Colour & Poetry: A Symposium VIII

Colour has the power to connect us all; crossing disciplines, cultures and generations. Each year on March 21st and 22nd , the Material Research Project & Network at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL hosts a two-day event that aims to do just this, with a programme dedicated to the making and sharing of colour.

Colour & Poetry: A Symposium is a meeting of minds. Created and directed by Professor Jo Volley this international network of artists, scientists, educators, students, conservators and colour specialists come together to celebrate International Colour Day, World Poetry Day and World Pigment day. For Winsor & Newton, the occasion is the perfect opportunity to discuss the craftmanship of colour.

Alongside talks by artists and academics, presentations by Winsor & Newton chemists are included, offering a rare glimpse into pigment formulation and history. The chemists on colour provide an insight on how professional art materials are developed, tested and refined before being held in the hands of artists, poised to put colour to surface.

The presentations show the physical element of connection through colour. That creating and working with colour requires both artistic curiosity and scientific precision and how each artists’ colour, is a product of the collaboration between different disciplines; art, craftmanship, technical expertise, research and science.

By connecting the arts, humanities, science and industry, the event gives a new generation of makers a space to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions and deepen their collective understanding on colour and of the materials that make colour.

Through this, further opportunities are created for collaborating beyond individual disciplines, inspiring research, partnerships and new ways of thinking about colour.