Hidden Presence

Sajovic gave a presentation about the Hidden Presence project.

Commissioned by the Chepstow Museum, University of the West of England and Ffotogallery, artist Eva Sajovic devised and executed a project consisting of a series of works; some done independently by the artist in response to the interaction with others; other by contribution of participants she worked with in schools and community groups in Monmouthshire, Cardiff and Neath. Sajovic then integrated the collected material into a final artwork resulting in an installation and interactive website.

Hidden Presence is an artist-led project that aims to extend people’s understanding of Nathaniel Wells, an 18th and 19th century Welsh nobleman of mixed heritage who was the son of a white Welsh plantation owner and a black enslaved woman. The project is exploring the importance of his life in the context of Wales today, looking at a range of issues linked to individual’s cultural heritage, their identity, sense of belonging, citizenship and what it means to be Welsh.

'Jumping the Barrier' was a full day seminar exploring best practice in engaging disaffected or at risk young people in innovative visual arts interventions, including:
• Exploring meaningful visual arts engagement
• Relationship building with external partners
• Innovative approaches to creating opportunities and transforming lives
• What works and what doesn’t – exploring ways of working that are relevant to the actual time and access points young people live and cope with

Other presentations included:
• Ken Skates AM, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport & Tourism
• Jan Miller, artist – ‘Making it Rhyl!’ project artist (Tate Circuit programme in partnership with Oriel Mostyn and Pixel)
• Momentum – a snapshot
• Ronda Gowland-Pryde, Head of Education, John Hansard Gallery - Award winning E-Book/Artworks Extending Digital Practice programme (previous winner of engage Marsh Award for Excellence in Gallery Education)
• Dan McCabe, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery – practical digital interactive workshop (engage Marsh Award winner 2015 for Excellence in Gallery Education)

(Source: http://www.arts.wales/44664/96894/96895)

• http://hiddenpresence.org/
• http://hiddenpresencewales.tumblr.com/