LIfeWorkArt (LWA) is a professional practice programme that runs through the four years of the Fine Art BA at Newcastle. Students develop live projects outside the university including exhibitions, public art, placements (with arts organisations and in education and community settings), books, zines, online projects, art therapy. They can choose to work independently or in a group. They work with external organisations such as galleries (including the Hatton), museums, the heritage sector, artists residencies, schools, activist groups and do a lot of cross discipline work both with external organisations but also with other disciplines in the university (medicine, environmental sciences, architecture for example).
Two students, Sandy Kiralawella and Vinita Gurjar, have written about projects they are doing. These are just the tip of an enormous amount of exciting and ambitious projects (see below).
We work closely with Hazel Barron-Cooper, who runs the Learning Programme at the Hatton, doing a lot of joint workshops with schools as well as our students volunteering with the gallery. The interchange between the Hatton and Fine Art works well for visiting groups – they get a chance to see the Hatton exhibitions, tour the Fine Art department, and do creative workshops with Fine Art students. So they get a good sense of the dynamic between making and exhibiting art – a key value of the Hatton and Fine Art being in the same building!
David Butler is Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and LifeWorkArt Coordinator
Friends of the Hatton 