As the project continues, artists Aliyah Hussain and Kyam are entering the production phase of their individual commissions.
For Aliyah, this entails creating slip moulds of some of the historical crockery in the collection, ready to adorn with bespoke sprigs and plan her suspended installation. For Kyam, she is developing digital portraits of a number of the community curator group and editing together audio recordings of them telling their own food stories. To aide both Aliyah and Kyam’s process, they have been receiving mentoring from artists, who have previously developed community centered works with Touchstones.
Aliyah Hussain is being mentored by Rachel Kneebone. In 2019, Rachel Kneebone exhibited a series of porcelain sculptures and drawings in a solo exhibition at Touchstones. Rachel is widely recognised for her practice in which complex porcelain sculptures express physical metamorphosis and movement. Her work has frequently been described as ‘sculptural choreography’ or ‘dance made static’. Rachel’s exhibition at Touchstones was focused upon experiences of how we inhabit our body. The exhibition was accompanied by a commissioned piece of contemporary dance. Working with women from Rochdale choreographer, TC Howard developed a movement performance in relation to the exhibited sculptures. The women that participated in the performance continued to dance together and now meet and perform regularly as Women in Touch.
Kyam is being mentored by Turner Prize winning artist Helen Cammock. In 2022, Helen was commissioned to create a new video work that entered the permanent collections of Touchstones museum and art gallery. For the work titled Concrete Feathers and Porcelain Tacks, she explored The Rochdale Principles. Set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, the principles offered guidance on how to form and operate co-operatives the world over. Working with a group of Rochdale residents, via a series of workshops, conversations and an exploration of the Rochdale landscape and artefacts in Touchstones’ collection, Helen created a film that reconnected these long-held ideals of shared responsibility to the communities living in contemporary Rochdale giving the hopes and principles deeply sown within Rochdale’s histories and communities a new context.
Being mentored by artists who have previously developed works for Touchstones, Aliyah and Kyam are gaining further insights into the organisations commitment to working with the local community. Exploring the different ways and means artists working with Touchstones can connect to and share the rich voices and experiences of contemporary residents, informing their own approach to the commissioned works.