'Creative Research' at the great wall of Lempa!

A wonderful collaboration with the Amsterdam University College (AUC)! Fifteen AUC students accompanied by three members of staff, AUC’s Dean Murray Pratt, Pedram Dibazar and Cobben Floris, have visited Paphos on the occasion of the European City of Culture Festival, as part of their new course (Culture Lab) on the 12- 24 June this year. During the visit, the students engaged in the study of culture and cultural festivals, European identity-building and the role of cultural interventions in addressing issues for cities and citizens within European contexts. As part of their programme they hosted one of my workshops on the topic of 'Creative Research' . The workshop took place in the wonderful site of the Lempa College, in Paphos, an artwork in its own right. The whole place is surrounded by an amazing sculpture wall, known locally as the Great Wall of Lempa, which was started in the 1980s by the founder of the college, the artist Stass Paraskos and continued by numerous other visiting artists who added to the structure, creating one of the most astonishing works of public art in Cyprus. (For more information about Lempa College check their site http://artcyprus.wixsite.com/cypruscollegeofart).

The workshop I offered was tailored with an emphasis on introducing the students to the creative research methodologies & way of thinking. Students were left with a deeper understanding of the value of creative engagement and the use of art practice as a valid tool for discovery and interpretation. As part of the workshop students were guided to explore the space and engage in creative exercises, in order to recover and discover information about the great wall of Lempa.

Students engaged in sketch mapping, art making, creative writing, filming, narrative walking and other methods to interpret the space. As a kind of creative archaeology students have managed to produce an interesting body of work, which we then discussed and assessed the findings.