Ginny Hawke
To kick off this series, we are celebrating Ginny Hawke, facilitator at ART4U2, which normally runs in The Create Place on Thursday afternoons during Adult Education term times. Starting in the first lockdown of 2020, and continuing throughout the year, Ginny has worked tirelessly to continue providing artistic opportunities for the community.
Ginny & The Create Place
Ginny has run daily and weekly art challenges that related to a monthly theme, as well as encouraging our community members to join in with our Tree of Life Project. The Create Place has collaborated with Ginny on the curation of the exhibition in the Gallery Café that ran alongside the project. Ginny exhibited her own work in the café, including an incredible log of her lockdown experiences in the form of a diary written on leaves, and a poem ‘Corona, Corona, Covid-19’, which were part of the exhibition. Ginny also managed to bring ART4U2 back to the Create Place in the Autumn when we first reopened, and she facilitated a paper marbling workshop at our Fun Palace event in October. Art Challenge themes coming up in lockdown 2021 will include Love, Transport, and Women - including an online gallery for International Women’s day.
Ginny has been working in community arts since 1994. She started working with Tower Hamlets council on their community arts team for tutors to work within all areas of the community, such as festivals, performances, libraries, schools, and youth clubs, as well as shops and housing teams. She gained her PGCE in 1999 and ran projects for youth arts and libraries alongside training primary educators in how to teach art. She has aso worked at Futureversity, Tower Hamlets College and still works for Idea Store Learning.
When Hoxton Hall closed for refurbishment in 2013, Ginny had to find a place for her 32 keen artists to keep learning and creating. “I’d had my own art exhibition at the gallery café and asked them, and they recommended the Create Place.” Ginny’s Thursday sessions here are now regularly attended by a core group of long-standing local artists, whose work is regularly on display in the Create Place, in our window displays, and was also part of our Tree of Life exhibition throughout 2020. The group has exhibited at Hackney Library, Stepney City Farm, Homerton Hospital and other local cafes. Ginny now runs more workshops at Brady Arts Centre, Idea Store Learning and, of course, back in Hoxton Hall.
We caught up with Ginny to hear about her experiences of running workshops during the pandemic
Ginny Hawke: In conversation
When St Margaret’s House, like so many venues, had to close last March you were quick to establish your art challenges for the community. What inspired you to start doing so?
As part of teacher training we are taught to see the student as a whole, so taking the whole person into the studio and learning to adapt to how they learn. A lot of the creative learning comes from peers and group dynamics. It’s a whole group team experience rather than solitary, which would describe learning from a youtube video . People come to me for formal art training at first, usually recommended! I teach the basics of art like mark-making, perspective, form, tone, and colour theory.
I also introduce different media like pastels, collage, acrylics, and watercolour. Together we explore new styles and then I mentor people to follow their own style. We care for each other as we share experiences, so when lockdown and the virus hit, I got in touch with all my artists and we talked about exhibitions coming up and I set projects online. Especially projects that will interest them like travel and family.
What have been the benefits and challenges of this new way of delivering creative activities? Has anything surprised you?
So, I spent an hour every morning sending projects by email, text, WhatsApp, on facebook and Instagram - every student had access to one of them! A lot of people don’t have computers or smart phones so I adapted the challenges.
You continued to set a mix of daily, weekly and monthly challenges all through 2020. How did you decide what these challenges were?
Looking at planned exhibitions coming up over the next 2 years, I used the opportunity to get the artists painting at home. Like studying local buildings, or transport and vehicles on healthy walks. Things like the Tree of Life Project were great as the artists all were taking walks and exercises in Victoria park to collect and study leaves.
We look at themes and trends, like the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ exhibition at the Natural History Museum influenced our ‘Creatures Great and Small’ project. At the moment we have the ‘Many Faces of Love’ exhibition on at the Yurt -showing positive messages of love and hope. This was inspired by the xmas decorations in the West End, on Oxford Street and Carnaby Street.
Despite everything you still had a busy year full of exhibitions and events - and some of your students met the mayor! Tell us more about that and your own highlights of the year?
In the summer we opened up a bit and everyone seemed to want evidence of lockdown art. Everyone wanted to join in as they found it relaxing so this was great to have displays everywhere of evidence that people enjoyed art at this time. The Yurt café and Magus café, The History Library, Idea Stores, Brady Art Centre and here, at the Gallery Café, all wanted to show evidence and celebrate art as a wellbeing activity. The Mayor of Tower Hamlets came to meet a bubble of 6 artists, including Art4U2 regulars Kay and Perry, at their exhibition about our beautiful Tower Hamlets.
They mentioned the time had helped them appreciate what a beautiful borough we have - from the Tower of London, Canary Wharf our wonderful river and parks.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in learning to paint or draw but doesn’t know where to begin?
Anyone wanting to learn to paint and draw should join one of the amazing art classes online at the moment. Nothing beats being in the studio surrounded by a supportive group -but its fun being part of the online revolution!
Follow @Art4ULondon on Instagram
Contact Ginny by email