Seaweed and Cyanotypes workshops held at Pannett Art Gallery in Whitby
Pannett Art Gallery in Whitby has hosted two fantastic workshops featuring local seaweed scientist Jane Pottas.
Year 9 and 10 girls from Caedmon College learned about seaweeds in a hands-on session of seaweed handling.
Jane Pottas took a large selection of seaweeds into the school and showed how to identify and age them.
The girls also made seaweed cyanotypes, using a form of camera-less photography.
Their science informed artworks will feature in Pannett Art Gallery’s summer exhibition Look Closer: See the Extraordinary.
Inspired by the exhibition themes, the girls also discussed the role of women in science, and all said they had been enthused by meeting Ms Pottas.
Ms Pottas also gave a fascinating talk to local people at the gallery about Seaweed Cyanotypes and an early photographer, Anna Atkins.
The participants enjoyed learning about seaweeds and making seaweed artworks for the exhibition.
The workshops are part of a national Places of Science initiative which celebrates projects that evoke curiosity, interest and enthusiasm by exploring science in a creative way.
Pannett Art Gallery chose to explore the relationship between art and science, and as women are often underrepresented in scientific fields, to actively involve young women with the project.
Look Closer: See the Extraordinary will be on display at the Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby from July 10 – August 25 daily from 10am-4.30pm (excluding Mondays). Entry is free.
The exhibition aims to raise awareness of local ecosystems, explore the links between science and creativity, and inspire girls to think about science.
For more information, contact: [email protected] or [email protected].