Art / arnolfini
Tate Modern sneak preview for Bristol schools
Pictured above: Room 13 Hareclive at Spike Island Open Studios. Photo: Alessandra Somani
Whitehall Primary School and Room 13, the independent artists’ studio run by young people within the grounds of Hareclive Academy, will be among a handful of school groups selected to see the new Tate Modern at a special preview this Thursday.
Some 3,000 school children from across the UK will be the first members of the public to see the new building. Welcomed by artist Bob and Roberta Smith, the children will be able to explore the new building and displays, and to be inspired by modern and contemporary art from around the world.
Now part of an international network of studios, Room 13 were nominated for the opportunity by Spike Island, where they also have a studio base. Spike partners Tate on the Plus Tate network, a network of 35 cultural institutions aiming to inspire people about art.
Also travelling to London as part of the group of invited schools will be pupils from Whitehall Primary School, who were nominated for the special preview by fellow Plus Tate partners Arnolfini. “We nominated Whitehall Primary because of the close relationship we have built with them over the past few months, and because of their open and forward-thinking attitude to contemporary art,” explains Ellie Coleman, Curator of Learning and Participation at Arnolfini.
As one of Arnolfini’s member schools, Whitehall Primary has taken part in artist-run workshops delivered by the gallery. Most recently, pupils from the school worked with Arnolfini to create an audio guide to the latter’s current exhibition Art From Elsewhere, which runs until July 17.
In his letter to the invited schools, Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota said: “Tate Modern originally opened to the public in May 2000 and it quickly became the world’s most popular museum of modern and contemporary art. Due to its immense success, Tate Modern is currently undergoing a major expansion by its original architects.
“An entire new ten-storey wing of the building (called the Switch House) is being created which will double the space of the original building. When it re-opens to the public on Friday 17 June 2016, visitors will be able to experience three whole new gallery floors featuring over 250 artists from around 50 countries. It will be the most important new cultural building to open in the UK for over 20 years.
“Assembly will enable 3,000 schoolchildren, plus their teachers and helpers, to be the first public audience to experience the new Tate Modern. I can promise the day will be hugely welcoming and enjoyable.”
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