Join us for an immersive and interactive Soundscape Workshop with artist Jessica Ashman.
This unique event, part of the WOCAA: Resonance public programme, will take place on Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 198 Railton Road, London, SE24 0JT.
During this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to create your own sonic soundscape and ultimately, short audio performance, inspired by an ancestral image or memory of your own choosing. Jessica will guide you through various creative writing and visual scoring exercises, providing insights into her artist practice.
This workshop is designed for all levels of experience.
Workshop requirements
Please make sure to bring the following:
- A photo, image or object you feel connects to your ancestry, culture or family memory – this could be a family photo, photos of friends, photos of an event, an object, postcards, magazine cut outs or any visual image you connect to. The photos/objects/images will not be damaged.
- If you are musically inclined, feel free to bring in instruments or sound making object along!
Jessica Ashman is a multi-disciplinary artist working in painting, animation, music, performance and installation. A graduate from the Royal College of Art (MA Animation 2014), Ashman combines drawn, collage and multi-plane animation techniques with painting and film projection to create frenetic, textured and abstract narratives that explore gender, identity and race. Ashman is particularly interested in concepts of ‘the personal archive’ as a social political force, drawing on the wider stories of the Black British diaspora communities she was raised in and the histories lost or hidden in said communities. Black radical feminist theory and science fiction literature are also a heavy influence on Ashman’s work, where she seeks to connect concepts of future utopias with the histories of her ancestors and lived experience. Soundscapes, music and performances are an intrinsic part of her practice, with Ashman often using oral testimonies, discordant riffs, reverbed ambience, layered harmonies and poetry as part of her sonic world-building. She aims to create transformative aural spaces that complement the animated and painted universes she inhabits. She is a BAFTA in Scotland (2011) award winning animator and has been supported by Focal Point Gallery, New Art Exchange, Animate Projects, Jerwood Visual Arts Bursary, Arts Council England and the Arts Foundation Futures Awards. Ashman also engages in arts education, teaching her practice at Goldsmiths and facilitating arts workshops at South London Gallery and Tate Modern.
Resonance is a multidisciplinary exhibition exploring that which lingers after the fact, temporarily, geographically or materially speaking. Resonance spotlights the practices of seven women of colour artists currently working in the UK: award-winner Rebecca Bellantoni and finalists Jessica Ashman, Tamara Al-Mashouk, Arianna Cheung, Tyreis Holder, Shamica Ruddock and Joyce Treasure. Curated by Languid Hands.
WOCAA
In October 2019 198 CAL launched the inaugural Women of Colour Art Award. The bi-annual art award recognizes the inequities and additional barriers that Women of Colour systemically face in their practice as visual artists. It aims to provide financial and developmental support to assist UK based artists and artist collectives of all ages at a key point in their career.
Participating artists for the second iteration of the WOCAA Exhibition were selected via open call, with all applications reviewed by a judging panel consisting of Marlene Smith, Julia Forson and Amal Khalaf.
Exhibition Opening Hours
Wednesday-Friday 11-5pm, Weekends 12-5pm.
Thursday 8th June 2023 – Sunday 13th August 2023 at 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, 198 Railton Road, SE24 0JT (Free)