Creative Cosmos with Leila Dear

Day 1: Atom – Building Blocks Introduction to Leila’s practice and the themes of the week. The workshop begins by delving into the microcosm with the theme of Atom. Day 2: Flow – The Dynamics of Movement Building on the foundations of the previous day, Flow introduces participants to the world of fluid dynamics. Day 3: Infinite – Patterns Beyond Measure The theme of Infinite guides participants into the realm of endless patterns and recurring motifs found in nature and mathematics. Day 4: Body – Geometry of the Human Form Body focuses on the geometric qualities of the human form. Participants will look at the understanding of human proportions within the art historical canon from Ancient Egypt to Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. Day 5: Shelter – Creating Spaces of Reflection The final day, Shelter, brings the week's themes together as participants collaboratively build a dome structure. This activity emphasises the application of geometric and construction skills to create a functional space.

This programme is for motivated individuals with an interest in craft, design and science. You should be happy to contribute to creative discussions and work with others, open to trying new things with a desire to explore your own creative process. We don’t ask for any prior experience, but when applying, it’s important that you can demonstrate an interest in exploring creativity through making.

This opportunity is for young people ages 16-19 who are interested in craft, design and science who haven’t studied an art subject at university level. This programme will prioritise people from underrepresented backgrounds*. Please note, it is important that you can attend all 5 days of the project. Applicants must be able to travel to Somerset House in Central London daily. Please look at the ‘what does attendance cost’ tab below for details about travel expenses. *The Inclusive Talent Engagement team at Somerset House acknowledges that particular people are underrepresented in the creative sector. Particularly those who identify as: Ethnically diverse and/or Global Majority Living with a disability Working class and/or from a lower socio-economic background** LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary We also acknowledge that people face barriers in many ways not mentioned above, including: Affected by a long-term health condition or impairment . Affected by homelessness . Care-leaver/carer . Unemployed and/or have received welfare benefits . Migrant or refugee status **Fair access to working in the arts remains one of the most urgent issues facing the sector today, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds still vastly underrepresented amongst the artists and employees of UK theatres, festivals, galleries and arts organisations of all kinds. Our team has drawn from Jerwood Arts’ ‘SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE ARTS A TOOLKIT FOR EMPLOYERS’ to define how to determine who falls into this category. We acknowledge this needs work and often, things aren’t always black and white, for now this is the framework we are using to determine this; Some questions that might help define lower socio-economic background: Type of school attended at age 11-16 Were you eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) Did your parents go to university? Parents occupation when you were aged 14 Did your parents receive income benefits for a long period? Were your parents unemployed either for long periods of time or intermittently?

The week is free of charge to participants. Reasonable travel expenses of up to £15 per day will be covered and lunch will be provided. These are the ways that we can support your travel to and from Somerset House: Pre-book your train tickets to a London station (maximum £15 per day) Purchase a 1-week travel card Loan a pre-topped up Oyster Card Help you to plan your journey to and from Somerset House We are not able to reimburse travel costs and can only buy tickets in advance on your behalf.

Upgrade Yourself is Somerset House's creative skills programme aimed at deepening and widening engagement. Managed by the Inclusive Talent Engagement team, the Upgrade Yourself programme exists to break down barriers and build confidence for underrepresented, aspiring creatives aged 16-30. Using the creative community at Somerset House and beyond as a resource, our programmes provide emerging talent access to skills, experiences and progression routes to pursue careers in the creative sector.