What makes this city special? This summer, we’re bringing together artists and communities across Oxford to unearth experiences of the changing urban environment in Situated Ecologies. With choreography, sound, film, textiles and sensory play, we’re celebrating the people and places that fuel our civic imagination.
Pavilion: Create with us
Free creative activities for all!
24 August – 1 September
Join us in The Clarendon Centre this summer, to get creative, socialise and reflect in Harold Offeh’s Pavilion. Celebrating Oxford’s unique people and places through dance, drawing, sensory play and more, get involved in a summer of creativity.
The Pavilion will be open from 11am-5pm each day, transforming a disused shopping centre with its bright and colourful canopy. Look out for beams of rainbow-coloured light shining through this sculpture by Harold Offeh and discover the packed programme of events taking place within. This week of activities and workshops is part of Situated Ecologies, Modern Art Oxford’s summer off-site programme.
Find Us
Head to the main entrance of the Clarendon Centre on Cornmarket. Keep an eye out for our colourful posters marking the way.
What’s on:
Make Play
Saturday 24 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in.
Let your child explore their creativity in our sensory Make Play workshop.
Children aged 1-5.
Art Pack: Make and Take
Sunday 25 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Unleash your creativity with our free art packs! Craft mixed media maps that celebrate your local area.
Ages 4+
Acting our Age – Dance and movement workshop
Monday 26 August 2024 | 11am – 4pm | Drop in
Join choreographer Jane Castree for a workshop celebrating dance and exploring community through movement and memory.
All ages.
Transition by Design
Tuesday 27 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Be a part of conversation and change with Transition by Design, in a workshop exploring ways to tackle housing needs in the UK and Oxford.
Ages 12+
Map-Making
Wednesday 28 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Choose the places that matter to you and help us create a new collaborative map of the city.
All ages.
Oxford Phantasmagoria
Thursday 29 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Tap into your inner (or outer) child’s creativity in this playful workshop inspired by the fantastical shapes and styles of Lina Bo Bardi’s buildings.
All ages.
Creative Conversation
Friday 30 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Join artist Harold Offeh for creative conversation, relaxation and play under the Pavilion’s bright and colourful canopy.
Ages 12+
Zine and Poster Workshop
Saturday 31 August 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Join Artist Rotem Linial in a Zine and Poster making workshop where you can collaborate with AI image generators.
Ages 4+
Vegetable Still Life
Sunday 1 September 2024 | 11am – 1pm | Drop in
Celebrate home-grown creativity and create a still life arrangement from a special display of locally sourced vegetables.
All ages.
Situated Ecologies: Summer Offsite Commissions
Guest artists and curators Fig Studio, Farwa Moledina, Helen Edwards, and Jane Castree will join us for a series of exciting new commissions. Delving into diverse archives and taking part in events and gatherings across the city, they’ll be reflecting on its natural and cultural ecology. Visiting lunch clubs, allotments, parks and waterways, we’ll be bringing Modern Art Oxford to you.
Find out more about what we’re up to at different locations across the city below.
We’re part of the line-up for FloFest, a volunteer-led annual community festival running since 2013. With artist and guest curator Fig Studio, alongside the Museum of Oxford and festival organisers, we’re pitching up in a vintage cinema van, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Florence Park estate with interviews and video celebrating the green space in and around the park.
Dancer and choreographer Jane Castree will join Bullingdon Community Centre’s Silver Shakers, an inclusive group of people aged 50+ who enjoy coming together to dance, socialise and just have fun. Throughout the summer period, they’ll explore community and place through movement and memory, culminating in a live performance and public workshop.
Meanwhile, the Date Palm Tree Group of around 250 Muslim parents and children will work with artist Farwa Moledina to celebrate Ummah, the Islamic supranational community which transcends borders, boundaries and governments. Using recycled materials such as hijabs and culturally significant textiles from each family, they’ll create a series of collective artworks to be displayed in Modern Art Oxfords’ new ground floor gallery in November 2024.
Modern Art Oxford’s off site workshops with The Date Palm Tree group are supported by a University of Oxford Community Grant.
Helen Edwards will lead a series of free art-making sessions at Cutteslowe Community Centre from June to August. Featuring the Minnows early years group, the Family Art Club, the Cutteslowe Larder, and the Cutteslowe Seniors group, local people will be coming together to co-create a new sign in celebration of the centre’s 75th anniversary.
We’ll be taking over the Clarendon Centre in August for 9 days of free workshops and events. Join our mailing list and be first to hear when these are announced.
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