Over the February half term Heart n Soul – a leading organisation supporting the creative interests and talents of
people with learning disabilities - ran a series of workshop residencies in two galleries at the British Museum.
Artist and illustrator Ifeoma Orjiekwe, with artist Ben Connors, set up the ‘Agozie Art Zone’ in the Africa galleries. Inviting visitors to create their own artwork based on the objects and designs on display. Passing visitors could sit down with Ifeoma to talk, draw and create. By the afternoon of the second day Ifeoma’s stand in the gallery was a vibrant display of drawings and paintings created by herself and young visitors to the gallery, inspired by the objects on display.
Upstairs in the money gallery Tilley Milburn ran a ‘pig handling session’ with Del the pig. Tilley used a series of objects – from an ancient coin to a modern-day piggy bank – to provide an interactive learning session for passing gallery visitors. The session was a tour of the historical and cultural relationship between pigs and money, including the origin of the piggy bank, instances of pigs being used as currency and the significance of pigs in various cultural traditions, from the Chinese Zodiac to the Maring tribesman of Papua New Guinea all the way to Miss Piggy of the muppets.
Both sessions were busy, with plenty of museum visitors taking time to talk with, learn from and create with the artists. The events were an excellent example of how artists with learning disabilities can be a creative, informative presence in a leading museum and offer visitors the opportunity to engage with the collection in a different way.
Image - Heart n Soul, via Twitter @HeartnsSoulArt
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