Ellon Academy: Hand to Hand
At the community entrance: words derived from conversations with local people sum up and celebrate the community’s character and contribution.
2011-2015
Lead Artist: Mary Bourne
Client: Aberdeenshire Council
The brief for this project was to deliver a programme of artworks designed to maximise educational value and celebrate the community character of the Academy. This resulted in major artworks for the school on a theme of continuity and change within the community, and the relationship between individuals and the broader group.
At the pupil entrance: a series of words make visible some of the interior, personal feelings experienced by pupils as they look to the future.
River of Words
Local people were invited to write, in ten words or fewer, their feelings about the River Ythan, which flows through the town and has shaped its history. These then became a River of Words on an internal glazed screen.
Poetry workshops were facilitated by poet, Bernard Briggs, with support from the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature Fund.
Hand to Hand
Working with a group of pupils from across the school years and with the Art and English Departments, with additional support from Aberdeenshire Council Museum Service, Mary developed an artwork and associated publication about the objects that are handed down from person to person within the community, and the reasons that these are important.
Please also see the Engagement and Education page for further information on the educational aspects of this project.