MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments

In October last year, the Musical Torch collaboration between the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields and Central Saint Martins started through a simple conversation. As a result, students from CSM’s MA Creative Practice For Narrative Environments worked with children from three Islington schools on a spectacular and inspirational project as part of the Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Music Nation’.

The students, working with the Academy and its musicians, devised a programme of workshops for the children which explored music and art through a game of Chinese whispers. Each class worked together to create a piece of music in a morning workshop, and then explored similar themes in the afternoon, creating unique hand sculptures represented by a single bold colour. The music was then passed from the first class to the next as inspiration, and the musical torch passed along the line of five classes.

The results of the workshops were displayed to the world in a playful, exciting and interactive exhibition held at Kings Place on 3rd March 2012. The children’s music emerged from large colourful tubing that wrapped round the enormous pillars and seemed to invade the space. Their hand sculptures provided the secret ingredient on a large-scale painting machine (which resembled a music box of giant proportions) with surprising results — so that the very hands that made the music also made the art.

To see more photos of the Musical Torch Project and other projects and events from the MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments course, visit our facebook page.