Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) invite education professionals to an inspiring study day focussed on YSP’s upcoming exhibition: William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity, which opens on 28 June 2025. This ambitious exhibition will comprise of 40 works made between 2007 and 2024 and will focus on Kentridge’s sculptural work and his process of taking drawing into three dimensions.

Chaired by Susan M Coles, Artist and Arts Creativity and Educational Consultant, this engaging day will use the work of William Kentridge as inspiration to reconnect to our senses and the physical act of making. We will step away from the constant draw of our digital devices and investigate works in which Kentridge asks us to reflect on how we make sense of the chaos of world around us. Parts of our day will be a digital detox so that our hands move from our devices to be fully occupied in thinking and using our haptic skills through ‘making’ and touch, through active exploration and manipulation.

Participants will be encouraged to reflect on the impact of digital devices on learning, teaching and creativity, loss of haptic skills, and explore new methods for engagement in the classroom. The event will also include a visit to the National Arts Education Archive, where educators will explore related artworks from the collection and reflect on what can be learnt from the evolution of arts education through the twentieth and twenty first centuries. The day will close with an active plenary chaired by Susan M Coles.

Places are limited, so book early to secure your place. For any enquiries, please email learning@ysp.org.uk. An itinerary for the day will be emailed in advance.