Barnaby Barford led a Masterclass for the Goldsmiths, University of London Art&Design Club where they created bold word-drawings inspired by their identity and experiences.
Barnaby gave the Club members an overview of his work and instigated a word association game where the young people shouted out responses to images displayed. Leading on from this Barnaby encouraged the Club members to think about words that represented their identities and to write them down in an expressive style using charcoal.
Following this, the Club members were split into groups of four, each with a large piece of paper and charcoal to create word art pieces to be presented to the rest of the group at the end of the session.
Barnaby commented that he found the session to be ‘profound’. “During the masterclass, we spoke about identity, hopes and fears. Sadly, time and again, words that arose spoke about death, heartbreak and family break-up. Such a wonderful group of young people, the masterclass was really led by them, the drawings they made explored their emotions and frustrations. I thought the work they produced was incredibly powerful and moving. The Club members were engaged and worked really well together. They’re the next generation shining bright, bold and talented; though they are struggling to have hope about their lives and future possibilities. The opportunity the National Saturday Club offers is so important as it allows them to express themselves creatively at a time when many creative subjects have been stripped away from school.” Barnaby Barford