Students from Turriff Academy are working with artists Amy Davenport and Fergus Connor on a photography project which focusses on the work of German photographer August Sander.
The new arts education project led by Aberdeenshire Council aims to instill a passion for photography in north-east pupils.
Born in Herdorf in 1876, August Sander was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century and is best known for his portraits of people from all sections of German society.
Aberdeenshire Council’s Director of Education, Learning and Leisure, Maria Walker, said
This is a very exciting project for Aberdeenshire pupils to be involved in and I’m delighted to have Amy and Fergus onboard to develop it further.
August Sander’s photographs are renowned all over the world for their insight into human society and their technical brilliance. I’m sure both his work, and the work Amy and Fergus do, will inspire a deeper interest and knowledge of the subject amongst our pupils.
An exhibition of Sander’s work – People of the 20th Century – is currently being displayed at Duff House in Banff until August 31 and will provide the basis for Amy and Fergus to work with pupils to explore young people’s ideas around identity.
Amy Davenport said
I’m really pleased to be part of this project. It’s a great opportunity to work with academy pupils, fellow artist Fergus, and Aberdeenshire Council’s arts education team – not to mention the superb exhibition of Sander’s portraits and resources at Duff House.
It’s fantastic that the work of a world-renown photographer is being shown here, especially such an extensive range of images. I think Sander’s images will interest and inspire pupils and I look forward to assisting them in the creation of their own artwork.
There are so many possibilities with this project – I can’t wait to see the
results.
Fergus Connor added
I’m very excited about this project because it ties in with a lot of ideas that I’ve been working on. I’m looking forward to combining traditional and digital technologies and work with pupils to create a portrait of their school in the 21st Century.
The artists will create a series of photographs and are also keen to look at the history and technological development of photography with pupils, using pinhole cameras and darkroom processing.
Both the August Sander exhibition and education programme are funded by Artists Rooms on tour with the Art Fund.
