ArtsBus

Stagecoach bus company has been instrumental in setting up a bus that can be driven to rural areas and used for arts workshops. Funded by the Mari Gomori Arts for Children and furnished and fitted out by John Lewis Arts and Minds has been involved in two series of arts workshops using the Arts Bus as a mobile workshop. The first was linked with people with mental health service users from the Bowthorpe Centre in Wisbech. The bus was parked in nearby Wisbech Park, which was an idea spot for encouraging participants to work in a different environment. Artist Caroline Kisby ran a series of workshops with the participants using a variety of techniques. Many of the participants are part of an ongoing art project at the Bowthorpe Centre and are working towards GCSE , AS and A level art. Although the workshops were not directly linked to these qualifications, the work that people produced enhanced their understanding and skills base.

The second series of workshops with Kettles Yard entitled “Ticket to My Imagination”took place in July/August

Young people from the Huntingdon Young Carers’ project and adults from Hunts Mind joined artist Alex Hirtzel on the ArtSbus once a week for five weeks. The theme for the project was an imaginary trip to the seaside, drawing on the permanent collection at Kettle's Yard of objects, such as pebbles and shells, and paintings of the coast by artists such as Alfred Wallis, Bryan Pierce, Winifred Nicholson and Christopher Wood.

Each session offered an opportunity to work with different materials. Participants made artworks by sand casting (pressing objects into sand and then casting the relief in plaster), soap carving, pottery and printmaking, as well as textile-based work, weaving into hessian and fishing nets.

The exhibition runs from 17-21 September 2008. This project was generously funded by Renaissance East of England and ArtsBus, which was provided by Stagecoach and Mari Markus Gomori Arts