Michelle Baharier
Residency period: August 2024
Michelle Baharier wass Sprout’s Artist in Residence in 2024. She is a critically acclaimed Fine Artist with a passion for colour and people, and her art features expressive portraits that tell stories. She is dyslexic and her artistic practice is strongly influenced by her lived experience of disability, resulting in participatory art and performative events.
Michelle brings over forty years of expertise in facilitating workshops, and curating exhibitions. She is also a performance artist in spoken word, poetry, photography, phone drawings, and digital/video collages and her work can be found in private collections, the Tate Modern archive and the London Transport Museum, and her poetry is in the British Library, various magazines and blogs. She is currently commissioned to work with Equality Works and London Transport Museum, creating work that explores people with disability in the work place, which she worked on during her residency.
Michelle worked to create a Community Portrait, inviting local families, neighbours and social groups to participate in creating a special collage by sharing their photos, images and ideas. There was also fun interactive activities, portrait opportunities, workshops and talks. supported by portrait artist Sonia Thomas and Anna-Maria Amato who is a fine artist, curator and writer.
@bahariermichelle
Week 1
Michelle Baharier brought the portraitures that she is producing for the London Transport Museum to work on during the residency. She also creating a Community Portrait Collage in the window which everyone iwas invited to contribute to throughout the residency - bringing A4 photographs, drawings or paintings of local landmarks, streets and portraits, they were be added to the collage in the window.
Charcoal portrait sketches by either Michelle or Anna Maria
Peep-Boards: Michelle Baharier and Anna-Maria.Amato prepared fun interactive photo stand-ins (also called a face-in-the-hole board, photo cut-out board and Peep-Board) which is a large board with an image printed on it - with holes cut out where people can stick their face through, creating a different identity and/or humorous effect.
Peep up as: Sir Henry Tate who founded The Tate Art Gallery; or Frida Kahlos who spent her life painting her own portraits.
Week 2:
The Portrait Collage Workshop: with Michelle Baharier
Create an imaginary portrait using paper collages. Think about symbolisms to show who it is you are making, you can create a portrait of any person or even an animal. Learn about shapes, colour tearing, and just having fun. Michelle can show how she doodles on her phone and combines paint with collage.
Wed 14 Aug, 4:30 to 5:30pm. Women in the Frame talk by Michelle Baharier:
A talk about women artists, looking at self portraits and portraits from history and at the role portraits played in the work of women artists across different art movements. Focusing on artists such as Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Judith Leyster, who presented themselves with confidence, asserted and promoted themselves in eras when society rarely deemed that appropriate for women.
This Talk, will lead on to informal discussions, allowing questions and answers, Michelle will facilitate the group, with their own learning and sharing of knowledge.
Thurs 15 Aug, 5-7pm: ‘Book Stories’ Workshop: with Anna-Maria Amato
A special Workshop, which explores the connections between our inner narrative and our environment. This art workshop will be a chance to illustrate our world and explore our stories. The workshop will involve looking at artists’ work, authors’ stories, our own art and stories and considering how we find these in the ordinary-or extraordinary of our lives.
Week 3
Tues 20 Aug, 2-4pm: Pablo Ruiz Picasso Portraits – Join in a fun workshop looking at the work of Picasso, and create your own portrait Look at how Picasso turned the world of portraiture upside down and then have a go, using a range of materials, including collage. Make your mark with a piece of work you can take home. £20 all children must be acompined by an adult.
Thursday, August 22 1:30 - 3:30pm: From The Imagination - Art Workshop Led by Anna-Maria Amato, Bring something which represents/describes your imagination and something which invigorates your imagination. Explore, create and share in this workshop, where Anna-Maria will invite participants to contribute to a large interactive art installation.
Friday 23 Aug, 1-3pm: Cut-Out Poetry Workshop:
In this 2 hour Workshop we’ll be using cut out words we will describe ourselves, creating fun poetry and share a reading to each other. Led by Michelle Baharier
Week 4
Michelle and Anna-Maria will be working in the gallery throughout the week. The completed Furzedown Community Collage will be on display with the final Photo Stand-in/Peep-Boards. Donations of £5 to get their photo taken.
Wednesday 28 Aug, 5-8pm: Community party celebration Celebratory end of show party event and exhibition, reviewing and enjoying all the work done and trying out the activities, with refreshments as a thank you for everyone who has taken part