Max Literacy with Pershore High
Project Insights
In Autumn 2023, Meadow Arts commissioned writer JLM Morton to work with students from Pershore High School on a project funded by the Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust MaxLiteracy Award. The project explored the topics of flooding and climate change through the lens of creative writing, drawing inspiration from the artwork Deluge by Hilary Jack.
The project resulted in a toolkit, exploring how to engage with art in unusual places. The ideas in the guide can be used to engage with contemporary art in unusual places using creative writing and visual art techniques.
Meadow Arts developed this project in response to Pershore High School’s desire to support their student’s mental health and well-being by providing a platform for self-expression through visual arts and creative writing. To kick off the project, students visited Deluge a large-scale artwork originally commissioned by Meadow Arts for their Watermark exhibition in Worcester. The artwork, by Hilary Jack, utilises found text from global news reports on floods and mythological narratives displayed on LED panels reminiscent of television news reports. Deluge was re-displayed at Pershore Abbey in the Autumn of 2023.
On their visit, the group explored the space, concepts within the piece, and how our interpretations could be affected by the context of the work being experienced in the religious space of Pershore Abbey. They gathered found words, captured photographs, and recorded their thoughts to serve as inspiration for later creative writing activities. Additionally, they visited the local floodplain meadows near the river Avon to witness firsthand a local example of flooding, which sparked immediate creative responses.
Following the initial visit, writer JLM Morton, with English teacher David Hodson, conducted a series of creative writing workshops at the school, using various writing techniques and provocations to respond to the themes of flooding and climate change. These sessions provided a platform for the students to express their thoughts and feelings on the subject creatively.
In addition, lead art teacher David Reid developed a comprehensive visual art curriculum using Hilary Jack’s work as a foundation. He guided students in transforming their written pieces into visual artworks through a series of artistic processes. The school’s art department is planning on continuing to use the curriculum developed by David Reid with subsequent year groups.
Meadow Arts will continue to collaborate with the school’s Art department to showcase the artworks created, and also on a new co-produced artistic commission in Worcestershire that will be exhibited from July 2024.
Resources
Understanding Art in Unusual Places
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Artists
Hilary Jack exhibited in Watermark (2023), Pershore Abbey (2023) and BorderLands (2026).
Hilary Jack works across media in research-based projects, site referential artworks, sculptural installations and interventions. Her work has an activist element which comments on the politics of place, socio-political and environmental issues.
Works in this project
Partners
Funded by the Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust, MaxLiteracy offers funding for museums, galleries, and visual arts organisations in England to support a dedicated programme of creative writing and literacy work within learning settings through the visual arts. The Awards are run in partnership with Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education, and the National Association for Writers in Education (NAWE).
With special thanks to Pershore High School staff and students.
