Autograph, London
Autograph is based in London where it runs a photography gallery and a programme of talks and educational activities. It also works internationally promoting exhibitions, events and publications concerned with photography, cultural identity, race, representation and human rights.
Previous Projects
EXPLORERS 2017 - 2020
Have you ever had, Sharif Persaud
28 February – 23 May
Autograph, London
Sharif Persaud had his first solo exhibition at Autograph, as part of the EXPLORERS project co-commission. The exhibition opened on 28 February 2020, included drawings and large scale paintings as well as a screening of his film The Mask.
Sharif Persaud: Have You Ever Had exhibition at Autograph, London, 28 February - 23 May 2020. Curated by Mark Sealy. Photograph by Zoë Maxwell.
Sharif has had a long association with Project Art Works and been a key contributor to much of PAW’s recent output, including several film projects. Placing himself at the centre of his work, Sharif explores identity through his experience of life and autism.
Sharif Persaud: Have You Ever Had is the culmination of the three-year EXPLORERS Project. Set against a backdrop of increased hardship and marginalisation of vulnerable people, the EXPLORERS Project celebrates and raises awareness of the dynamic, extraordinary contribution neurodiverse communities make to art and culture.
Mark Sealy, exhibition curator and Director of Autograph, said: “Autograph believes that visual representation is a powerful force for change, and we are delighted to host the first solo exhibition of Sharif Persaud’s work. Have You Ever Hadcelebrates Sharif’s artistic vision, and aims to challenge the historic lack of neurodiverse representation in cultural institutions.”
Kate Adams, Artist Director and CEO of Project Art Works: “Sharif Persaud’s particular and powerfully direct way of communicating with others can be found within this body of work. His highly evolved narrative voice provides a rich and distinct perspective on familiar social and dramatic constructs. Have You Ever Had is the result of a progressive and open collaboration between organisations and people that shifts the balance of visibility and representation in art and culture. It is, hopefully, just the beginning.”
The EXPLORERS Project is informed and led by neurodiverse communities, in collaboration with cultural organisations across the UK and in Australia including Autograph, Tate Liverpool, MK Gallery, De La Warr Pavilion, Fabrica, Photoworks and the National Institute for Experimental Arts UNSW.
Visit Autograph for more information.
EXPLORERS is supported though an ACE Ambition for Excellence grant awarded to Project Art Works and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
‘How we care for people’ and associated events, August 2018
Rights in Focus, 18 & 19 April 2018
Autograph ABP, in London, held a two day exchange exploring the power of engagement. As part of the Explorers Project, Project Art Works were part of the programme delivering workshops and speaking about their experiences. The event is documented in this fantastic booklet that details who was there and what was said. Download it here.
Neurodiversity & Art Seminar, 9 November 2017
The second EXPLORERS seminar, entitled Neurodiversity and Art was held in the main gallery space at Autograph ABP, within the workshop environment created for the Encounter workshops. Nine speakers including Mark Sealey, Director, Autograph ABP; Rosie Cooper, Head of Exhibitions, DLWP; Daria Martin, artist and academic; Charlotte Moore, author and journalist, gave presentations from their own different perspectives around the ideas proposed by the following questions:
Neurodiverse groups benefit from creative collaboration with artists, curators and galleries, but how does collaborative action help us to mutual understanding? Why is an awareness and understanding of neurodiversity important for curators and exhibition programmers? And how can curatorial programming become more inclusive to accommodate this?
Charlotte Moore also brought her sons Sam and George Smith who are participants at Project Art Works' weekly Parachute club and their presence was key to illustrating how people of all different neurological states of being can work together. In the afternoon a panel discussion answered a series of provocations solicited from the audience, followed by further live questions which together challenged and opened up further issues in relation to the aims of the project.
On the day 77 people attended and we engaged two sign language interpreters from Love Language. We are currently compiling responses received from an evaluative survey sent to all attendees prior to the event on Survey Monkey.
Download the full programme here.
Autograph ABP Creative Workshop Installation, November 2017
“From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently.”
Justice. Edited by Michael J Sandel. Oxford University Press, Inc. 2007
For a week in November Project Art Works took over the exhibition space of Autograph ABP to present a workshop space as an installation. Members of the public were welcome to visit the space on Saturday 4 November and Saturday 11 November 2017 to experience two different installations.
For the first, prior to creative action, Project Art Works created a space for film, objects and spaces ready to be used in Encounter workshops with people with complex needs alongside graphics and text about the current political landscape of the social care sector. The resulting work, film, ideas and materials were showcased within the constructed installation environment, all outcomes from the weeks’ workshops.
Autograph Encounter, November 2017
Over three days of workshops we worked with participants from Apasen, an established provider of social and community services in East London, Ickburgh School and Create Day Centre, run by Tower Hamlets Social Services. 20 participants worked together with our artists and 16 staff from Autograph ABP. Towards the end of each day we used a technique called solar printing, a photographic process using negative transparencies, to produce individual portraits of each of the participants.
Quote
“The people who use our service said that it was a wonderful day and that they loved the art and really liked the people who supported them. For the staff of Create it was insightful to see how some of the people who come to create were very different in this new environment. We noticed that they were more engaged and their challenging behaviour was non-existent. Plus they appeared to have a lot of fun. We are looking forward to continuing being part of this project.” - Mark Adlington, Create Day Centre, Tower Hamlets
“Thank you so much for the workshops you have organised for our pupils it has been an unbelievable experience for them and us! The artwork created by the pupils has been some of the best I’ve seen! Many thanks to all the team and assistants for providing such spectacular workshops!” - Chris Mackin - Head of Art, Ickburgh School, Hackney
Autograph Awareness, June 2017
On Days 2 and 3, small groups of the Autograph team travelled to Ickburgh School in Homerton and joined Project Art Works’ artists, working with students, teachers and support staff from the school in a constructed, immersive environment in the school hall. Over 4 sessions with students with a variety of different and complex needs, the Autograph teams got to discover different approaches and ways of working with neurodiverse young people, and sensitivity to individual ways of being.
QUOTEs
"A really positive experience - not feeling like you have to rush into it."
"A really different type of pacing - the way you approach working with an individual."
"Learned a lot watching."
"What I want is to build a truly inclusive organisation - this becomes a practical thing."
"It felt like there was a space to allow things to evolve."
"Exploration is important for them."
"Interesting experience in communication."
Autograph Awareness, June 2017
Project Art Works travelled to Autograph ABP in london for 3 days of Awareness activities. on day 1, autograph staff heard about different models of social care, facilitating choice and the role of the artist in working with people with complex needs from the paw team. They also heard about the idea of the Local Offer from Lizzy Ngotta, Inclusion and Specialist Support Team Leader and Ella Richie, Hackney Local Offer Coordinator, from Hackney Learning Trust.
