Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham

Students recently took part in an innovative artist-led workshop as part of a project brief titled ‘Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham’.

Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham is a collaborative project between artists Paul Raymond, James Stephen Wright and Polina Chizhova. The group has worked with three schools in the county, facilitating a series of workshops developing the students’ sculpting, casting and 3D photogrammetry skills.

Opening up the trapdoor to a new world, the participants were encouraged to reflect on how digital media can influence our perceptions and experiences of places, as well as how we can create new narratives about places we inhabit. Throughout the workshops, the participants have created drawings, sculptures and assemblage artworks all of which will be added to a 3D gamified browser-based world (hosted on New Art City) as well as, included in the final exhibition, alongside landmarks from each of the workshops areas. The world will become a lasting representation of the participants’ ideas and will be shared widely through online channels for others to experience.

Finally, a selection of sculptures made during Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham have been displayed in central Durham as an Augmented Reality exhibition trail.

The central location was a symbolic choice, bringing the sculptures from more remote and less represented areas of the County to its centre. To launch the exhibition, there was a pop-up stall at Durham Market with information, flyers and opportunities for discussion and answering questions. link to virtual world

Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham was experienced at Palace Green Library, Durham. Thanks to Paul Raymond, James Stephen Wright and Polina Chizhova for giving our students this ‘fantastical’ opportunity.