Creativity/Covid-19

Welcome to creativity during the COVID-19 outbreak. Please connect with the Blyth Centre and its new webpages to share free art classes and music performances, so we can keep being creative together.

Each year, the Imperial College Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Gooch, plays a prestigious concert at London’s Cadogan Hall. In 2019, the programme included Mahler’s ‘Titan’ Symphony No 1 and Shostakovich’s exuberant Piano Concerto No 2 (soloist Renke Huang, Design Engineering student). Written in 1957 for Shostakovich’s son, Maxim, it is a work of dazzling virtuosity and serene beauty. Here you can hear the opening of the second movement and the fireworks of the virtuosic final movement.

Each year, the Imperial College Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Gooch, plays a prestigious concert at London’s Cadogan Hall. In 2019, the programme included Mahler’s ‘Titan’ Symphony No 1 and Shostakovich’s exuberant Piano Concerto No 2 (soloist Renke Huang, Design Engineering student). Written in 1957 for Shostakovich’s son, Maxim, it is a work of dazzling virtuosity and serene beauty. Here you can hear the opening of the second movement and the fireworks of the virtuosic final movement.

Jack Apperley directs the IC Chamber Choir in this haunting rendition of Chilcott’s Tallis Canon. The melody, written around 1560, has been subtly transformed by Chilcott into an original and memorable setting for double choir. Bob Chilcott’s arrangement of Tallis’ popular hymn tune, sung by the Imperial College Chamber Choir and conducted by Jack Apperley. Recorded from various locations around the UK during the lockdown period in May 2020.

Audio and video put together by Tom Briggs and Justin Soriano

Aside from an explosive contemporary score, ‘Mean Girls’ doesn’t immediately seem like a particularly inspirational subject from which to choose a song. ‘I See Stars’ was chosen for its stirring message emphasising our inherent and unique value as individuals. It seemed fitting to put together a message that reminds us how much we all mean to each other at a time when we are missing our friends so dearly. It was incredibly rewarding to each contribute to something so special in such gloomy times and we hope our performance will be uplifting for all those who watch.

Straight from our bedrooms, whilst we procrastinate revision for the remote-exams up ahead, The Techtonics bring you a short cover of Fireflies by Owl City.

The Techtonics are an all-Male A Cappella group here at Imperial. These students have established themselves firmly at the top end of the worldwide collegiate a cappella scene, placing third in the UK in this year’s International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. No matter what they’re doing, from multiple performances per year in London, to their annual international tours, The Techtonics continue to push the boundaries of contemporary a cappella!

Elizabeth is a final year physics student at Imperial, where she has played regularly in the Imperial College Symphony Orchestra for four years. As an Ash scholar, she took lessons at the Royal College of Music during her studies at Imperial. Her sister, Catherine, is currently studying for a masters at the Royal Academy of Music.

Jonathan Hedley, a final year MSci Chemistry with Molecular Physics student, sings (and plays) Schubert’s Der Doppelgänger. Written in 1828, the year of Schubert’s death, it starts:

The night is quiet, the streets are calm,
In this house my beloved once lived...

Jonathan currently sings bass in Imperial’s All-Male A Cappella group, The Techtonics, and will become Chair of the A Cappella society next year.

Imperial Chamber Choir’s virtual choir, directed by their Music Director Jack Apperley, sing this extraordinarily tender and graceful little motet by renowned Tudor composer, Thomas Tallis

Audio and Video edited by Tom Briggs

Exploring doodling using any material you have to hand (e.g. pens, pencils, felt-tips, highlighters, watercolour.) You can utilise throwaway packaging from around the home or from a takeaway. Drawing from whatever takes your fancy; objects around you, photographs, imagination or a combination of each. This is a great workshop to learn about circular narratives.

Learn how to draw your hand. Marianne is right-handed and uses her left as a subject, if you are left-handed please use your right as the subject. Drawing is a fantastic way to learn and interact with the world. All that you need for this simple tutorial is a pencil, paper, eraser and pencil sharpener. Marianne currently teaches an online drawing class for the Blyth Music and Arts Centre called Drawing Together and a summer school programme is about to be advertised with Imperial College short courses.

Sarah Gillham will show you how to make a plaster relief of an impression of found objects (Sarah used handprints, wildflowers and Captain America!). This process involves using a clay mould to take the impression. You can stop at this point or continue to make a plaster iteration. This is a fun process which you can do with a child, it’s a bit like making a cake!

In this Short film Thomas Hylander shares a technique using blind drawing to make quick caricature portraits. Drawing from photos or using a mirror draw without looking at your paper. The drawing will definitely be wonky and full of warped mistakes and nothing like the face you used as source material and that is the point. Use this as a basis for your caricature by adding some shadows and details to tie it together. The mistakes and distortions gives a surprising new perspective. Enjoy.

Drawing from within, is a freeing, loosening up, subjective drawing exercise. It is especially good if you have artists block. This exercise will allow you to simply draw without worrying about finding a likeness to something. Surreal imagery will appear later on through suggested forms. There is a great freedom to change your mind throughout the whole of this lesson.  Your drawing will end differently each time you do the class.

Clare Wilson will show you about sketching from a still life with water soluble pencil crayon. Use the materials quick and sparingly to keep work fresh.

An exploration into contorted expression using mixed media. Here Tom uses graphite, acrylic pens and cooking oil, allowing the materials to spill and bleed into each other, adapting and reworking as he goes along.

All you need is a pencil and piece of paper to do this. I would avoid using a clicker pencil, like I used!

If you give it a go, please do share on Instagram and tag me in @blyth_arts

Thinking and making through repeat investigations into the same object. This is a great way to find your subject and try out different elements of an object without getting too precious about your artworks. Investigate different ways to depict such as shade, tone, pattern, form, colour and movement. Enjoy happy accidents and then look at how you have made your image in relation to the thoughts you first had about it.

Blind drawing with Mindy Lee. A freeing, quick and fun approach to drawing. This technique allows you to tune into your speed and gestures without the need to worry about the look of your work, with surprising results.

A fast and slow mini introduction to working with gouache, covering selection of paper and brushes, and a pattern exercise to get you going.

An exhibition of artwork by students on the BSc Medical Sciences with Humanities, Philosophy & Law

A group exhibition by Imperial College's Art Club Society

Robert Spence discusses his Mosaic Sculptures

A solo exhibition of watercolours that capture the energy of Beirut. 'Memories of a City'

By Imperial College staff member Rula Murtada

Illuminations is a #SciArt collaboration between artists from Chisenhale Studios, scientists from The Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London, and scientists from Imperial Stem Cell Regenerative Medicine Network.