Collage class: a woman's place is in the home?
One day practical course
Saturday 7 March 2020 10.30am - 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
£120. Includes all materials and light refreshments
Terms and conditions
This day-long practical course uses the technique of collage to explore feminist art and portrayals of the domestic interiors.
Participants will create a series of 2D paper collages, constructed from vintage women’s magazines and other ephemera, looking at the relationship between women and the home. Inspired by early Dadaists such as Hannah Höch, this class will also reflect our increasingly automated society – with its driverless cars, robotic sex dolls and the voice of Alexa.
Each participant will create a 'shadow box' (a glass-fronted box containing found objects or collaged elements). The shadow box will be based on a seminal work of early American feminist literature called The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in 1892. This is a short story about a woman confined to her home, due to a "slight hysterical tendency" and it illustrates the attitude towards women’s mental and physical health in the 19th century. Participants will draw out some of the imagery and themes from this important work and create a personalised shadow box, using vintage wallpapers, small objects and photographs, and a variety of other materials, to create their own 3D artwork.
All materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to read the novella beforehand and to bring any small personal objects or photographs that they might like to incorporate into their shadow boxes.
Minimum age 18. If you have any accessibility needs, please contact academic.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk.
This course is celebrating International Women’s Day 2020.
About the Tutor
Sadie Hennessy
Sadie Hennessy is a practising artist specialising in collage and printmaking. Her work tends to scratch at the veneer of civilised society and its mores, searching out the darkness underneath. She often uses humour in her work, though it usually comes from the blacker end of the comic spectrum.
Her work has been exhibited regularly around the UK (and beyond), with recent solo projects in London, Margate, Coventry & Birmingham. She has an MA in Fine Art from Central St. Martins, where her degree show won her the Jealous Graduate Prize. She then completed a year-long printmaking residency at Croydon Art College. Her work is in the UCL collection and in the print collection of the V&A.
She is currently Screen Print Fellow at the Royal Academy.
Our courses and classes programme
Our varied programme of short courses and classes provides an opportunity to explore subjects ranging from life drawing to the history of exhibitions and arts management, led by expert tutors and practising artists. These courses introduce traditional art-making processes, as well as perspectives on art history, theory and business.
Give this course as a gift
All of our courses can be purchased as a gift for a friend or family member – giving the gift of education and a remarkable experience. To arrange a personalised Gift Voucher, please contact the Academic Programmes Team, by calling 020 7300 5641 or email academicprogrammes@royalacademy.org.uk