The final exhibition as part of View Tube Art’s Sparked
series sees renowned poet and playwright Lemn Sissay showcase his poem Spark
Catchers. As part of Winning Words, Lemn was the first poet of five
commissioned to write new poems for permanent installations on the Olympic
Park, and was inspired by the history of the site. Spark Catchers is a striking poem referencing
the pioneering industrial action which took place at the Bryant and May match
factory, which still exists today on the edge of the Park in Bow, East London,
near where he lives.
Sparked is a series of exhibitions and free family art
workshops as part of the View Tube Art programme, funded by The Legacy List,
celebrating and raising awareness of the Art in the Park commissions from the
Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
Spark Catchers delves into the incendiary time in 19th
century Britain when the first un-unionised workers went on strike against
their poor and dangerous working conditions. The industrial action taken at the
match factory helped spark a social revolution changing working conditions
across Britain. The exhibition
celebrates this inspirational story and East London’s rich heritage as it
welcomes the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, becoming another
landmark in its captivating history
“The Olympic Games reflect who we are. It seems natural that our story, our
struggles and our victories as nations of the world are exemplified within and
around this peerless event. This is what
my exhibition is about. The flame of the
Olympic Torch is a beacon of hope. It is made of fire. The matchmaker girls
made fire and were made of fire! It is
that energy that I want to display. We
are a torch, a beacon of hope and we are full of fire”.
Lemn Sissay
Exhibition dates: 30 March – 16 May 2012 (free)
Family day date: Saturday 14 April, 10am-3pm (free)
A free family day of art workshops inspired by the Sparked
exhibition takes place at View Tube.
Learn print making skills to respond to Spark Catchers and the
exhibition, creating artwork for a public display at View Tube.
Plus talks and presentations about the parks past and
present from Field Studies Council and Museum of London Docklands.
Art workshop times: 10.30am-12pm or 1-2.30pm
Limited spaces available so email info@theviewtube.co.uk
to book art workshop spaces and find out more.
Follow the project on its dedicated blog at
www.viewtubesparked.tumblr.com
, let us know what you think on
www.facebook.com/theviewtube or on twitter @theviewtube using #VTSparked
Lemn Sissay
Lemn is associate artist at London’s Southbank Centre and an
honorary Doctor of Letters. Lemn received an MBE from the Queen for Services to
Literature. He is the author of five
collections of poetry, and reads his poems on stages throughout the world. He has written plays for stage and radio. He
is the inspiration behind a concerto at the BBC Proms. Other projects include Poems as Landmarks,
uniquely engaging readers in their environment through words in public spaces. Landmark poems are displayed throughout
Manchester and London, adorning the Royal Festival Hall and Shudehill
Station. He is the inspiration behind
Global Poetry System (GPS), an interactive site where poems in public spaces
are recorded via an online map, and is patron of The Letterbox Club and The
Reader Organisation. He is trustee of World Book Night and Forward Arts
Foundation.
Winning Words – Poetry in the Park
As part of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s Art in the Park
programme, Winning Words’ is a nationwide programme to link poetry and sport on
the occasion of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
There are a total of five new poems commissioned from
renowned contemporary poets; Lemn Sissay, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, John
Burnside, Caroline Bird and Jo Shapcott.
These poems will be housed as permanent installations on the Olympic
Park, whilst a sixth installation is the last line of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s
Ulysses.
You can read all poems at www.winningwordspoetry.com
About Sparked
Inspired by Art in the Park, the Olympic Delivery Authority
delivered programme of integrated public art commissions across the Olympic
Park, Sparked is an exhibition series as part of the View Tube Art programme
until May 2012.
Working with acclaimed local, national and international
artists who have been commissioned in the park over the past three years,
Sparked raises awareness of the Art in the Park commissions through imaginative
exhibitions and interactive installations. Alongside the exhibition is a free
opportunity to learn a new creative skill at our family days, and observational
worksheets are available for all visitors to the View Tube.
Sparked is supported by Bow Arts and funded by The Legacy
List, a new charity established to support the long term cultural, social and
physical regeneration of London’s future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and its
surroundings.
About View Tube
View Tube is a community venue with an integrated arts
programme, situated on the Greenway right next to the Olympic Park, with a
café, exhibitions, education classroom, community garden and bike hire. We see over 10,000 visitors and 600 children
through the classroom each month as people from London, the UK and the world
come to see the Olympic Park take shape.
View Tube Art has successfully run many exhibitions from
both internationally renowned and local artists, such as Gavin Turk, Faisal
Abdu’Allah and Colin Priest. For more information,
please see www.theviewtube.co.uk
surroundings. The charity will facilitate, find and fund places, programmes and partnerships, which actively engage people in the transformation of the park and
their own lives. The focus will be on arts and culture, education and skills.
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