ART CAMP LONDON

Alix runs school holiday Art Camps for children aged 5-11 years old in Bowes Park/ Bounds Green, North London.

During the camps children explore a range of different materials and techniques, including drawing and painting, print making, clay work, 3D sculpture and collage. Children also explore the work of different artists, and play creative games!

Alix develops activities which build skills in art making whilst simultaneously encouraging children to express their own ideas and creativity. The camps aim to empower the children, to enable them to express their unique thoughts and ideas with confidence and self belief.

Alix Smith has been teaching art in primary and secondary schools since 2003. She has a Master’s Degree in Artist Teaching and Contemporary Practices from Goldsmiths (2013) which was delivered in partnership with Tate Modern.

She teaches a wide range of workshops, including drawing and painting, printmaking, sculpture textiles, jewellery making, willow sculpture and tape art. Previous projects included the use of street art to engage young people with social issues such as homelessness and environmentalism.

Alix has also created art and design resources for primary and secondary schools in partnership with the National Education Network and the London Grid for Learning. The resources are used nationally and explore Art Skills for Teachers and Holocaust Education Through Visual Art.

Alix was one of 4 artists working with schools to create artworks for the first Camden Biennale Exhibition held at Central St. Martins at The Lethaby Gallery. Alix worked with 11 Primary Schools to develop a range of artworks, including prints, sculptures, installations and drawings and paintings.

Alix recently bought her 'Tape Art Project' to Upfest Presents- Europe's biggest street art and graffiti festival held in Bristol, UK. Alix created a tape art installation at the launch venue, and then worked with exhibition visitors all weekend, to create a collaborative tape art mural and individual tape art pieces.

UPFEST PRESENTS... Europe's biggest street art and graffiti festival, is a 17-day cultural programme at multiple venues across BS3, with free to attend workshops, live painting, artist talks, arts activities, panel discussions, and Street Art Tours, supported by Arts Council England, POSCA, mt Masking Tape and Faber-castell.

This was a collaborative project with Key Stage 2 pupils from a central London primary school to create an art installation in their rooftop playground. Alix worked with pupils to create an installation inspired by the theme of ‘PLAY’ and artist Camille Walala.

During this project I was commissioned to make a ‘Story Tent’ for Westminster Abbey.

The tent was used for the Abbey’s story telling events programme which was part of Westminster’s Inside Out Festival.

The design features the words ‘story’ in over 100 different languages. The brief was to create a design that celebrates the diversity of London communities whilst also reflecting the Abbey and its history.

Alix was inspired by calligraphy from across the world and its significance for the creation of holy texts and the sharing of stories. The inside of the tent symbolises the oral tradition of story telling, decorated with fiery colours to evoke fire side story telling.

The design also references the ‘inside out’ theme, with the design visible from both the inside and out!

Tape Art Project is a project developed by Alix which utilises tape as a medium for creating art works. The project shown here was part of an exhibition titled ‘Words from the Sky’ and Alix led a programme of participatory workshops in partnership with MA students from University College London (UCL) Alix featured her own artworks inspired by star constellations as a starting point for a series of site specific, collaborative wall murals, made by school and community groups and exhibition visitors.

Other workshops include bag making, tape art design and tape sculptures.

Tape Art Project

Alix has created installations for Alexandra Palace using willow sculpture and has run numerous willow sculpture projects with schools. Projects include ‘Stories by Moonlight’ for Alexandra Palace and the creation of the this giant owl for a school playground in North London.

Alix has developed and managed large scale projects for various galleries and cultural organisations including The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Arts Council England, Ben Uri: The Museum of Art, Identity and Migration, Westminster Abbey, The National Memorial Aboretum and Alexandra Palace.

Projects

‘Lockdown Landscapes’ for The National Memorial Aboretum and The Heritage Lottery Fund

Alix was one of 4 lead artists on the Lockdown Landscapes project, which was delivered in partnership with The National Memorial Aboretum, Westminster Abbey and The Heritage Lottery Fund. The explored the impact of lockdowns on people’s mental health, education, daily lives and routines and how people connected with their local parks, woodlands, public gardens and historic landscapes during times of isolation.

During the project Alix and 3 other artists across the UK, worked with different communities, to understand their experiences of lockdowns and encourage creativity in the wake of the pandemic. Alix worked with the young people from St. Andrews Youth Club to create ‘Memory Benches’ which were exhibited at the Aboretum.

“The concept of a memory bench was inspired by seeing so many public benches taped off during lockdown. It felt like it symbolised a lot about lockdown and it was an image which really stayed with me. By making these benches the young people will be able to share their memories of lockdown with others, but simultaneously, other people will be able to sit on the benches and reflect on their own memories. The benches will become public spaces once more, and hopefully a site for reflection and calm”- Alix Smith

Inside/Out Festival ‘Story Tent’ for Westminster Abbey

Alix was commissioned to design a ‘Story Tent’ to be used for story telling performances for a range of audiences during Westminster’s ‘Inside/Out’ Arts Festival.

The brief was to create a design that celebrates the diversity of London communities whilst also reflecting the Abbey and its history.

Alix was inspired by calligraphy from across the world and its significance for the creation of holy texts and the sharing of stories. The design featured the word ‘story’ in over 100 different languages. The inside of the tent symbolised the oral tradition of story telling, and was decorated with fiery colours to evoke fire side story telling.

'Out of Chaos' Ben Uri: The Museum of Art, Identity and Migration- Centenary Exhibition at Somerset House

Alix devised the community engagement programme for this year long project which marked the centenary of Ben Uri: The Museum of Art, Identity and Migration. Alix worked with partners Paddington Arts, Oxford House and SHAK (The South Hampstead and Kilburn Community Partnership) to develop a number of visual art programmes for community members, the outcomes of which were showcased at Somerset House during the exhibition. The project was funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund.

Ben Uri '100 for 100' at Christies South Kensington

Alix managed the learning partnership between Ben Uri and Christies as part of the 100 for 100 Exhibition. She developed a programme of activities, including student led curatorial tours, school visits, family activities and public talks and events. 

'Taking Part Place Project' for Arts Council England

This was a pilot project on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It was delivered in partnership with five London boroughs - Ealing, The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Lewisham, Richmond and Sutton. Each was awarded £20,000 to deliver a project to increase attendance and participation in groups that traditionally have low engagement with the arts. As part of the project, Alix initiated and managed visual arts activities for community members in Lewisham, including a photography exhibition with older people which was exhibited at Lewisham People's Day. 

‘Stories by Moonlight’ Installation for Alexandra Palace

Alix was commissioned to create an installation in the grounds of Alexandra Palace

Alix Smith has worked as a museum and gallery educator and gallery programmes manager since 2008.

She has an MA in Artist Teaching and Contemporary Practices (Goldsmiths University 2013, delivered in partnership with Tate Modern) and is a Qualified Arts Award Adviser. 

She has created learning programmes for schools, young people, families, adults and special education needs pupils, as well as teaching resources to accompany a wide range of exhibitions featuring artists such as Judy Chicago, Tracey Emin, Frank Auerbach and L.S Lowry. 

She has created art and design resources for primary and secondary schools, which are now available nationally via The National Education Network and she she also provides art and design training for teachers.

PROJECTS

'Your Paintings: Masterpieces in Schools- Art UK and BBC'

This project gave thousands of UK school children the opportunity to experience great art close-up when a selection of masterpieces by world-famous artists visited their schools for the day, in a project led by contemporary British artists Bob and Roberta Smith and John Byrne. Alix was responsible for managing the loan and display of one of these masterpieces, an Auerbach work from the Ben Uri Collection. She also developed educational resources to accompany the project. Alix's workshop was attended by Radio 4's Mark Lawson and the interview was featured on his radio programme.

Alix has curated a number of exhibitions of schools and community work, in galleries, libraries and public spaces.

Most recently she created a large scale installation of schools work at Paddington Central as part of a partnership project with Westminster Council and Paddington Arts. The exhibition was opened by the Mayor of Westminster and featured the work of 8 primary school classes from across the borough of Westminster.

Previous exhibitions have also included ‘Taking Part Place’ an inter-generational photography project in partnership with the Arts Council which was exhibited at the Lewisham People’s Day Festival and ‘We Are’ an exhibition of primary school artwork exploring ‘identity’, which was exhibited at Ben Uri Gallery, the Museum of Art, Identity and Migration.

Alix develops interactive art exhibitions and installations which imaginatively display works, engage the wider public and celebrate the creativity of the participants.