16 June 2010

'Tagtool' brings benefits to vulnerable groups across the city

The Nine Trades of Dundee project, which aims to take art directly to the workplace, has led to staff at Dundee’s Central Library using an innovative new tool as part of their outreach work with vulnerable groups from the city.

The Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design-led initiative challenges preconceptions about who is an artist by showing how the work of nine artists who have second, non-art, jobs, is influenced by their experiences in the everyday working world.

Tne of the project artists, Ange Taggart, has been assisting support staff at the Library who regularly work with vulnerable local residents including teenagers, families, and those recovering from substance abuse. During this time, she has introduced Tagtool, a new live performance instrument that enables people to unlock dormant creativity and artistic talents.

The Tagtool is similar to a musical instrument, but it plugs into a projector instead of a sound system, and the device used by artists, designers, and community workers.

It is made from a mixture of hi and low tech materials and connected to a drawing tablet, computer and projector. At the touch, or slide, of a button, the user is able to change the drawing, add colour, create animations and much more.

Before obtaining a performance and visual art degree from Nottingham Trent University, Ange worked for many years in childcare, family support, community work, and day care management.

As her project sees her support library staff who work with voluntary sector providers, Ange says the work with fits with her playful performance art, which is based around the concept of social justice and a desire to help the most vulnerable members of society.

'This is the most popular library in Scotland, which is not surprising as that fact reflects the fantastic work they do here to get the community involved through outreach projects,' she said.

'My role is to support that work and to add value when I can. One of the main ways I have been doing this is by promoting the use of Tagtool. The great thing about it is that it makes drawing really accessible. Lots of people say they can’t draw but makes it easy for them to create wonderful designs featuring vibrant colours.

'People of all ages and from all walks of life get a lot out of using it. Learning that they can do something new can help raise their self-esteem and there is the element of just playing around, which is great fun and liberates people to explore talents they never knew they had.

'It really fits with the theme of the whole Nine Trades project as it does raise questions about who is an artist. The feedback from users within the various groups has been excellent. We’ve seen young people design t-shirts, as well as workers themselves designing items such as bags.

'Last week a group of ex-substance users that we work with visited with their families. They had fun connecting with their children, playing on the Tagtool and creating something together.'

Ange has been coming up to Dundee from Nottingham and working at the Library for blocks of two or three weeks at a time since February and says that she has been hugely impressed by the outreach work that Library Staff carry out.

She added that she has been pleased that the Nine Trades of Dundee funding has allowed her to provide extra assistance to the talented and dedicated support workers based at the Library.

She and her colleague at the Library Alistair Wilson recently went to Austria to take part in a four-day workshop to utilise the full possibilities of the Tagtool, including working with video mixing software to blend film and photography with his own live drawing, while Ange gave a presentation about how the Tagt0ool has been used to complement the library’s work in Dundee.

'Anyone who can hold a pen can use it, even if they have little or no experience of computers can use it.

'Unlike some of the other Nine Trades artists, I haven’t started anything new that will result in a final outcome. The work already being done here is fantastic and, as a support worker, it’s my job to help them with that work.

'Also, the people we have been working with are vulnerable and I don’t want to start a project that will end when my time here ends, leaving them in the lurch. That’s why there is not an outcome as such, but I am leaving something for the support workers to carry on.

'My role has been to help staff to gain the confidence to work with the equipment and see its possibilities. If I have enriched the experience of those who we work with and have left a legacy of my time here it will be that I’ve supported staff to enable the people they work with.

'Support workers are largely undervalued for the role they play in society and are often forced to work without enough resources, so I would also like to raise awareness of the valuable work they do.'

The Nine Trades of Dundee project was initiated by Exhibitions at DJCAD and was inspired by the ‘The Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee’, an organisation that has been operating since the 1400’s.

Originally concerned with commerce and standards of the city it now functions as a charity and is involved in the preservation of heritage. Nine Trades of Dundee aims to increase arts access and encourage more participation for non-arts audiences by bringing art activity and creativity to the heart of the workplace.

More information about all the artists involved in the Nine Trades of Dundee project can be found at www.ninetrades.com). Ange will continue to work with the team at the Library until the end of the month.

Notes to editors:

Nine Trades of Dundee is a project devised by Exhibitions at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee, with major funding from The National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council’s Inspire Fund.

Nine Trades of Dundee has also been supported by University of Dundee Graduates Council, The Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee and Tay Charitable Trust.

The outputs of the ‘Nine Trades of Dundee’ will include nine core collaborative commissions; a ‘Nine Trades Final Gathering’ event bringing together the artists, participants and wider audience; two ‘open door’ tours to see the work in situ; nine ‘Nine Trades Apprenticeships’ for Duncan of Jordanstone students; one ‘Nine Trades’ workshop for a Dundee school; and a linked Creative Learning Resource to accompany the ‘Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee’ display at McManus Galleries.

The project will commission nine artists with second non-art trades to lead collaborative art projects with workers from that particular trade, and commissions will be developed to fit the individual artists practice and the working environment and the artist will receive curatorial and peer support as part of the larger ‘Nine Trades of Dundee’ project.

Nine Trades of Dundee Final Gathering
Saturday 17 July 2010.
10.30am - 5.30pm (work and documentation on show all day plus several scheduled events)
Centrespace at Dundee Contemporary Arts
DCA, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY.
Entry is free and all are welcome. Child friendly activities will be taking place.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277