Through the 'Lens'

The commissioning of 'Lens' by Glenn Carter has allowed us to work with a number of different courses from Plymouth College of Art and the University of Plymouth.

Higher Education

Foundation Degree in Applied Arts at Plymouth College of Art

Students from the Foundation Degree in Applied Arts at Plymouth College of Art were asked to respond with a proposal for their own work for the window space on the Museum's half landing. Students attended sessions both at the Museum and at the Art College facilitated by the artist to share experiences of developing large scale commissions. Staff from the Museum and Art Gallery also attended presentations by the students to give feedback. Five students were then shortlisted and interviewed by a panel of staff. Those students who were successful were able to display their sketches, maquettes and samples of work in a case next to Glenn's work.

BA (Hons) Fine Art students at Plymouth College of Art

First Year BA (Hons) Fine Art students from Plymouth College of Art visited as part of their Critical and Curatorial Practices module. They were able to meet Glenn and our Exhibitions Officer to talk about the commissioning process from both the artist’s and commissioner’s point of view. The students were then asked to write a proposal for their own site-specific work, either using the window space or another space in the city. The students worked collaboratively on their proposals, made physical or digital maquettes, wrote funding applications, and presented their work to lecturers and staff. See some photos of the project on our Flickr page!

BA (Hons) Graphic Communication with Typography students at the University of Plymouth

First Year BA (Hons) Graphic Communication with Typography students from the University of Plymouth were given a brief to create an identity for Glenn Carter and an A5 flyer targeted at 18 to 25 year olds. The students visited the Museum to view 'Lens' and talked to Glenn Carter about his work. They were then asked to pitch their proposed designs, a committee including lecturers, staff from the Museum and industry professionals. Louise Evans was successful. 2,000 copies of her flyer were printed and distributed around Plymouth. Take a look at our photos of this project on our Flickr page.

Events and activities

As well as our higher education projects, ‘Lens’ was used as the inspiration for a range of events and activities including sessions with the Museum’s pre-school group - 'The Imaginators', two different holiday workshops, a Wild About Plymouth event, lunchtime talks and tours.

Case displays

Related case displays could also be seen on our half landing and in our foyer while ‘Lens’ was on show. The displays featured 'Patterns in Nature', 'Historic Glass', 'Contemporary Craft' and 'Contemporary Glass'.