ROCKETS STUDIO
The Rocket Artists are a neuro-diverse group who collaboratively practice ‘Inclusive Arts’. The group evolved alongside a radical inclusive learning model developed on an Inclusive Arts Practice MA at Brighton University, where students work creatively alongside people with learning disabilities. The group are expanding and required a new studio space - an experimental laboratory - where ongoing inclusive collaborations can be explored.
YEAR
2020
PROJECT TYPE
EDUCATION, MATERIALS
COLLABORATORS
Rocket Artists
TEAM
Alys Hargreaves, Felix Sagar James Hepper, Millicent Green
We converted the existing concrete block hanger, installing a new heated floor, glass shop front, kitchen, storage and studio space. To make the most out of the tight floor area, we designed bespoke furniture including large collaborative tables, desks and easels. The central idea regarding the workstations is that they can change function – allowing a small space to take on different arrangements easily and respond to specific spontaneous needs, moods or situations. The artists who use the studio each have varied ways of working as well as varied ways in which they prefer to inhabit the space.
Each workstation can be stored inside a standard shelving unit and has catches which allow the user to attach different ‘tops’. One moment it can support the large 4-person tables which fold down from the walls, the next it can hold smaller table pieces and form mobile 2-person or 4-person tables. This same piece can then be rotated to create a mobile easel.
