projects
Partnerships and collaborations are absolutely central to what we do. We relish opportunities to work with other local organisations and institutions to deliver high quality, meaningful creative activities. If you are, or work with, an existing community group and are interested in commissioning Positive Light Projects to co-design a workshop, course or project then please get in touch.
Pelican PRESS WHEELCHAIR PRINTING PRESS
The Pelican Press Wheelchair Printing Press is a handmade printing press that incorporates the weight of a wheelchair as the main printing element. The project allowed us to create a truly accessible resource that could be enjoyed independently by people in wheelchairs, and where they could take part equally side by side with non-disabled users. The press, funded in part by the Growing Communities Fund from Devon County Council, was built here at Positive Light Projects and used to explore a range of printmaking processes and techniques in a series of workshops and activities. The project was developed and delivered in partnership with The Pelican Project, a group of learning dibbled artists and creatives.
TRACTION PROJECT SPACE
Traction is a new artist-led space developed by artist/curator Erika Cann, supported and housed within Positive Light Projects, on Exeter’s Sidwell St.
Set in the left hand side of the building's large street-facing windows, the gallery provides a flexible space to test new ideas and present work in all formats, in a 24/7 accessible location.
The gallery's focus is to develop ideas and to provide experience and support for young and emerging artists, showcasing high quality, critically engaged, contemporary visual art to a diverse audience in Exeter city centre.
Pelican Portraits 3
Throughout this project artists Brendan Barry and George Barron from Positive Light Projects worked in collaboration with The Pelican Project to create a series of unique, experimental portraits, celebrating the diversity and personality of the group.
Initially photographic portraits of The Pelicans were captured direct onto light sensitive paper with a custom built 8x10” large format camera, designed to be operated by people with diverse physical and mental abilities. These images were then developed and printed in Positive Light Projects’ new darkroom.
Following this was a series of workshops guided by The Pelicans where we worked into the photographs using a variety of approaches, including collage, drawing, painting and screen printing, bringing them to life with depth, detail, colour, texture and healthy dose of humour, characteristic of the group!
One of the aims of this project was to challenge the preconceptions of what a photographer and/or artist is and can be, and to create a series of portraits of people rarely given a platform to be seen from publicly.
The project was an Exeter Culture arts commission funded by Exeter City Council.
Summer Workshops for Migrant Families
Working with the Migration & Resettlement team at Devon County Council we ran a series of workshops for families during the summer holidays. Over 3 weeks we delivered range of exciting, experimental and fun creative activity. Each week we played with and exploreed a variety of arts based processes including printing making, photography and drawing, among others.
Cameraless Photography Course
A three week cameraless photography course in collaboration with CoLab and The Urban Learning Academy. Working in Positive Light Projects’ brand new darkroom this course will covered a range of analogue photographic techniques and alternative processes. Participants explored with a range of approaches including photograms, chemigrams, lumen prints and experimental processing techniques whilst learning the fundamentals of traditional darkroom practice.
Magic Lantern and Camera Obscura Project
Through an extensive period of experimentation and collaboration exploring a range of photographic and printing making processes and techniques, we developed a unique new way of producing cross disciplinary art works and creative public engagement practices. Utilising an existing collection of antique magic lantern slides from Exeter and a purpose built enlarger / projector we created a range of large and small scale experimental images made of these slides by exposing light direct onto photosensitive paper. Various printmaking processes were then applied to these prints, isolating certain elements and subject matter to bring attention to sometimes significant, sometimes incidental moments within the images. Connections with Sidwell Street, the history of Exeter City, and broader themes around identity, place and understandings of the urban were explored within the R&D stage that will give form and focus to the project as it develops.
These works were then displayed during Art Week Exeter at Positive Light Projects complimented by a camera obscura. Participants who came to the space were able to select magic lantern slides and to view them projected through an original antique magic lantern projector as well as engage with the camera obscura and be led in a discussions about how the two relate to each other exploring the science and history of each.
The project was part of a research and development grant / commission from Arts & Culture exploring early projection techniques, experimental analogue photographic processes, creative public engagement and historic imagery of Exeter.
St Sidwell’s Point Project
In the spring of 2022 we were commissioned by Exeter City Council to run a series of workshops, opens days and socially engaged creative activity to produce a range of artwork that would be included in printed material to highlight the route from the town centre to the new St Sidwell’s Point Leisure Center.
Over the course of 4 weeks we invited as wide variety of groups to Positive Light Projects. The Pelican Project, joined us for a letterpress workshop, Exeter Homeless Partnership experimented with cameraless photography techniques, Devon Recovery Learning produced a range of cyanotypes and The Syrian Refugee and Migrant Workers group from St Sidwell’s Community Centre made a series of experimental monoprints. We also hosted two open days from local primary schools and members of the general public.
colab ula printmaking course
This was a 4 weeks printmaking course run in collaboration with the Urban Leaning Academy.
