Art& Literature Guide
DONCASTER READ
Drawn to Donny
SHADOW SIGN
Our Doncaster Read for November and December, in association with Doncaster Waterstones, features a fantastic array of books telling the story of our own history and heritage. A story of world record-breaking railway locomotives like the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, built in our locomotive, carriage and wagon works, known locally as The Plant. A story of fortunes made, of historic houses and communities built up and sent into decline as a result of the coal deposits beneath our feet. A story of visitors, including royalty, cheering on the winners of the world’s oldest ‘classic’ horse race, The St Leger, first run in 1776. Above all, a story of power and prestige running through our northern heritage.
Drawn to Doncaster: an Urban SketchCrawl
Deaf students and families from Doncaster have collaborated with artists to create ‘Shadow Sign’, an exhibition of films featuring touching, dramatic and humorous shadow theatre performances created using British Sign Language (BSL). It’s on show at The Point, South Parade, Doncaster from Saturday 24 October – Saturday 19 December.
Just over a year ago, Chancellor George Osborne announced the need for a new ‘Northern Powerhouse’ to try to counter the imbalance between the North and the South. MP for Stockton South, James Wharton, has been put in charge of creating a joint northern economy to compete on a global level. Transport links between the northern towns is seen as the key to its success, with highspeed rail initiative HS2 set to transform links in the UK. With our strong history of engineering, mining and manufacturing, we surely know what it takes to be a ‘Northern Powerhouse’, and as for high speed rail, we built the first trains to reach 100mph and 126mph here in Doncaster. Nearly a century on, our expertise in this area has again been recognised, with Doncaster being chosen as home to a new National College of High Speed Rail. Pick up a book at your local library today to find out how it all started.
Led by Sheffield illustrator Lynne Chapman, Urban Sketchers Yorkshire will be returning for their second visit to Doncaster this year on 28th November to capture daily life on the streets of our town. This active group of artists have already visited Sheffield, Derby, Barnsley, Edale, Hebden Bridge, Leeds and more during 2015. SketchCrawls are relaxed meetings of like-minded individuals who enjoy drawing in the urban environment and appreciate a relaxed lunch in the local hostelry for a brief respite - although this doesn’t prevent the occasional drawing evolving during these breaks. Urban sketching doesn’t require lots of equipment. You can start with a pad, a pencil, somewhere to sit and the willingness to give it a try. But what do you draw? Anything! Find yourself somewhere comfortable to sit, whether at a café, on a seat or on handy wall. It’s time to get your sketchpad and pencil ready to sketch. Take a look around and pick a subject. Feeling nervous? Give yourself a time limit of five to ten minutes for your sketch and go for it. Drawing at speed is a great way to loosen up and relax those nerves.
The Doncaster Read Team
Still struggling for ideas? Here are a few suggestions: shoppers at the market; stallholders selling their wares; friends chatting over a cuppa; passers-by; workmen busy with repairs; families enjoying the fair; the architecture that surrounds you; the local skyline; skateboarders. The list goes on. It’s only limited by the imagination.
(Photo credit: Wilson Adams)
Want to know more? There are some great resources out there for the budding urban sketcher. The international Urban Sketchers website and Facebook group are: w w w. u r b a n s k e t c h e r s . o r g w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / u r b a n s k e t c h e r s The local group can also be found on Facebook by searching for ‘Urban Sketchers Yorkshire’, where you can also find more details about the November SketchCrawl in Doncaster. Graham Priestley
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The films devised by deaf students and families from Doncaster, with artist Jennie Pedley and deaf actor Jean St Clair aim to appeal to both deaf and hearing visitors. Visitors will also get the chance to create their own shadow theatre performances as well as creating wall art with BSL inspired stencils. Helen Jones, gallery curator at The Point, said: ‘British Sign Language is such an amazing and animated visual artform and we’re excited to share huge projections of people signing stories and dramatic happenings. Hopefully people will be keen to increase their understanding of BSL and have a go at learning signs and movements to communicate with others.’ Doncaster is home to a school and college for deaf children which is at the forefront of providing specialist provision in the teaching and training of deaf, hearing impaired and those with special communication needs. Caroline Bostwick from Doncaster’s Communication Specialist College and School for the Deaf said: ‘Students have had a great time working with Jennie Pedley and Jean St Claire on the project. Interactive and hands on workshops were held at the college and The Point over several days which created a great working relationship. The students really enjoyed the experience as it gave them the opportunity to explore the medium of shadows to express themselves creatively. They have benefited greatly from the experience, developing great communication and teamwork skills.’ Jean St Clair has had an extensive theatre career working in USA, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and the West End. Films include ‘Still Here’ directed by Louis Neethling for which she was awarded Best Actress at Festival Clin d’Oeil 2013. She also wrote and directed ‘If I Don’t Lose, I’ll Lose’ which was nominated as Best Film and Director at Festival Clin d’Oiel (France), Deaffest (UK) and Cine Deaf (Italy) 2015. She worked as BSL consultant to deaf actor Sophie Stone and Zaqi Ismail in the recent two episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ (Series 9 Under the Lake). Jennie Pedley is a London based artist who was inspired to create this exhibition by her part-time work (as a physiotherapist) at a school for deaf children. Guy Russell