Teens explore identity for city exhibition

Young people’s hopes and dreams for the future were articulated through the medium of art for their own exhibition at Liverpool Museums.

As part of the Brand New World exhibition, LJMU’s Fab Lab supported artist Robert Awork to deliver hands on sessions with young people aged 11-14.

In the sessions young people learned how to capture and edit 3D scans of each other's faces as well as casting 3D printed moulds in a variety of materials such as algae bioplastics.

The Brand New World program, run by the Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership, paired artist-mentors with groups of young people to learn how art can help them explore issues of their own identity and its relation to the world around them.

New technology

Sessions in the Fab Lab were aimed at providing access to a higher educational setting for the group who worked with Robert, a graduate of LJMU's MA Immersive Arts and frequent collaborator of Fab Lab Liverpool.

Kerry Walsh, Assistant Headteacher at Clifford Holroyde SEN School: "Before working with Rob my students were ‘new’ to experiencing what technology is used in a university setting and how after covid our educational ‘world’ has changed. The work has inspired many of our year 7s to aim to work in the digital media sector."

Fab Lab 3D printed the teenager’s faces for the pop-up exhibition at the International Slavery Museum from Friday 1st July 2022 - Tuesday 5^th July.

Our technologists also created vacuum formed moulds to create bioplastic impressions that will slowly degrade over time. These are displayed alongside digital artworks that the groups have created to explore themes of identity and visions of the future through autobiographical artworks.

Journey for young minds

Robert Awork, the lead artist, said: "From school to Fab Lab has been a journey for these young minds. Let's give them more opportunity; they are the future."

The Brand New World programme has been working with six secondary schools. Clifford Holroyd, Bankview, Redbridge, St Margaret’s, Belvedere and North Liverpool Academy to image a post-COVID world and create artworks reflecting their hopes and dreams.

Students have also visited galleries and exhibitions and their study of artists of different backgrounds has provided a platform for discussion about cultural heritage, identity and racism.