Projects
AfA Barnsley members get to take part in a wide range of activities and projects. The activities provide a chance to try out new experiences in an encouraging and supportive environment. Individuals are encouraged to share their personal interests and talents with one another through group activities. Interests they have shared in the past include music, film, photography, cooking, art and magic. All activities are presented in accessible ways, enabling everyone to participate comfortably at their own level.
Projects take place over a number of sessions and are full of discussions, practical activities and experiences, that give an in-depth exploration of a specific theme or focus. Past projects have included writing and recording a radio play, concocting and mixing mocktails and curating an exhibition at Cooper Gallery.
All activities and projects provide opportunities for the members to get to know one another better and develop a strong sense of group identity and belonging.
Filming Fun
Most of the activities in the Meet-Up sessions, led by Louise, have a creative theme. The group have explored using stop-motion animation to create short films. Members chose their own theme and developed a short storyline to go with it. These two chose super-heroes as a theme and ended up with a complete costumed transformation into Superman!
Lockdown Walks
During periods of lockdown and social distancing, the group met-up outdoors whenever restrictions allowed. Drew led weekly walks, which were mainly at Locke Park due to its easy accessibility from the town centre. The walks were an opportunity for socialising, enjoying the surroundings and getting some gentle exercise. Drew often took table tennis and outdoor bowling equipment with him, so the walks could be rounded off with a few games.
Part of the Flock
One of our group members was keen that AfAAB participated in Flock, a large-scale piece of land art that was installed on the lawn at Wentworth Woodhouse. Flock comprised of 10,000 cut-out wooden birds, each was decorated, and some exhibit messages of hope or reflection linked to the Coronavirus pandemic. AfAAB members decorated individual birds and then enjoyed a trip to Wentworth to find their birds in situ.
Meet Up Activities
Building a skeletal image was part of a timed challenge at a Meet-Up session. Lots of the activities are to promote discussion, communication and group work. These types of activities are great for getting to know one another and promoting conversation.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Arts Council Collection
The members were invited to write a descriptive label to accompany ‘ Fleeting Monument’ by Cornelia Parker which was exhibited at the Longside Gallery at the YSP. Here they are visiting the work as part of an afternoon out.
Allegories of the Senses
Over a period of several weeks the members worked alongside Barnsley Museum staff to curate the ‘Allegories of the Senses’ exhibition at Cooper Gallery. They selected works for the Cooper and Arts Council collections to make up the exhibition and also took part in workshops that explored the five senses.
Colour Forms at Wentworth Castle Gardens
The group had a lovely time exploring the art installation, Colour Forms at Wentworth Castle Gardens. The artwork was a collection of 10 hand painted sculptural pieces, including two benches and was accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack. The group had a lovely relaxing sunny day out.
Christmas outing to Cannon Hall
Our last session before the Christmas break was a visit to Cannon Hall. Following a stroll around the gardens, we headed into the hall for an atmospheric one-man performance a Christmas Carols and finished the visit off with mince pies and festive drinks. Thank you to Barnsley Museums for the invite.
Mozart and Me with Ignite Imaginations
AfAAB were one of 12 groups from across South Yorkshire that were invited to be involved in the Mozart and Me project. Each group was asked to develop their own creative responses to a piece Mozart’s music, to share at a celebratory event at the Showroom, Sheffield. Our members developed a story-based interpretation based on his Flute quartet no.1 in D Major, and then went on to develop a script and create puppets to perform their mini-play.
‘Be Free’ - Music project with Nicholas Lewis
Over six sessions the group explored song writing and music making with the multi-instrumentalist, Nicholas Lewis. Nic has an amazing way of involving everyone, whatever their prior musical experience. His all inclusive approach meant that everyone had the confidence to sing out and join in and explore music making on his collection of percussion and electronic instruments.
To listen to the music the group made please follow the link https://soundcloud.com/search?q=AfAAB