Students showcase their work in public at community space
A new temporary space called Testbed on the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) campus showcased ‘live’ art on the 1st November.
Over 50 students from the BA (Hons) Art and Design FDE programme drew in and on former shipping containers, with the aim of encouraging the public to take part.
David Knight, Senior Lecturer at UCLan’s School of Art, Design and Fashion, said: “The Testbed facility gave students the wonderful opportunity to take part in a live project. It allowed them to take art on to the street, while encouraging the public to participate too.
“We want the University to be public in its own right and this was a means of doing that by creating a visual and engaging but fun project.”
The students were guided by artist in residence David Boultbee who leads BREAD art, a group which looks at how public space and art can be used to engage communities. Testbed also performs another purpose in that it will be used to test materials and building processes as UCLan continues with its £200 million transformative campus Masterplan.
Fashion promotion foundation student Sam Clegg said: “It’s been a great project to be involved in and is a fantastic way of showcasing student art and design skills to members of the public passing by, as well as encouraging them to take part.”
Professor of Public Art Practice at UCLan, Charles Quick, added: “Testbed will be used for a number of activities, but it will principally be used for research and engagement sessions with local schools, community groups, staff and students to see what community and cultural events can take place in our new circa £60 million Student Centre and Civic Square.”
Check out this Flickr gallery to see pictures from the event.