from all over the world. The invitation to draw has coincided with global issues such as COVID and a growing need for environmental responsibility.

Like the art of Hans Christian Anderson, the invitation is built on faith in young people's ability to understand creativity, both in its inception and its execution.

But there is another component. Creativity not only benefits the creators, but the rest of us. Society itself can become more sensitive and outwards looking when we embrace visual art and themes of 'hope'. Our designation as a UNESCO City of Media Arts has enabled us to stretch this idea even further, with the involvement of innovative animations harnessing new exciting aesthetics in an increasingly digital world.

The vindication is clear. The global art generated by #DrawwithDenmark has been exhibited at The National Gallery in Copenhagen, at the Biennale in Wuhan China, on BBC, in Santos Brazil, in Paris at UNESCO General Conference, in Colombia and, as 2023 drew to a close, in York's Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, where the animations and drawings were projected as illuminations in the Chapel throughout Advent.

In Viborg we set the stage for creative hopes and we are proud of the creative challenge we offered. 'Hope: Shadow and Light' is a vindication of not only our initial optimism but of the dedication of arts organisations such as New Visuality and Bar Convent. It's good to have York on board and humbling to see the art of young people from Cali, Viborg, Tbilisi , and much more, exhibited in such heritage with so much innovation.

For us, 'Draw With Denmark' is indeed a continuous fairy-tale.

By Henrik Holmskov UNESCO Focal Point, Viborg UNESCO Creative City – Media Arts

"The Giraffe animation probably got the biggest laugh from the crowd. It's such a successful, simple concept, really well executed. If anyone's going to warn the powers that be that we have an environmental crisis on our hands, it's a talking even toed ungulate with a 6 foot neck." Greg McGee, co-director, New Visuality

"Mama Tree was really inspiring. If a schoolchild from Viborg can do it it's good to think maybe we could do it here in York. Thank you, schools of Viborg! We loved it and we will draw our own trees in the same way and make animations." Shanaya, All Saints School, York

"Super Green is such a cool idea. He should be part of the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy. Shooting green lasers from the eyes to save the world is very 2024. More Super Green please!" Nigel Ayre, Councillor, City of York Council Here’s a video of Viborg visuals in York: https://vimeo.com/907377310

VIBORG’S ART

#DRAWWITHDENMARK “THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE, I LOVED THE ROBOT. I DESIGNED MY OWN ROBOT AFTER I WATCHED THIS.” ROWAN, YOUNG ARTIST OF YORK, AGED 13

“A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL ANIMATION FROM THE YOUNG ARTISTS OF TBILISI. IT WAS REFRESHING TO SIT BACK AND WATCH SUCH HEAVY SUBJECTS TREATED WITH SO MUCH FUN AND OPTIMISM.” AILS MCGEE, CODIRECTOR, NEW VISUALITY

HERE’S A VIDEO OF TBILISI’S ART IN YORK, UK: HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/907372436

Tbilisi’s Art

Draw with Denmark Campain in Tbilisi Georgia Tbilisi - Unesco City of Media Arts was involved in the campaign with three types of activities. The main Idea was to create an animation at the end with the involvement of writers, children, and animators.

First, we created the fairytale with a Georgian writer with the main theme of environmental issues.

With a free registration model, we gathered almost 100 students of different ages and conducted informative talks about technology and animation workshops. Workshops were used to create animation characters with the guidance of an illustrator.

Nino Kiknadze Tbilisi - City of Media Art

CALI’S ART "My favourite animation was the one from Cali, it's really mysterious and looks like an Anime or a Manga film. It has inspired me to be more careful of the world around me, but it has also made me want to draw more. I really like the art."

Rowan. All Saints RC School, York

"It's a fabulous film from Cali, and is very powerful in underlining a lot of the aspects we need to start taking seriously if we're going to bequeath the planet to younger generations. It's a wonderful example of how Art and Activism can mix."

Here’s clip of Cali’s creativity: https://vimeo.com/907366585

OUTREACH: YORK COLLEGE’S ESOL STUDENTS

The Lord Mayor of York Chris Cullwick has hailed York College & University Centre’s “absolutely vital” work with our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students.

During an official visit to College with the Lady Mayoress, the Lord Mayor admitted that he felt “touched” and “emotional” after listening in the Lecture Theatre to the stories behind some of the students’ long journeys to Sim Balk Lane as refugees.

Haroon Jan and Ajjaz Ahmadzai, both originally from Afghanistan, spoke in fluent English in front of the distinguished dignitaries and their fellow ESOL students from a wide range of other countries, including Turkey, Sudan, Kuwait, Ukraine, Albania, Eritrea, Guinea, Kurdistan, Iraq, El Salvador, Vietnam, Iran, Hong Kong and Hungary.

After the Lord Mayor had said a few words himself, he and his wife then joined the students to participate in an art lesson delivered by local artist Greg McGee. ESOL courses are for people who are, or are intending to become, long-term UK residents with the intention to improve their knowledge of the English language to help secure jobs, gain promotions or generally improve their skills in the workplace.On meeting, listening to and sharing a classroom with our students, the Lord Mayor said: “It was touching and quite emotional to hear the stories that have brought the (ESOL) students to York College. I’m just sorry not to have heard more of their stories, as I’m sure we could have been talking until the following morning.”

The work being done at York College is absolutely vital and I’m so pleased to see what’s going on here and that York as a city is as welcoming as it is. There are so many great examples of that – a recent one being how people have opened their hearts and homes to those in need of help from Ukraine.

“On the whole, we are a really welcoming city and I am proud to be the Mayor of the first city in the United Kingdom to declare itself a City of Human Rights.”

Led by New Visuality, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress joined the ESOL students in creating a work of art that most accurately reflected their idea of ‘Hope’.

“We talked about #DrawwithDenmark, and looked at the work provided by UNESCO cities. The results were humbling. It was hugely gratifying to know that it would be illuminated as part of this growing project.”

LORD MAYOR HAILS COLLEGE WORK WITH ESOL STUDENTS AS 'ABSOLUTELY VITAL' AND WELCOMED #DRAWWITHDENMARK AS A PORTAL INTO ART

NEW VISUALITY’S GREG MCGEE ON THE ESOL STUDENTS. “IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT HOPE, IT’S THEM.”

THE LORD MAYOR AND LADY MAYORESS JOINED OUR ESOL STUDENTS IN AN ART CLASS DELIVERED BY GREG MCGEE

OUTREACH: BLUEBERRY ACADEMY NEW VISUALITY ENGAGED 30 YOUNG PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES, COLLECTING CREATIVE RESPONSES TO ‘HOPE’. WE MADE A TRIP TO BAR CONVENT, AND COLLABORATED WITH YORK’S CIVIC PARTY. #DRAWWITHDENMARK WAS DEVELOPING.

GOING FOR GREEN IN YORK "It was good for our learners to visit an innovative heritage site and see the work of their fellow learners projected as illuminations" Laura Kent, Curriculum Manager, Blueberry Academy

THE LORD MAYOR AND CIVIC PARTY JOIN IN "It was great to work with the team at Blueberry Academy and to see up close the art that takes place with the learners. It was good to know that the artworks we collaborated on was displayed in such style at Bar Convent with cities from the UNESCO fraternity." Lord Mayor of York Chris Cullwick

REFUGEE ACTION YORK JOINS IN “I really enjoyed the collaborative sessions, and am so impressed by the work being done at the Blueberry Academy. It’s so satisfying to see young people being exposed to the challenges faced by the world and being helped to adopt such a positive

and

sympathetic

approach

via

artwork." Refugee Action York, Clare Willis

YORK, UNESCO CITY OF MEDIA ARTS

this

OUTREACH: 100 YOUNG PEOPLE OF YORK RESPOND TO #DRAWWITHDENMARK

We worked with pupils from OLQM, St George's RC Primary, All Saints RC School, Westfield Primary, York High School, and Carr Junior School. #DrawithDenmark deepened.

Councillor Andrew Waller

e ential force within th flu in an en be s ha tions and "New Visuality reach across genera ess of to ity un m om C ld ie tf succ York artist Nick Walters created a mobile to be hung Wes n feel left out of the residents who ofte g with a lp tin he ec conn by l ia nt from the roof of the Chapel in Bar Convent. From the te po ll fu r ei d York to reach th ing new horizons an Mobile we were to hang stars created by York's or pl ex , ts ar of e Cllr ng wide ra in other countries." le op pe elderly residents. r he ot ith w connecting Waller, Westfield

G N I T A E R C : OUTREACH ’ E P O ‘H R O F STARS

Canon Michael Loughlin

PLANNING FOR THE EXHIBITION NEW VISUALITY’S AILS AND GREG MCGEE PREPARE “Once we realised that all of the planets had lined up, we knew we could build on the great work already laid down by Bar Convent. They have a wonderful team which includes Lauren Mableson, a visionary and force of nature, and of course Sister Ann Stafford who oversees all work with the kind of calm that means this kind of multifaceted collaboration can run smoothly. Artist Nick Walters helped us plan and hang it.” Greg McGee "York's heritage works best when it looks forwards and outwards.

Digital illumination of artwork from some of the most interesting and vulnerable people in the city is not only a coup for us a charity, but it's of huge benefit to residents and visitors to York alike. This is art with a story. The international component is a reminder that better, brighter days are ahead if we give more reign to creativity and less time to division." Ails McGee Image: the McGees with Nick Walters

BAR CONVENT’S SISTER ANN STAFFORD “We were overjoyed to be working with the New Visuality team again this year,” says Sister Ann Stafford, ‘To also be a part of a global campaign launched by Viborg, Denmark, a fellow UNESCO City of Media Arts, is truly an honour for the Bar Convent and a triumph for York.”

“This year’s theme ‘Let there be Light!’ was inspired by the quotation from Isaiah which is part of the Christmas Liturgy, ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow, a light has shone'”.

“Drawing is a universal language,” says Bar Convent marketing, PR and volunteering manager Lauren Mableson. “This global campaign uses creativity to generate positive change in a way that brings different countries of the world closer.”