William Knibb Complementary
Education Centre

Kettering, July/November — December 2009

 

Fermynwoods ran a series of pilot projects with William Knibb Complementary Education Centre, an education provision for permanently excluded KS3 level pupils across Northamptonshire.

The centre wanted students to take part in Art activities with a focus on the rural landscape, to encourage the young people to participate without the constraints of the classroom.

We commissioned artists Kenneth James Martin & Rebecca Lee to devise workshops that drew from their own practices, taking place deep in Fermyn Woods. These were supplemented by workshops with FCA’s Education Officer.

Kenneth’s practice explores the potential of the elements & the senses, time & place, through a variety of performances & interventions with nature. Kenneth devised a number of workshops where students gathered natural material from the forest which were transformed into handmade paper & wax crayons via a fireside ritual. These were then utilised to document the unique outdoor environment.

Rebecca’s work is focused on exploring new sounds & new ways of listening with other people. She is interested in how people make sounds, tell stories using it & how it can be represented visually. Here Rebecca challenged students to document the forest experience using only sound. After exploring the sonic potential of the woodland environment students recorded a vast array of sounds which was then edited to produce a soundtrack of their time in Fermyn Woods.

“Thank you for a fantastic six weeks, the children really enjoyed it & it brought a new dimension to art practice for them”

Barbara Rawcliffe
William Knibb Complementary Education Centre