Other info
Our S.H.E.D project developed from Dr Rhiannon Jones's work into how we create spaces for dialogue, how we as a society go to places and interact with those places and with one another. Her research investigates how we use artistic practice as a strategy to help people to find ways to talk.
S.H.E.D came into being because it is a recognised household product that invites curiosity and provokes discussion.It has currently 11 different configurations, each design has been built for bespoke activity and needs of a specific community that are using S.H.E.D. Its unrivalled success is down to the communities that work with us to help transform it and engage with the ambitions of S.H.E.D in order to create a platform for conversation. It plays in the space between art and the everyday. It is particularly attractive to younger audiences and otherwise disengaged groups who might prove difficult to engage in research and consultation.
Working with Dr Rhiannon Jones (S.H.E.D Creative Director) is Simon Burrows, aka S.H.E.D Master Builder, a retired cabinet maker and hobbyist.
S.H.E.D creatives invited a class of University of Derby's BA Hons Interior Design Students to work on the project to help develop the practical mobility of S.H.E.D. The project also worked closely with cultural venues and industry partners who were to pilot the use of S.H.E.D. Together, they worked hard to ensure that S.H.E.D was fit for purpose to deliver a wide range of possible activities and configurations.Together they developed the concept and turned it into a touring, mobile, flatpack-able reality! Team S.H.E.D is now firmly in place an amazing intergenerational team of freelance artists, researchers and hobbyists ranging from 25-65 in age from cities of Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Derby.
As a result, S.H.E.D is a space that invites action through socially, politically and culturally charged practice. Its flexibility supports diversity, designs for dialogues and untold stories, from multidisciplinary fields, from and for all people, especially from those that usually do not have voice. You can now collaborate and co- create with S.H.E.D. We work with cultural venues and public providers to bridge the gap between the arts and higher education.
S.H.E.D was launched in July 2019 and visited arts and cultural festivals.
So far, S.H.E.D has been visited various locations across Derby from city centre, to car parks to school playgrounds. It has presented work at Nottingham Contemporary, visited Lincoln to host a show at LPAC and been seen by over 2000 members of the public, had over 800 visitors and 1,500 in a single day at ThisisDerby Celebration Event. It was visited by more than 650 audience members during DepartureLounge a three-day arts festival . S.H.E.D has featuring work from 30 international artists and hosted 13 sold-out shows. S.H.E.D has hosted performances by Third Angel and Michael Pinchbeck - events for InDialogue at Nottingham Contemporary with over 150 delegates, and embarked on a 4 week 5 school tour for This is Derby: Reimagine in 2019 working with Derby Theatre, Deda, BabyPeople, EMCAN, Sinfonia Viva, Quad, ArtcoreUK. It has been supported by EMCAN, Primary, University of Derby, In Good Company, Derby County Community Trust who continue to support the project for 2020/21 and new partners CHEAD, HighRiseProject,Leeds. Nottingham Playhouse, New Perspectives, Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, Walk The Plank, InDialogue, National Justice Museum, DerbyFeste, Derby County Community Trust, ThisisDerby:reimagine, TheGlassTank, Oxford.
S.H.E.D is the creative of Dr Rhiannon Jones's, artist researcher from University of Derby, School of Arts, who is looking at how we create spaces for dialogue and how we as a society go to places and interact with those places and with one another. Her research investigates how we use artistic practice as a strategy to help people to find ways to talk. S.H.E.D invites curiosity and provokes discussion. Its unrivalled success is down to the communities that transform it and engage with it in order to create a platform for conversation. It plays in the space between art and the everyday. It is particularly attractive to younger audiences and otherwise disengaged groups who might prove difficult to engage in research and consultation.
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