Sculpting the Community is an ambitious and exciting project that will culminate in a contemporary response to the work of Betty Miller. In particular her impressive sculptural tableaux My Village, held in the collection at NCMME. Artists Lenny and Whale will work alongside participants from ex-mining communities to develop artwork inspired by Betty Miller's work. The new work will form an exhibition of sculpture and digital work to be shared at NCMME, The Mining Art Gallery and Royston Library, displayed alongside My Village.
The project is funded by an Arts Council England project grant.
Workshops
Community engagement is at the heart of this project. We aim to engage communities in a range of hands-on creative activities whilst celebrating and sharing the work of Betty Miller.
Villagers
Throughout the project people are adding their marks and patterns to a series of wooden figures that will come together to make a colourful and celebratory gathering that will feature in the exhibition.
Betty Miller
Talking about
'MY VILLAGE'
"This project began about 1980. Over several years I found ways of overcoming technical problems and raising funds for bronze casting. It depicts a time about 1940.
The figures are all cast in bronze. Some streets and housed are in resin bronze."
“My theme is the human condition.”
Dove Hill
"As I remember, Dove Hill slopes down from the main road. A broad and rough space of dirty gravel ran down by the backs of the houses. Washing lines stretched across. Outside the back doors were lavatories and coal houses.
Tin baths hung from nails outside, for miners’ fire side baths. Doors were left open and people moved in and out.
The front of the houses were stone faced, with little stone-walled gardens, free with algae. A good pavement and rod ran down the hill. No one went there.
Life happened at the back. "
Betty Miller
Lenny & Whale: Studio
The studio is currently a hive of activity, full of drawings, prints, animation and sculptural work, all inspired by the exciting artwork that is flowing from the community workshops.
