Artist Milton at Pepperfield Art Project 2018

Artist Milton at Pepperfield Art Project 2018

No Limit Symposium: Critical reflections on the role of experimentation, sensory play and collaboration in art making

In 2018 I programmed a symposium exploring our relationship to experimentation, play and collaboration within art making.

The event was a chance to discuss how these experiences can teach us about ourselves, our society and the role of artists.

We looked at how experimentation, play and collaboration are fundamental elements in the formation of our identity and the world around us and as artists, these methods are used to explore new ideas and test boundaries.

The symposium was held in response to the exhibition No Limit, a group show curated by Phoebe Barnicoat and Pia Bramley bringing together new work by nine artists with complex learning disabilities based in Camden, London, and part of the Peperfield Art Project.

Using the work in the exhibition as a trigger for conversation, the speakers discussed ideas around perception and social aesthetics as well as exploring issues around the ownership of artwork and the possibilities of collaboration.

We also investigated the core reasons that artists create and how our sensory perceptions are transforming the role of the artist in the digital age.

Speakers:

Sarah McEvoy & Phoebe Barnicoat – Artist Facilitators of the Peperfield Art Project and ActionSpace. Phoebe Barnicoat is co-curator of No Limit. In 2015, she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to research new platforms for artists with developmental disabilities in the US and Canada. She is also a postgraduate student at the Royal Drawing School 2018

India Harvey, artist researcher and educator, working in the fields of participatory art practice, play, sensory perception and Neurodiversity

Victoria Tischler, Professor of Arts and Health, University of West London

Elwin Harewood, registered Art Psychotherapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and an artist who has a first degree in Fine Art painting.

Sheryll Catto – Co-Director of ActionSpace and Chair.