Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Annual Review 2019 – 2020
Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
The Board of the
Sainsbury Centre
Chairman
Mr Dominic Christian

Members of the Board
Lady Bacon
Mr Charles Barratt
Mr Simon Blakey
Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll
Ms Sara Foster
Professor Paul Greenhalgh
Mr Peter Hesketh
Professor Claire Jowitt
Ms Laura McGillivray MBE
Professor Fiona Lettice
Mr John Talbot
Professor David Richardson
Vice Chancellor (ex officio)
Cover: Magdalene Odundo, Transition II, 2014.

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Contents

    Chair’s Foreword             4
    Director’s Overview          6
    Responses to COVID-19        9
    Programme                   15
    Exhibitions                 16
    Touring                     23
    Collections                 27
    Conservation                33
    Learning                    39
    Figures at a glance         48
    Research and Publications   51
    Finance and Development     55
    Financial Statement         60

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                      2019–2020

Chair’s Foreword

First and foremost, the health and wellbeing of our staff,      Despite the pandemic, the Centre has achieved a
visitors, supporters and the wider University community,        remarkable range of activity this year. Four major new
is of paramount concern during this pandemic. The               exhibitions opened in Norwich, while the international
                                                                touring programme saw shows travel to Los Angeles,
Sainsbury Centre team has done a great deal to reduce
                                                                New York and Madrid. The Centre lent 93 works, helping
the risks to all those who visit, and I am particularly proud   to foster knowledge of the collection worldwide. Three
that we were one of the very first museums in the country       important new sculptures took up residence in the
to reopen, with rigorous safety measures in place.              Sculpture Park, which has fast become a tremendous
                                                                amenity for the campus, city and region, providing a
                                                                place of escape and sanctuary.
                                                                Over 4,000 school and college students visited the
                                                                galleries before lock down and after, and the Learning
                                                                team produced a dazzling range of online engagement
                                                                activities for all ages. The autumn saw the launch of the
                                                                new website, which massively increased the Centre’s
                                                                ability to connect with visitors, bringing exciting new
                                                                content and stories into people’s homes and allowing
                                                                them to enjoy the collections, albeit remotely!
                                                                The Centre received over £350,000 in new grants, much
                                                                of the funding given to support innovative digital projects.
                                                                The Gatsby Charitable Foundation generously provided
                                                                a major grant for the online catalogue and we are
                                                                immeasurably grateful to Lord Sainsbury of Turville for        Photo(s) to come?
                                                                his continued support of all the Centre’s activities. Thank
                                                                you also to the University and to all our donors and
                                                                patrons, whose support this year has been more
                                                                important than ever.
                                                                Our relatively secure position at the end of the financial
                                                                year is a remarkable achievement this year and
                                                                testament to the careful path taken by the University and
                                                                Acting Director, Ghislaine Wood, during these uncertain
                                                                times. I would particularly like to thank Ghislaine and all
                                                                the staff for their dedication and professionalism in
                                                                adapting to the new conditions. From the Gallery
                                                                Assistants and Front of House team who deal with the
                                                                public, to all those working back of house and from
                                                                home, your sense of common purpose, commitment and
                                                                care has been truly extraordinary.
                                                                Dominic Christian

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Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2019–2020

Director’s Overview

This year must surely be the most extraordinary in     Like most cultural organisations, the Sainsbury Centre      Nature of Dreams opened in July, and for the first time,         activities, many of which can be accessed through the
the Centre’s history. Last autumn’s anxieties over     was impacted heavily by lockdown. Projects were             revealed the influence of Britain on continental Art             Sainsbury Centre Online Studio. The Learning team
our post-Brexit future were overshadowed by the        cancelled or postponed, and the Centre suffered             Nouveau. The exhibition showcases loans by the great             continued to work closely with schools developing
                                                       substantial loss of income. However, we came to the         fin-de-siècle architects Victor Horta and Antoni Gaudí,          bespoke projects to engage students working outside
global Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown of
                                                       end of the financial year in a stronger position than       from Brussels and Barcelona respectively.                        the classroom. The creation of remote learning assets will
the spring and early summer. During lockdown the                                                                                                                                    help the Centre reach national audiences with its learning
                                                       many organisations. The Centre reopened early on 7th
urgent call to action, precipitated by the murder of                                                               This year also witnessed the continued success of the            activities in the future.
                                                       July, and extended the runs of the popular exhibitions
George Floyd in the US, led to the emergence of                                                                    Centre’s touring initiative, with the exhibition Fiji: Art and
                                                       Art Deco by the Sea and Art Nouveau: The Nature of
                                                                                                                   Life in the Pacific opening at the Los Angeles County            The Centre’s research plan encourages knowledge
the most powerful anti-racism movement in a            Dreams, which did much to mitigate the worst of the
                                                                                                                   Museum in December and the Brian Clarke: The Art of              sharing across the sector and this year we continued to
generation. These momentous events, seem to            financial impact. It is important to note though that
                                                                                                                   Light exhibition installed at the Museum of Arts and             develop research focussed on subject areas covered by
have changed the museum landscape forever, as          without the support of our benefactors, and most
                                                                                                                   Design in New York. The Body Observed, a                         the collection. New publications included The Nature of
we have adapted to new ways of living and              especially the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the
                                                                                                                   collaboration with Magnum Photo, was scheduled to                Dreams: England and the Formation of Art Nouveau, Art
                                                       effects of the pandemic would have been much more
working, restructured our priorities, embarked on                                                                  open at Fundación Canal in Madrid in May, but has                Deco by the Sea and Site Writing, Volume 1 a publication
                                                       severe. We are immensely grateful to Gatsby and to all
a new digital age, and committed ourselves to a                                                                    been postponed until the autumn. The touring                     that brings together texts by authors such as Ali Smith,
                                                       our patrons for their continued support.                                                                                     Gaston Bachelard and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
process of reflection and change.                                                                                  programme brings the Centre’s collections and
                                                       Although the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the            expertise to audiences around the world.                         alongside new writing to form new interpretations of the
                                                       year, the Centre achieved a huge amount before going                                                                         Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. Staff produced
                                                       into lockdown. The autumn shows Magdalene Odundo:           With the closure of the Sainsbury Centre galleries to the        various essays and articles and facilitated research visits
                                                       The Journey of Things and Doris Lessing 100 were            public on 18th March, staff adapted quickly to working           by scholars and students, fostering scholarly study of the
                                                       both critically acclaimed and received significant          from home. The management team identified a number               collection.
                                                       national coverage. These shows aimed to promote to          of new strategic priorities and initiatives, including
                                                                                                                   digital public engagement, research and expertise                Finally, the Black Lives Matter movement has had an
                                                       wider audiences the work of internationally important                                                                        enormous impact this year and has particularly required
                                                       women artists. The Odundo exhibition, a collaboration       development, and online learning activity. The Sculpture
                                                                                                                   Park remained open during lockdown and provided a                of cultural organisations a profound re-evaluation of their
                                                       with The Hepworth Wakefield, included works from the                                                                         activity. The call for institutional change has been
                                                       Sainsbury Centre’s collections to illuminate Odundo’s       tremendously important civic amenity throughout.
                                                                                                                                                                                    embraced by the museum sector, with many
                                                       creative journey, while the Lessing project utilised the    Laurence Edwards’ Man of Stones, installed in the
                                                                                                                                                                                    organisations reviewing their policies and practices. The
                                                       writer’s archive held in the University’s British Archive   autumn, was joined during lockdown by Phillip King’s
                                                                                                                                                                                    Centre has embarked on a process of reflection,
                                                       for Contemporary Writing.                                   Sun’s Roots II and John Davies’ monumental Head. The
                                                                                                                                                                                    establishing as a first step, an Anti-Racism working
                                                                                                                   Sculpture Park project has aided the health and
                                                       Highlight East End displays included Sonny Assu:                                                                             group, which will make recommendations to the
                                                                                                                   wellbeing of our communities significantly over this
                                                       Unknown Maker, the result of an artist residency by the                                                                      Executive and Board. We are committed to doing more
                                                                                                                   challenging period.
                                                       Kwakwaka’wakw nation artist, Assu. This was another                                                                          to increase access and diversity and to draw attention to
                                                       significant UEA collaboration, on this occasion with the    One positive aspect of the crisis has been the                   the colonial histories of acquisition of many of the works
                                                       American Studies Department and the Beyond the              opportunity to focus on the digital museum experience            in the collection. In line with the founding mission of the
                                                       Spectacle: Native North American Presence in Britain        and the Centre has aimed to generate world-class                 Centre, to display works of art from different cultures and
                                                       research project. The residency led to a major              digital content that inspires creativity, research and           regions of the world with equality, we will over the coming
                                                       acquisition of Assu’s work, the first in the UK. Both the   learning online. The new website launched in                     year look at all aspects of the Centre’s activity with the
                                                       Odundo and Assu projects contributed to the Centre’s        November, and our major cataloguing project,                     aim of extending that mission of equity and
                                                       aim to diversify the programme, and engage new              supported by Gatsby, could not have come at a better             transformation.
                                                       audiences.                                                  moment. Many of the staff have been involved in                  Ghislaine Wood, Acting Director
                                                                                                                   cataloguing during lockdown, producing new research,
                                                       Art Deco by the Sea followed and was the first major
                                                                                                                   and we continue to increase the proportion of the
                                                       exhibition in the UK on British Art Deco since 1976.
                                                                                                                   collection accessible online, with high quality
                                                       Critically acclaimed, the exhibition was one of only six
                                                                                                                   information and images.
                                                       projects selected for the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine.
                                                       Art Deco by the Sea has attracted visitors to Norwich       The Learning team delivered a huge range of activities
                                                       from around the UK, and it travels on to The Laing Art      prior to lockdown, and since, have developed exciting
                                                       Gallery in Newcastle later this year. Art Nouveau: The      digital initiatives, generating new learning tools and

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Responses
    to COVID-19

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           2019–2020

 Responses to COVID-19

 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sainsbury               Exhibitions
 Centre was closed to the public from Wednesday            Art Deco by the Sea was one of six exhibitions selected
 18 March to Sunday 5 July. During this period, our        by the BBC to be featured in their Culture in Quarantine
 security, maintenance, technical and conservation         series, allowing access to the exhibition while we were
 teams cared for our building, collections and             physically closed. The 15-minute film was produced
 loans and the rest of the teams continued to              from exhibition images and is available on BBC iPlayer.
 operate whilst working remotely.                          The temporary closure of the Sainsbury Centre during
                                                           the COVID-19 epidemic forced the Centre to adapt our
                                                           exhibition schedule. Art Deco by the Sea was originally
 Sainsbury Centre was one of the first museums in          intended to run from 9 February – 14 June 2020 but the
 the country to reopen to the public on 7 July 2020.       exhibition was extended to 20 September 2020, after
 We introduced numerous measures to make the               which it will travel to the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle.
 building safe for visitors. These include timed tickets   Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams was due to open
 to moderate visitor numbers, one-way systems              29 March 2020, however the lockdown meant that the
 throughout the building with clear signage, Perspex       exhibition could not open until we reopened to the
 barriers at reception, hand sanitiser stations and        public on 7 July. In the meantime, we reconfigured the
 additional cleaning.                                      exhibition to make it suitable for socially distanced                                                                    The Sainsbury Centre team during virtual couriering of Dante Gabriel
                                                                                                                                                                                    Rossetti’s Bruna Brunelleschi for Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams.
 The reopening of the Centre was welcomed by our           visits. The exhibition has been extended to 3 January
 museum visitors, who posted the following positive        2021.
 feedback on social media:                                 In summer 2020 we were due to celebrate Japanese
                                                           art and culture to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics
                                                           and Paralympics. An exhibition of Japanese-Swiss
“SCVA has created a safe one-way system with               artist Leiko Ikemura would have been presented              Conservation
 sanitiser at the entrance, which works well. We           alongside a selection of objects from Japan from our        COVID-19 had a huge impact on conservation work.             relative humidity (RH) in the galleries. On the basis of this
 felt safe the whole time we were there and we             collection. The Leiko Ikemura exhibition has been           Installation of the Art Nouveau exhibition and other         report, motion sensors were added to external and
                                                           postponed to 2021.                                          projects had to stop abruptly as the country went into       internal doors around the Lobby, effectively creating an
 enjoyed coffee and a snack before entry into
                                                                                                                       lockdown. In the preceding weeks, the Sainsbury Centre       airlock around the area and reducing the effect of
 the exhibition…. Because entry was staggered              Tours                                                       team worked fast to provide safe and secure art storage      outside air. Air conditioning in the building had to be
 it never felt uncomfortable and we were safely            The Centre’s touring exhibitions programme was              for an unknown period of time. Vulnerable objects were       adjusted to allow in a greater proportion of fresh to
 socially distanced from other visitors.”                  greatly impacted by the closure of museums across           moved into stores, made secure, and shielded from light.     recirculated air, in line with government guidelines. This
                                                           the world. We worked closely with our hosting venues        During lockdown, the Sainsbury Centre Conservator            change was also trialled before re-opening to ensure the
“I’m semi-retired and the Arts are a large and             and with lenders to mitigate the impact for all             continued to monitor environmental conditions remotely       gallery environment remained stable. As a result of the
                                                           concerned and provided flexibility to allow                 and worked closely with essential security and               lockdown, several conservation projects planned for this
 important part of my life. I really appreciate the        programmes to be rearranged. We thank our lenders                                                                        year were interrupted and extended, which had a
                                                                                                                       maintenance staff ‘on the ground’. A reduced Sculpture
 work and effort the Sainsbury Centre has put in           for their unwavering support in extending their loans to    Park maintenance and monitoring regime was in                knock-on effect on next year’s workload, staffing, and
                                                           the Centre. All touring exhibitions currently showing or                                                                 budgets.
 to enable visitors to come back in spite of the                                                                       operation throughout.
                                                           due to open were either extended or postponed and
 strange and difficult times we are in. You are a          we look forward to welcoming visitors to those              Post-lockdown, new operations and procedures were            Standard conservation activities were risk assessed for
 beacon of much-needed light!”                             exhibitions when the individual institutions are able.      assessed and trialled prior to re-opening to the public. A   COVID-19 transmission and modified to reduce shared
                                                           Unfortunately, some exhibitions suffered more with          new one-way visitor route in the Lower Galleries meant       use of equipment, close-contact working, overcrowding,
                                                           venues having to withdraw from the tour due to              that visitors would need to exit through the Crescent        and other identified hazards. The Sainsbury Centre
                                                           financial pressures. To those we offer our continued        Wing Lobby, allowing an influx of external air to enter      became one of the first museums in the UK to pilot virtual
                                                           support and best wishes and we extend our thanks to         climate-controlled gallery spaces. In preparation, the       couriering, with a courier from the Fitzwilliam Museum
                                                           those remaining venues for their understanding in           Conservator carried out a test, which simulated proposed     overseeing the installation of Bruna Brunelleschi via
                                                           these challenging times.                                    conditions; it clearly showed a detrimental effect on        video link.

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Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2019–2020

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Finance and Development
                                                                                                                                                                                                       In the wake of COVID-19, the Sainsbury Centre has
                                                                                                                                                                                                       ambitions to develop its digital and outdoor resources
                                                                                                                                                                                                       for the widest access, to grow and diversify audiences
                                                                                                                                                                                                       and professional networks and support all our
                                                                                                                                                                                                       communities, to innovate with interpretative and
                                                                                                                                                                                                       creative outputs, to maintain artistic and scholarly
                                                                                                                                                                                                       excellence, and ensure our organisational resilience.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       In a challenging financial climate, grants from
                                                                                                                                                                                                       charitable trusts and foundations are playing a key role
                                                                                                                                                                                                       in achieving these aims. We are extremely grateful for
                                                                                                                                                                                                       this support.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       In March the focus of development activity switched to
                                                                                                                                                                                                       online. Our strategy turned from transactional to
                                                                                                                                                                                                       impact to engage our donors.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Key messages from our corporate supporters were
                                                                                                                                                                                                       integrated into our social communications via
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We are grateful to
                                                                                                                                                                                                       our donors and Exhibition Circle members who
                                                                                                                                                                                                       generously continued or renewed their support and
                                                                                                                                                                                                       made additional donations at this difficult time. Our
                                                                                                                                                                                                       monthly e-news turned into the Uplifting Armchair Art
                                                                                                                                                                                                       E-mailing with news of our initiatives as well as links to
                                                                                                                                                                                                       podcasts and tips of what to tune into, which related
                                                                                                                                                                                                       back to the collections.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       As in-gallery events were not permissible we launched
Learning                                                       Arts Awards Box contents, and the boxes piled up in Sophie’s studio   aspects of the work and make their own creative                   At Home with the Sainsbury Centre, a monthly Zoom
                                                               before delivery in June.                                              responses. All participants who wrote back received
Art lives on constraint, and this has certainly been true                                                                                                                                              meeting for all our supporters. The programme began
for the Learning team, where the need to radically revise                                                                            bespoke replies leading to new questions and activities.          with Acting Director, Ghislaine Wood, updating on
our practice post-lockdown has been a creative driver.         To enable the Living Area to be accessible remotely, the                                                                                activities during lockdown and future programming.
                                                                                                                                     Thanks to generous funding from David Kogan and Leah
This has led to a greater use of digital tools, as with the    team quickly worked to create remote resource packs for                                                                                 Paul Greenhalgh gave “a virtual personal tour” of the
                                                                                                                                     Schmidt, the Learning team were able to send pizza-box
Online Studio, but it has also led us to distinctly analogue   teachers. ‘Art Gallery in My Mind’ introduces students                                                                                  Art Nouveau exhibition. Being virtual provided the
                                                                                                                                     art packs to 121 students at local SEND schools. These
solutions, such as delivering pizza-box art packs and          from KS1-5 to Robert and Lisa Sainsbury and their                                                                                       wonderful opportunity to include and welcome donors
                                                                                                                                     were carefully designed to introduce young people with
making optimum use of outdoor spaces as sites for              Collection, whilst the ‘African Masks’ pack, aimed at KS1                                                                               living outside the local area. These will continue for the
                                                                                                                                     special needs and disabilities to the Sainsbury Centre; to
creativity and wellbeing.                                      and KS2 groups, contains images, information, question                                                                                  foreseeable future on the third Wednesday of the
                                                                                                                                     support their life skills; to provide creative activity as part
                                                               prompts and creative activities to support engagement                                                                                   month but every effort is being made to establish
The Sculpture Park became a key asset: a place where                                                                                 of home learning; and to support their work towards Arts
                                                               with this ever-popular topic.                                                                                                           opportunities for socially-distanced occasions to enjoy
visitors could continue to wander safely, combining art                                                                              Award qualifications.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       art in the gallery and around the Sculpture Park.
with their daily exercise. To capitalise on this, our          Bespoke support to schools remained a priority during                 For the Artist’s Programme, working remotely during the
Schools Managers commissioned a number of resources            this particularly difficult and uncertain time for teachers.                                                                            We are immensely grateful to the support from our
                                                                                                                                     pandemic sharpened the focus for peer working and
that could be used remotely, or in combination with an         A project with Heartsease Primary School repurposed                                                                                     Chairman and all our donors at this extremely
                                                                                                                                     support. This very much chimed with our general
independent visit to the park. Artist, Kaitlin Ferguson,       the distinctly old school idea of ‘pen pals’, inviting KS2                                                                              challenging time and are optimistic that many
                                                                                                                                     commitment to support the artists we work with
designed an activity pack for A Level Art and Design           children to start an email correspondence with artworks                                                                                 conversations with potential corporate supporters will
                                                                                                                                     throughout the crisis, creating opportunities for their
students themed on site-specific sculpture. She also           in the Sainsbury Centre Collection. Artists Annie Brundrit                                                                              bring results in the forthcoming year.
                                                                                                                                     professional development, as well as seeking funding so
devised a bird-themed activity pack, including simple art      and Holly Bodmer went into character as figures or                    that we could continue to offer paid work.
materials, for primary pupils.                                 objects in the artworks, prompting children to notice

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Programme

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Annual Review 2019 2020 - Sainsbury Centre
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                         2019–2020

 Exhibitions

 Overcoming unprecedented challenges, the
 Sainsbury Centre staged four inspirational
 exhibitions this reporting period in its Lower
 Galleries and West Mezzanine Gallery. Generously
 supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and
 Research England, our successful exhibitions
 inspired visitors, attracted praise on social media
 and critical acclaim from the national and
 international press.

“Human expression in all its myriad
 diversity seems to be coded into the DNA
 of Odundo’s works, breaking down the
 barriers of such polarising classifications           Magdalene Odundo: The Journey of Things
 as art and craft, beauty and function,                3 August – 15 December 2019

 African and European, pot and sculpture.              Magdalene Odundo: The Journey of Things brought
                                                       together more than 50 of her works with a large selection
 Displayed to resonate with the sources of             of objects chosen by Odundo from across the globe and
 her inspiration, her art proves itself to be          spanning 3000 years. The show revealed the rich and
 at once timeless and contemporary,                    diverse range of objects and making traditions that have
                                                       informed the development of her work. The installation
 earthbound and transcendent, profoundly               Transition II, formed of 1,001 individually suspended
 intimate and universally human…”                      glass pieces, was shown in a new site-specific
                                                       configuration.
 Robert Weinberg, The Telegraph
                                                       Dame Magdalene Odundo DBE is one of the world’s most
                                                       esteemed artists working in the field of ceramics. Born in
                                                       Kenya in 1950, Odundo moved to the UK in 1971 to
                                                       attend art school. After choosing ceramics as a preferred
                                                       medium, she travelled to Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria to
                                                       study their ceramic traditions. Her journeys around the
                                                       globe have led Odundo to explore her own diasporic
                                                       identity and the charged role that objects have played,
                                                       and continue to play, in intercultural relationships today.
                                                       The exhibition design, by Sir David Adjaye OBE reflected
                                                       its transnational themes with islands of plinths, allowing
                                                       for juxtapositions of objects across the entire gallery.
                                                       Organised in partnership with The Hepworth Wakefield,
                                                       the exhibition was curated by Andrew Bonacina, Chief
                                                       Curator at the Hepworth Wakefield and Tania Moore at
                                                       the Sainsbury Centre. The Journey of Things received
                                                       support from the Henry Moore Foundation and was
                                                       accompanied by a book published by InOtherWords.              Magdalene Odundo with Transition II installation.

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Annual Review
                                                                                                              2019–2020

     Art Deco By The Sea
     9 February – 20 September 2020
     Curated by Ghislaine Wood, Acting Director of the
     Sainsbury Centre, Art Deco by the Sea was a major new          “What’s unique to ‘Art Deco by the Sea’ is that
     exhibition exploring how the Art Deco style shaped the          it touches on aspects of Art Deco that haven’t
     modern British seaside during the 1920s and ’30s, in a
                                                                     before been examined. With over 150 objects,
     new age of mass tourism. From the Midland Hotel in
     Morecambe to the villas of Frinton-on-Sea or Hunstanton,        the show explores all media, from clothing and
     Art Deco became the seaside style. The exhibition               swimming costumes to sporting games,
     featured iconic examples of Art Deco architecture from
     hotels and apartment blocks to cinemas and amusement
                                                                     furniture, advertising posters, artworks,
     parks. The show explored a number of themes including           photography, ceramics, design, textiles and
     the depiction of the seaside, travel and transport, design      plenty more, and the exhibition is, as curator
     and industry, sport and amusements, popular culture
     and women’s liberation.                                         Ghislaine Wood put it, ‘shockingly beautiful’ .”
     Art Deco by the Sea presented around 150 works in all          Jessica Douglas,
     media including paintings, posters, brochures, drawings,       Bbys Magazine; Barenbys UK
     industrial design, fashion, furniture, ceramics and textiles
     and was drawn from public and private collections
     across the UK. The exhibition was selected for the BBC’s
     Culture in Quarantine series.

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Annual Review
                                                                                                                               2019–2020

                                                               “Georges Fouquet’s extraordinary brooch from
                                                                c. 1898, with its squishy, mollusc-like pearl
                                                                encased in gold, like a heart within a ribcage…
                                                                is no eager-to-please bauble of the rich, but a
                                                                thing of compelling, sophisticated strangeness,
                                                                suggestive of narcotic hallucination and dark
                                                                psychological complexity.”
                                                               Alastair Sooke, Daily Telegraph

Doris Lessing 100                                              Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams
13 September 2019 – 9 February 2020                            7 July 2020 – 3 January 2021
On the centenary of her birth, an exhibition                   The Nature of Dreams explored how the progressive
commemorating the life and work of Nobel Laureate              designers and artists of Art Nouveau integrated all the
Doris Lessing (1919–2013) was presented by the                 arts – architecture, design, ornament, painting, sculpture
Sainsbury Centre working in collaboration with the             – to create a single, complete environment or
University’s British Archive for Contemporary Writing.         gesamtkunstwerk. Through the treasures of the Anderson
Using her personal correspondence, notebooks and               Collection at the Sainsbury Centre and select loans, The
diaries, this exhibition provided an unprecedented             Nature of Dreams revealed how English masterpieces in
insight into Lessing’s life.                                   avant-garde design influenced Art Nouveau in Belgium,
                                                               France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and the
Now widely regarded as one of the most important               United States.
post-war writers in English, Lessing used literature to
comment on the politics of race and gender, and the role       Over 150 examples of ceramics, furniture, glass,
of the family and the individual in society. The exhibition    jewellery, paintings, posters and prints, sculpture, and
showed how the dramas of her political and spiritual life      textiles introduced audiences to the flowing tensile lines
became the backbone of her powerful and enduring               and organic imagery of Art Nouveau. Featured artists and
novels. Lessing’s trustees in consultation with her official   designers included Aubrey Beardsley, René Lalique,
biographer, Patrick French, agreed the release of              William Morris, Alphonse Mucha and Gabriel Dante
previously embargoed material for use exclusively within       Rossetti. The exhibition was curated by Professor Paul
the exhibition. The exhibition was curated by academics        Greenhalgh, Director of the Sainsbury Centre and
from UEA Creative Writing and the Library including Paul       accompanied by a publication The Nature of Dreams:
Cooper, Dr Matthew Taunton, Dr Nonia Williams and              England and the Formation of Art Nouveau, edited by
Justine Mann.                                                  Greenhalgh.

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Touring

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Touring Exhibitions

Installation photograph, Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA.                                Installation photograph, Brian Clarke: The Art of Light at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Photo: Jenna Bascom, Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.

The Centre continues to collaborate with                                                       The exhibition focuses on the highly skilled artworks of     Brian Clarke: The Art of Light                                                                The exhibition brings together over 100 works and
museums, nationally and internationally, to tour                                               the 19th century, including wood sculpture, bowls,           Continuing our collaboration with stained glass artist                                        elaborates on themes of colour, light, life and death,
our programme of exhibitions and showcase key                                                  canoes, weapons, breastplates, jewellery, barkcloths,        Brian Clarke, the Sainsbury Centre is pleased to present                                      demonstrating Clarke’s ground-breaking practice in
                                                                                               pottery, mats, fans and a wealth of ivory ornaments,         our 2018 exhibition, Brian Clarke: The Art of Light, at the                                   stained glass. An entire light-filled floor is dedicated to
objects from our collections as an opportunity to
                                                                                               stressing the importance of artworks and valuables (iyau)    Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Unfortunately                                            an arrangement of 30 free-standing screens, each
extend knowledge of the permanent collections                                                                                                                                                                                                             telling a story in colour and bathing the space in jewel
                                                                                               for establishing and maintaining relationships. Examples     delayed by widespread closures, the exhibition opened
and the Centre’s research.                                                                     of contemporary canoe-building, woodcarving, barkcloth,                                                                                                    tones. As if entering another world the second floor is
                                                                                                                                                            in September 2020 and will run to February 2021.
                                                                                               mat-making, and fashion demonstrate continuity in art        The exhibition is the first US museum presentation of                                         painted in dark hues, revealing two other bodies of
Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific                                                              practice in Fiji today.                                      Clarke’s practice.                                                                            work, the Night Orchids and earlier leaded works. An
The Sainsbury Centre, with the Sainsbury Research                                                                                                                                                                                                         expanded series of Night Orchid drawings, in colour,
                                                                                               The Centre and the Sainsbury Research Unit were                                                                                                            monotone and leaded glass, fill one room floor to
Unit, were pleased to reassemble the exhibition Fiji: Art                                      pleased to continue our relationship with the Fiji Museum
and Life in the Pacific at the Los Angeles County                                                                                                                                                                                                         ceiling, contrasting against neighbouring metre-high
                                                                                               as a major lender to the exhibition, bringing star objects                                                                                                 glowing lead skulls.
Museum of Art this year. The exhibition is the first                                           from their collections to the US. The team collaborated
substantial project on the art of Fiji to be mounted in                                        with many original lenders including the British Museum,                                                                                                   A new film about Clarke from HENI sits alongside an
the United States. It opened in December 2019 and                                              the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology,                                                                                                                archival display, detailing the artist’s continued
has been extended to January 2021. The exhibition                                              Cambridge, and the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.                                                                                                             relationship with New York and his friendships there.
was curated by Professor Steven Hooper, Dr Karen                                               145 objects from the UK were joined by objects from                                                                                                        The exhibition is generously supported by David
Jacobs and Katrina Talei Igglesden of the Sainsbury                                            private collections and institutions in the US such as the                                                                                                 Yurman, master jeweller, who showcased a spectrum
Research Unit.                                                                                 Peabody Essex Museum and the Smithsonian National                                                                                                          of screens in their nearby boutiques during New York
                                                                                               Museum of Natural History.                                                                                                                                 Fashion Week, as well as a newly commissioned film
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          about the exhibition.
                                                                                               As at the Sainsbury Centre, LACMA commissioned their
                                                                                               own 8m-long double-hulled sailing canoe (drua),
                                                                                               constructed in Fiji using traditional materials and
                                                                                               techniques. It was shipped to Los Angeles to take pride
                                                                                               of place at the exhibition entrance.

24                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                25
Collections

26                 27
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                     2019–2020

     Collections                                                New Acquisitions
     The professional stewardship of the permanent              In recent years, there have been significant donations
     collection is central to the Sainsbury Centre’s mission.   and this year was no exception.
     The display, acquisition, research and care of
                                                                Following the success of our exhibition, Elisabeth Frink:
     nationally and internationally significant artworks are
                                                                Humans and Other Animals in 2018, the Centre acquired
     the core activities of the Sainsbury Centre. Exhibited
                                                                29 sculptures and drawings, made possible in
     across the ground floor, the Living Area display
                                                                accordance with the wishes of the artist’s late son,
     remains at the heart of the Institution’s identity as a
                                                                Lin Jammet. The acquired works, produced by one of
     lasting legacy of Robert and Lisa Sainsbury. Culturally
                                                                the most important British sculptors of the 20th century
     diverse works, from across time and place, have been
                                                                include powerful examples from all periods of Frink’s
     exhibited as the Sainsburys wished their objects to be
                                                                artistic practice. This includes Vulture (1952), shown in
     enjoyed. The temporary exhibition programme
                                                                her first exhibition while still a student at Chelsea College
     provides opportunities to undertake new research on
                                                                of Art. She created a series of expressionist bird
     aspects of the Sainsbury Centre Collection.
                                                                sculptures, which, for her evoked ‘strong feelings of
     Art Deco by the Sea showcased eight works from the         panic, tension, aggression and predatoriness’, such
     Collection including important chair designs by Alvar      as Harbinger Bird III (1961). Frink’s most famous theme
     Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Gerald Summers, Serge                is a series of monumental heads, the ‘Goggle Heads’
     Chermayeff, and the wonderful Beehive Electric Fan         (1967-69) and ‘Tribute Heads’ (1970s–80s). The
     Heater by Christian Barman. The selection of works in      acquisition includes examples of both series. Mirage I
     The Nature of Dreams was drawn predominantly from          and Mirage II (1969) illustrate her work in large-scale
     the Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau.                    bronze and take up residency in the Sainsbury Centre’s          Above: Elisabeth Frink, Green Man (Blue), 1992.
                                                                Sculpture Park. They represent a more playful and               Below: Julian Stair, Monumental Jar VIII, 2011.
     The Centre borrowed three works for the East End
                                                                abstracted form of depiction set against the backdrop
     Gallery exhibition, Monet/Hockney: Modern
                                                                of a Norfolk Broad. Frink was one of the 20th century’s
     Landscapes. A display that revealed affinities between
                                                                great draughtsmen and the acquisition of nine drawings
     Claude Monet’s Allée de sapins à Varengeville
                                                                and four prints includes her Green Man series (1992),
     (Avenue of Fir Trees in Varengeville, 1882) and two of
                                                                which she made at the end of her life.
     David Hockney’s Yosemite iPad drawings from 2011.
     Working in collaboration with Houghton Hall, the           Following the success of the residency of First Nation
     Centre’s East End project space featured Untitled          contemporary artist Sonny Assu, the Centre acquired
     (2010) and Involute (2017) by Anish Kapoor. This           Dance As Though the Ancestors Are Watching (2019)
     spectacular intervention of Kapoor’s two sculptures        with the help of a grant from the Art Fund. The work
     was chosen to resonate with works in the Sainsbury         relates and responds to the important, historic Chilkat
     Centre Collection.                                         Robe in the Collection. This project supported the
                                                                Centre’s mission of integrating historical and
                                                                contemporary art to encourage greater accessibility
                                                                and understanding. Assu’s residency was part of the
                                                                research project Beyond the Spectacle: Native North
                                                                American Presence in Britain, a collaboration with the
                                                                University’s Department of American Studies.
                                                                In October 2019, we accessioned a planned bequest of
                                                                207 works from Michael and Joyce Morris. This is a major
                                                                collection of post-war abstract art consisting of both
     Left: Anish Kapoor, Involute, 2017.
                                                                British and international artists working in the field of
     Previous page: Sonny Assu,                                 abstraction and Constructivism. The highlights include
     Dance As Though the Ancestors                              works by Mary Martin, Kenneth Martin, Anthony Hill, John
     Are Watching, 2019.                                        Ernest, Stephen Gilbert, Michael Kidner, Eduardo

28                                                                                                                                                                                          29
Chillida, Raoul Dufy, Jean Tinguely, César Domela,         Loans and Tours
Charles Biederman and Hans Hartung. There is a             This year, our touring exhibitions and loan programmes
significant and important group of sculptures by the       ensured that the Collection was seen by audiences
important British artist, Robert Adams. The Bequest will   around the world. Highlights included four works in Fiji:
receive an extensive project to both research and          Art and Life in the Pacific at the Los Angeles County
document the works and prepare them for an exhibition      Museum of Art, Los Angeles, US. Three works were
project and publication.                                   exhibited in British Surrealism 1783–1952 at Dulwich
The Centre accepted a donation of three works by           Picture Gallery, London, and a sculpture and seven
Natalie Dower (b.1931). Dower was recently cited by        drawings in Henry Moore/Bill Brandt at The Hepworth
Paula Rego as: ‘the most underrated’ cultural figure,      Wakefield.
‘practically unknown after a lifetime’s work’ – (The Art
Newspaper, December 2019). She is closely associated       Cataloguing Project
with the British Constructivist groups of the 1950s –      This year’s major project has been the re-cataloguing of
1970s.                                                     our 5000-strong Collection generously made possible by
                                                           a grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. The
In 2019, Tania Moore received the New Collecting Award
                                                           Collections Database has been upgraded alongside
of £80,000 from the Art Fund, granted to acquire
                                                           work on our new website to establish a more
sculptors’ drawings by contemporary women artists. So
                                                           comprehensive online presence and capacity for new
far, Tania has acquired two exceptional works by
                                                           content. This will allow an enhanced ‘search the
prominent contemporary artists, Cornelia Parker, Bullet
                                                           Collection’ capability. The curatorial team have been
Drawing (2011) and Mona Hatoum, Composition with
                                                           engaged in writing new catalogue texts. This has
Circles I (2018).
                                                           included updating descriptions, core data, provenance
David Queensbury on behalf of the Paolozzi Foundation      information, exhibition history and bibliography. Part of
donated one of Eduardo Paolozzi’s highly polished          this project will see an enhanced visual presentation of
chromed sculptures of the 1960s. Queensbury also           works in the Collection. Although a very high percentage
donated a work by the celebrated Japanese ceramic          of the Collection is photographed, some of the older
artist, Shimaoka Tatsuzō (1919–2007), a student of         image assets need improving, in line with the
Hamada Shōji.                                              contemporary standards of digital photography. The
                                                           topical issue of restitution forms an important part of the
Another major acquisition this year was Monumental Jar
                                                           cataloguing project, and we intend to fully disclose
VIII (2011) by Julian Stair, acquired with help from the
                                                           provenance information via the online catalogue. This
Arts Council/V&A Purchase Fund and Martin and
                                                           part of the project focuses on works that were removed
Katharine Pinfold. Stair is one of the most prominent
ceramic artists working today and Monumental Jar VIII is   from their indigenous context during the colonial period.
an outstanding example of his large-scale work. The
                                                           Sculpture Park
piece recently featured in the exhibition Magdalene
Odundo: The Journey of Things.                             The Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park continues to grow
                                                           with the addition of Man of Stones (2019) by Laurence
Finally, a small etching Footbridge at Cringleford,        Edwards. This sculpture was commissioned by former
(c.1810) by the celebrated Norwich                         Trustee, Paul Cooke through the Paul and Loulou Cooke
School artist, John Crome was                              Endowment, as a site-specific work that responded to
donated by Lysiane Bysh, in                                   one of the more remote locations on the University
memory of her husband UEA                                        campus. Two further works have been added to the
alumnus Gordon Maclean who                                                  grounds: Sun’s Roots II (2008) by Phillip
studied in the then School of                                                  King and Head (1997) by John Davies,
European Studies 1966–1969.                                                   which came to the Centre from Cass
                                                                              Sculpture Foundation with the support      Laurence Edwards,
Elisabeth Frink, Cat, 1953.                                                of Ivor Braka.                                Man of Stones, 2019.

30                                                                                                                                              31
Conservation

32                  33
Sculpture Park
The maintenance programme for the Sculpture Park was
expanded to include new arrivals by Laurence Edwards,
John Davies, and Phillip King. Chemical analysis of salt
encrustations on Lynn Chadwick’s Pair of Walking
Figures was carried out in collaboration with the UEA
Science Analytical Facility, and identified as sodium
carbonate hydrate, a component of flux and grog used in
bronze casting, which is not harmful to the bronze.
Analysis of flaking patina on all three outdoor Henry
Moore sculptures was carried out in collaboration with
Tate and AntiqueBronze Ltd, and identified as degraded
lacquer coating; further investigations and treatment
proposals are underway.

                                                                                        Collections
                                                                                        A variety of objects from our collections have been
                                                                                        conserved or remounted this year.
                                                                                        Untitled (13), a 1976 mixed media construction by
                                                                                        Brian Falconbridge, has undergone conservation in
                                                                                        preparation for the artist’s retrospective exhibition at
                                                                                        Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. Due to historical
                                                                                        storage in a sealed wooden container, the sculpture’s
                                                                                        VOC-sensitive lead components had acquired a layer
                                                                                        of white corrosion (a mixture of lead carbonate, acetate
                                                                                        and formate), which was so thick and uniform it was
                                                                                        previously misdiagnosed as “white paint”. This stubborn
                                                           Top and above: Analysis of   corrosion layer, built up over many years, was removed
                                                           salt encrustations on Lynn   in stages, using a combination of chemical poultice
                                                           Chadwick’s Pair of Walking   and mechanical cleaning with glass brushes, with
                                                           Figures (Long loan L.105):
                                                           salt deposits and SEM
                                                                                        extreme care being taken to protect adjacent areas of
                                                           imagery.                     the construction. Throughout the treatment, Sainsbury
                                                                                        Centre Conservator, Maria Ledinskaya, communicated         Top: Untitled (13) by Brian Falconbridge
                                                           Left: Sculpture Park         directly with the living artist in order to restore all    (Acc. no 31275) after treatment.
                                                           maintenance –                elements of the work to his original vision. Brian
                                                           Conservation Technician                                                                 Above: During treatment. Mechanical
                                                           Laura Robinson with Lynn     Falconbridge was very pleased with the outcome of          removal of outer layer of lead corrosion
                                                           Chadwick’s Crouching         this challenging treatment and for preserving what he      using brushes, conservation vac, glass
                                                           Beast II (Loan L.91.         considers to be an important early work.                   bristle brushes and Micromesh.

34                                                                                                                                                                                            35
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2019–2020

                                                                                                                          Exhibitions and Tours
                                                                                                                          A significant number of external loans this year for
                                                                                                                          both Art Deco by the Sea and Art Nouveau: The
                                                                                                                          Nature of Dreams required remedial conservation
                                                                                                                          before they could go on display. In particular, both
                                                                                                                          exhibitions featured a variety of textiles, which needed
                                                                                                                          cleaning, humidification, and custom mounting. This
                                                                                                                          presented an interesting new challenge for the
                                                                                                                          Conservation team, who rarely work with historic
                                                                                                                          textiles in the context of the Sainsbury Centre
                                                                                                                          Collection. Other conserved external objects included
                                                                                                                          painting, works on paper, furniture and ceramics.

                                                                                                                          Preventive conservation
                                                                                                                          The Sainsbury Centre continued to work closely with
                                                                                                                          our colleagues in Estates at the University of East
                                                                                                                          Anglia to deliver a programme of planned
                                                                                                                          improvements to our systems. Notable collaborative
                                                                                                                          projects this year included full LED re-lamping of the
                                                                                                                          Living Area, East End and West Mezzanine. Humidifier
                                                                                                                          interlocks were added to the climate control plant as
                                                                                                                          part of our emergency planning. Controlled HV
                                                                                                                          shutdown of the building was carried out in May, in
                                                                                                                          order to assess building efficiency in the event of
                                                                                                                          power outage.
                                                                                                                          More analysis and predictive modelling in Power BI
                                                                                                                          was done for lux monitor data on West Mezzanine.
                                                                                                                          This work enabled us to secure the loan of the light-
                                                                                                                          sensitive painting Bruna Brunelleschi by Dante Gabriel
Another project entailed the repair of the PEL chair,         Grand Papillon brooch by Philippe Wolfers                   Rossetti for Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams. As in
which has been in the Centre’s Abstract and                   (Acc no 21150) during treatment.
                                                                                                                          previous years, light-restricted loans are continuously
Constructivist Collection since 1990. Unfortunately, it has                                                               monitored and covered outside gallery opening hours,
never been on display due to a large tear at the edge of                                                                  in order to reduce exposure.
the canvas seat. As the fabric needed to be stretched
and held under tension, an insert was made from new                                                                       Further improvements were made to art storage
canvas material, which was sewn to the structurally                                                                       facilities.
sound seam of the original seat. This allowed the seat to
be re-stretched over the steel frame, with frayed edges
                                                              Another iconic Sainsbury Centre object, the Chilkat
of the original damaged fabric couched over the top of
                                                              Robe, has been given a new conservation-grade mount
the new insert. This reversible, structural intervention
                                                              and returned to display after several years in dark
allowed this object to finally have its moment in the
                                                              storage. Our entire collection of Henry Moore drawings
limelight, as part of the Art Deco by the Sea exhibition.
                                                              was unframed for the first time in 20 years, revealing
Philippe Wolfers’ Grand Papillon brooch, one of the most      secondary sketches and artist’s inscriptions on the verso
striking objects in the Anderson Collection, had a small      of some objects. The drawings were conserved and
repair to one of its wings as a piece of opal had become      re-hinged where needed, and re-mounted in better                                                                       Light control measures on West Mezzanine:
loose in its mount as a result of vibration during transit.   quality housing.                                                                                                       blackout covers and lux monitor.

36                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         37
Learning

38              39
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                 2019–2020

Learning at the Sainsbury Centre offers a wide                Young people developing project ideas
range of programmes for all ages, using close-                The relationship between artistic practice and political
looking, dialogue, material inquiry, and creative             activity also emerged as a key theme for us this year,
making to animate our collections and exhibitions.            inspired by the Doris Lessing 100 exhibition. Eight
                                                              students from the University of East Anglia worked with
                                                              the British Archive for Contemporary Writing and the
Bold Contact Zones
                                                              Sainsbury Centre to put together a display in the
This year, people from across the region joined us in our     Millennium Library. Drawing on material from the Doris
spaces (physical and virtual) to consider the relevance of    Lessing archive, students explored the writer as a ‘voice
the gallery to the world today, creating a bold contact       of resistance’, challenging societal expectations and the
zone for dialogue around complex and urgent concerns.         professional limitations she experienced.
Environmental issues were important for our 20 Young          Lessing was also the initial point of inspiration for artist,
Associates, aged 15-25, who began the year asking how         Ian Brownlie, who created the ‘Review Reassemble
art museums can engage in contemporary social and             Reform’ schools activity pack. This invites KS3 students
political issues. This culminated in a zine, bringing         to creatively disrupt, subvert and appropriate the words
together their creative responses, and written reflections.   and images they find around them as a way to voice their
This will be an important resource as we reconsider the       current experiences and concerns during these
purpose of museums beyond 2020.                               unsettling and challenging times. It will be rolled out to
Environmental issues were also investigated with              support our schools’ ‘recovery curriculum’ in September.
educators from the region who joined us in December for
an INSET day to consider the impact of their own art
practices. At the end of the session, an environmental
manifesto was drafted for display in classrooms and
staffrooms.

                                                                                                     Facing Page:
                                                                                                     Young Associates.

                                                                                                     Left: Lessing in
                                                                                                     the Library.

40                                                                                                                                      41
Annual Review
                                                                                                                    2019–2020

     For adult audiences, contemporary artist, Nicky Deeley,       Art and Home
     drew on Lessing to investigate her own concerns with          The homely, informal ethos of the Living Area has always
     sci-fi futures, hybrid bodies, feminism, fiction and          been a central point of reference in our Learning work.
     folklore. She created a new, site-specific performance in     This year, it inspired a new approach to our popular
     the area around the Broad, attracting over 60 people.         Sunday Studio for families and Children. Retitled ‘Family
     The event was part of our ‘Interpretations’ programme.        Sunday’, the event held in the main collections space,
     This asks contemporary artists and writers to respond to      was an informal drop-in, allowing visitors of different
     our exhibitions with a new, public-facing work, allowing      ages to engage with objects and make their own
     audiences to make connections between our programme           creative responses. It offered parents welcome social
     and current research and practice.                            opportunities to chat to each other or grab a coffee in
                                                                   the cafe.
     Facing page:                                                  The idea of homeliness took on a whole new relevance
     Nicky Deeley interpretations.
                                                                   when the country went into lockdown at the end of
                                                                   March. Thanks to generous support from the Art Fund,
                                                                   we were able to launch the Online Studio in April, offering
                                                                   artist-led creative activities for all ages using everyday
                                                                   materials.
                                                                   Our participants’ homes became a substitute museum
                                                                   and studio. Artist, Annie Brundrit, invited children in the
                                                                   5–11 age group to turn a windowsill in their home into an
                                                                   exhibition space, whilst for adults, Paul Patrick Fenner
                                                                   showed how even the most mundane household objects
                                                                   could be seen anew through drawing.

          CASE STUDY

          Site Writing
          Site Writing is a programme of looking, shared reading and writing in response to the Robert and Lisa
          Sainsbury Collection, co-led with writer, curator and researcher, Sarah Lowndes. Each session starts
          by looking at and talking about an artwork in the Living Area. Sometimes it is easier to circle the
          peripheries of an object than address it directly, so conversation might focus on the way something is
          lit, the display case it is in, the label beside it. Next, a chosen piece of text is offered as a device to
          begin to talk about ideas. The session ends with a creative writing exercise, reflecting on participants’
          own lived experiences. The resulting texts tell stories of birth, death, power, family dynamics,
          friendship and the way we adapt to our environment. This, in turn, reveals a particular quality of the
          artworks in the Living Area: at once intensely personal and universal, timeless and urgent.

42                                                                                                                          43
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2019–2020

     CASE STUDY
                                                                                                                    Neighbourliness
     Architecture and the Body                                                                                      We have always enjoyed close links with schools and
                                                                                                                    nurseries in our neighbouring community of West Earlham,
     Artists, Paul Patrick Fenner and Anna Brass, created a four-week drawing course for 12–18 year olds.           and this year was no exception. From October –
     In a series of four videos, they shared a range of inspiring artworks that imaginatively linked architecture   November 2019, the school’s team and artist Ian Brownlie
     and the human body. They offered practical guidance on how participants could explore buildings and            delivered a weekly after-school club at West Earlham
                                                                                                                    Infant and Nursery School, culminating in a visit to the
     bodies in their own drawings, and stay inspired during social distancing. Each week, participants
                                                                                                                    Centre with parents and friends. Our long-standing
     enjoyed a 40-minute tutorial with the artists, where they looked at their drawings together, and received      collaboration with West Earlham Nursery School also
     bespoke feedback and advice.                                                                                   continued.
                                                                                                                    Neighbourliness is not always about connecting with
                                                                                                                    communities in our immediate vicinity. Thanks to generous
                                                                                                                    funding from the Ranworth Trust, we were able to work
“Walking around the art to find an object to                                                                        with students from East Coast College who used the Art
draw was a novel experience. Exciting and fun.”                                                                     Deco exhibition to explore the architectural heritage of
                                                                                                                    their own locality in Great Yarmouth. Starting with an
                                                                                                                    on-location photography workshop with Associate Artist,
                                                                                                                    Genevieve Rudd, the project culminated in a display of
                                                                                                                    their own work alongside the main exhibition. The students
                                                                                                                    were excited and proud to see their own photographs in
                                                                                                                    the gallery and, in turn, brought an important regional
                                                                                                                    story about art deco coastal architecture to our audiences.    Partnership with Earlham Early Years 2.
                                                                                                                    As with so much of our work this year, the idea of
                                                                                                                    neighbourliness took on a new urgency following the
                                                                                                                    lockdown. Networks began to form in our neighbouring
                                                                                                                    communities as we asked how we could help and support           CASE STUDY
                                                                                                                    each other during the crisis.
                                                                                                                    With the generous support of the Art Fund and the              ‘Abundance’ Project with Earlham Nursery
                                                                                                                    Norwich Freemen’s Charity, we have been able to use            School
                                                                                                                    these networks to work with target groups in the
                                                                                                                    community. We are currently providing weekly artist-led        ‘Abundance’ began in November when 80
                                                                                                                    creative activities for the Henderson Trust. These will be
                                                                                                                                                                                   children visited the Odundo exhibition in small
                                                                                                                    used as part of their summer programme at the Cadge
                                                                                                                    Road Community Centre for local children eligible for free     groups. In the spring term, artist Rach Anstey-
                                                                                                                    meals. Also in development are baby boxes that will be         Sanders worked with the children in small
                                                                                                                    delivered to new parents via local maternity services and      groups to explore the material properties of
                                                                                                                    groups, and dementia-friendly resources that can be
                                                                                                                                                                                   empty containers – squashing them, filling
                                                                                                                    shared with local care homes and support groups.
                                                                                                                                                                                   them, blowing into them – allowing us to pursue
                                                                                                                    Finally, we are not forgetting our closest neighbours.
                                                                                                                    Launching in September, the ‘Campus’ project will invite       our own research questions about how children
                                                                                                                    new and returning UEA students to work with three artists      learn through the objects they play with. When
                                                                                                                    over the autumn term. A range of creative prompts will         the work was interrupted by the COVID-19
                                                                                                                    inspire them to engage with the special and distinctive
                                                                                                                                                                                   lockdown, Rach worked with the nursery school
                                                                                                                    qualities of the University campus, helping them connect
                                                                                             School visit to the    with their environment and with other students whilst social   to develop a series of short videos allowing the
                                                                                             Sainsbury Centre.      distancing is still in place.                                  children to continue the project.

44                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     45
Annual Review
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2019–2020

                                                             CASE STUDY
                                                                                                                  Story Pot
                                                             Artists’ Programme                                   Saturday morning Story Pot
                                                                                                                  family activity sessions                                                                    A shell
                                                             The Artists’ Programme brings together up to         continued into 2020 with                                                                    washed up
                                                             20 professional artists from the region each         sponsorship from the                                                                        on a beach.
                                                             month. This became a particularly important          Goodman Trust. These weekly
                                                                                                                  free, gallery-based story-
                                                             lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering      making sessions were set up
                                                             peer support and impetus for collaborative           by Children and Families
                                                             projects.                                            Manager, Lawrence Bradby,
                                                                                                                                                                A thirsty wolf
                                                                                                                  and facilitated by Sainsbury
                                                             Faced with the constraints of lockdown, Nell         Centre associate artists. Each                hoped to find
                                                                                                                  week, an artist led a group of                a drink inside.
                                                             Croose-Myhill, the Learning Manager for Adults
                                                                                                                  children on an imaginative
Norwich School Year 7, Odundo Workshop.                      and Young People, looked to models of remote,        adventure in the Living Area or
                                                             collaborative art projects from the past. This led   Sculpture Park. On the way,
                                                             to three innovative new projects.                    they met objects from the                     Gr r r r r r rrr   r r r. . .

                                                                                                                  collection, which became                   Aw
                                                                                                                                                                       ooooo!
                                                                                                                                                                  oo
                                                             ‘Situations’ drew inspiration from an untitled       characters embedded in a
                                                             magazine exhibition for Studio International in      co-created story. Children
Creative Ecologies                                                                                                were encouraged to draw on
A key aim of Learning at the Sainsbury Centre is to          1970, the brainchild of curator and critic, Lucy     their own knowledge and
support creativity in the region. This year, the Magdalene   R. Lippard. Reconstructing Lippard’s approach,       ideas, working constructively
Odundo exhibition provided a dynamic hub, bringing                                                                together with adults and other           He shook and                                   Small creatures
                                                             each artist was asked to pass onto the next a
together old and young, amateur and professional alike.                                                           children. Activities within the          shook his head,                                came out of the
                                                             situation within which to work. The resulting        sessions included drawing,               trying to get                                  sea to see what
A study day, for example, invited artists, museum
                                                             work was collated as a magazine-exhibition.          drama, puppetry, mapping and             the shell off.                                 was going on.
professionals, and researchers to consider Odundo’s
                                                                                                                  music making.
relationship with objects from our collection, asking how    The second model was Parallel of Life and Art,
contemporary artists can illuminate collections and their
histories in new ways. In response to a high demand for
                                                             an exhibition of found images and various
places, a second study day took place in December,           materials from print media, by members of the
with post-graduate and undergraduate students from           Independent Group at the ICA in 1953. This
University of East Anglia and Norwich University of
                                                             inspired ‘Sources’, a project that invited artists
the Arts.
                                                             to bring together, interrogate and share their                                            You
At the same time, our Associate Artists worked with                                                                                                    are
                                                             own source material, and to work collectively to
school children to develop creative responses to                                                                                                       stuck
Odundo’s work. In November, Year 7 students from             establish shared concerns, ideas, and interests.                                          tight!                                                         Poor
the Norwich School joined artist, Genevieve Rudd,                                                                                                                                                                     old
for a felt-making session, whilst Year 5 students from       As lockdown began to ease, the final project,                                                                                                            wolf.
Kessingland Primary made drawings, playful sculptures        ‘Sites’, invited the artists to revisit a familiar
and coil pots with artist, Kate Munro.                       place with fresh eyes, or explore somewhere
Our volunteers, a key part of our creative ecology,          new. This was informed by a field trip made by
offered daily guided tours of the exhibition. They were      the artists, Bernd and Hilla Becher and Robert
thrilled when Magdalene Odundo wandered into one of
their training sessions, chatting to them about her work     Smithson, to the large industrial complex
and thanking them for their commitment and support.          Oberhausen in Germany, in December 1968.                                               Story Pot: Wolf Shell, illustrated by Rose Feather.

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