This year I got to work on the annual collaboration with Art and Design students from Scarborough Sixth Form and Crescent Arts, which is a project where an artist + Crescent staff works alongside a group of young artists to put on an exhibition in a week. It happens in the rather stunning but also unusual venue of the Woodend gallery which is partly made up of a large Victorian Glasshouse and is the former summer house of the Sitwell family.

In the planning stages we settled on the title and theme of the exhibition to be ‘desire lines’, which a dictionary defines as ‘[meaning] an unplanned route or path…that is used by pedestrians in preference to or in the absence of a designated alternative.’ This felt like an interesting starting point for the project, allowing us to think about the journeys that we go on both literarily and metaphorically, and the environments, hopes that we interact with on route.

Everything initially stated with sketches and idea generation,but a lot had to be left to the week of making, so it could be done in a collaborative way. Allowing for ideas to develop from all of those involved in a more organic and democratic way. Some initial sketches and plans show some similarities of what came in the final exhibition, but others that do not reference final outcomes at all. This shows the fluidity of the process and the need to adopt an openness to changes in direction when working collaboratively.

There was a couple of initial sessions ahead of the making week, so everyone could meet each other. These included making a series of geli prints from their own photos with Hannah and Joel from Crescent Arts. Then a second session focused on playful methods, working together using transparencies and an OHP to create, destroy, move compositions and make a creative object out of limited materials. The OHP was a useful tool as it allowed for play and flexibility in a quick, creative and responsive way. Some of the outcomes from these sessions can be seen below.

Finally for the making week, we would start each day considering our expectations, hopes and as the week went on reflecting on each of the previous days. We recorded everything on paper from our words, phrases to even our food orders and biscuit requests! We also started each day with a walk outside, but it was not a typical walk… we would just start moving in any direction, on the grassy area at the back of Woodend, until we shouted stop. This exercise was intended to start the day with something fun and playful, and get us to think about movements, routes, and see if our journeys changed throughout the week. These walks were recorded and can be seen on the television in the exhibition.

For the rest of the exhibition we created a number of things including a series of banners. Each of the young artists created something that reflected their own interests and journeys, and we also displayed a series of banners that had been created at a public workshop as part of the national ‘Beach of Dreams’ project.

In the central gallery space we made a series of 3d maps which involved initially drawing out our desired routes before turning them into soft sculptures. They all ranged in colour, size and form and represented routes from someone’s regular dog walk, walks to college and work, and even the movement of a shark someone sponsored! Everyone played a part in curating their placement, and they ended up hanging from the celling, resting on the floor or sitting on highly decorated plinths. This varied and bold placement allows the audience to create their own routes as they explore the work.

Other pieces created across the week, include a paper mural that was cut out of shapes inspired by our soft sculptures, and framed geli prints, which were layered and collaged with work that had been made across the week. All of the work was aiming to take inspiration and build on other pieces and making processes as well as outcomes visible, which highlights the creative journey that the young artists went on and not just the final pieces.

We were also thinking about audience’s experience of the space, and visiting the exhibition, you will see various prompts from vinyls on the walls and floors, as well as a series of cards to help you explore the works, aiming to allow you to not only explore the journeys the artists went on, but also reflect on and create your own.

Throughout the week, we aimed to be as environmentally sustainable as possible, reusing materials from previous workshops, frames from a past exhibition, working with donated fabrics and threads, and even scraps of paper for our wall based mural. Thinking about the material life of objects is a further process that should be embedded within exhibition planning in our current age of environmental crisis.

The exhibition was a great experience, and really challenged my own thinking in terms of using materials, working collaborative and believing in a process. When visiting thespace, we would love to hear your thoughts and impressions.

By Martha Cattell

More info: @marthacattell

This exhibition runs until 22nd August 2025. Woodend Gallery is open Mon – Fri, 10am -5pm

27th June – 22nd August 2025

Woodend Gallery