Collective Material - Material Action
Collaborative project by Collective Matter using clay as a tool of learning engagement in socially engaged arts practice
Material Action was the inaugural inquiry into collaborative, practice-based methods using clay as a tool of learning engagement in socially engaged arts practice, by the collaborating group of ceramic artists Collective Matter.
It was commissioned by the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, in association with the Tate Exchange, Tate Modern.
Material Action worked with three arts organisations in Lambeth and Wandsworth, South London, with established arts learning programmes which each work with young people in a local south London community, in order to explore different methods of using clay as a learning tool and method. This aimed to deepen an understanding of the specific local areas around South London, culminating in a broader survey of these context-specific methods explored through workshops, at Tate Exchange, Tate Modern – a radically new devolved art gallery learning programme in a major international arts institution.
The South London galleries which formed the specific local contexts for this project, and who hosted workshops were: Gasworks, Pumphouse Gallery, and Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall.
Findings of the project have been disseminated at:
- Culminating public events or exhibitions at the host arts organisations, including a concluding event, sharing outcomes of all the projects at Tate Modern.
- Presentations at the conferences: Hasselt University Clay Matters Conference, Belgium 52nd Annual NCECA Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Centre of Ceramic Art Restating Clay Conference, York Art Gallery, York, U.K
Material Action aimed to respond to the recent surge in popularity of ceramics in contemporary art practice: by exploring the parallel surge in community ceramics initiatives as responses to the reduction of ceramic learning in secondary, further and higher education.
The project has been included in the Tate Archives as one of the first ceramics and clay focused learning engagement projects led by contemporary artists at the internationally ground-breaking Tate Exchange programme, and it inspired further focused programming at Tate Exchange focusing on ceramics and learning.
Material Action was made with local young people (14-25-year-olds) to create a snapshot of Lambeth and Wandsworth. The project aimed to encourage thinking and engagement with the changing landscape of this area.
A series of creative workshops were devised, ranging from clay shaping techniques, storytelling, guided walks, and discussion groups.
Their focus was on clay as a facilitator of exchange and creativity which comes from its inherent qualities; its immediacy and tactility. Its transitional nature reflected the evolving landscape and heritage of the area.
Clay is an integral part of South London’s past and future, Vauxhall was once home to Royal Doulton and clay-brick is the main building block of both the area’s new and existing buildings.
Download project PDF: Eva Masterman - Collective Material “Material Action” (2.5MB)