Arts & Culture
Meet Amanda and Mark
Meet the 2024 Artist and Author in Residence Amanda Rigby and Mark Grist, and find out more about their professional practices!
Amanda Rigby and Mark Grist were the 2024 Artist and Author in Residence for Inspire!
Stimulating creativity and imagination, Amanda and Mark used their professional expertise to actively encourage reading and drawing throughout the summer and left a legacy of work linked to the Summer Reading Challenge theme, Marvellous Makers. They co-created the summer workshops and exhibitions, Expression with the help from primary aged school children.
Thank you to our 2024 twinned schools:
- Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School
- John Blow Primary School
- Lowe's Wong Anglican Methodist Junior School
- Worksop Priory C of E Primary Academy
Amanda, Mark and the school children collaborated to make expressive artwork and original poems that celebrate the wide range of emotions we feel every day as human beings.
The children explored expressive mark making and the artistic process to make monsters that illustrate different emotional states. The poems playfully used metaphor, personification and imagination!
Artwork and poems were on display from Saturday 13 July to Sunday 8 September 2024 at the following Inspire Libraries:
During the Expression family workshops, Artist in Residence Amanda Rigby helped participants draw emotional monsters, expressing feelings through mark-making and colour. Author in Residence poet Mark Grist shared his captivating picture books, Rhinos Don't Cry and his brand-new release, Bears Don't Get Scared. Families had fun playing rhyming games and Mark helped young writers contribute to group poems that focused on what makes us feel brave and uplifted.
Have a go at home!
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Supported using public funding by Arts Council England
