Grampus Erasmus+ PEATS Placement

Grampus Placement September 2021. Organised by Riba Rocks Association with the support of Maria Franquet, Culture Councillor of Riba-roja d’Ebre. 

At the beginning of September, Riba-roja d’Ebre saw the arrival of 4 art students from various UK universities. The Riba Rocks association hosted the artists for the 32 day Traditional Skills Placement. This project forms part of the PEATS Placement offered by Grampus Heritage and Training, funded by Erasmus Plus.

Lilian Jordan, Amy Ortiz, Sarah Gillespie and Robyn Owen completed various creative projects during their stay.

Their first week was full of visits to various local sites of interest, where they absorbed the culture and heritage of Riba-roja and the surrounding area.

The artists then worked with local artist Sarah Misselbrook to create a large scale Land Art installation, which they presented to an audience along with a live poetry performance.

They then attended an illustration workshop with local artist Roser Gay, where they created their own illustrated story book and final visuals.

Following this, the artists were led by Isabel Torres in a Cap Grossos workshop to create their own individual giant heads using the basic papier mache technique.

The final two weeks of their stay, the group worked collaboratively on a new piece of permanent artwork in the village of Riba-roja d’Ebre as part of the Riu d’art Open Air Galley. Entitled ‘Qui Som?’, it is situated at the entrance of the village on Avinguda de Riba-roja d’Ebre, the large scale illustrative work combines all 4 artists’ techniques. The symbols and illustrations are based on their experience in Riba-roja and the text reflects the cultural identity of the residents.

Riba Rocks Association members used their language skills to help with English to Catalan translation in both the workshops and public presentations. The cultural and social exchange between students and local Riba-rojans has been such a success, and here’s to many more placements in the coming years!