Oakley Grange Archives - Made With Many

14th September 2021 Tribute to Corby people to be screened on national TV Artwork created by Jason Wilsher-Mills to celebrate and acknowledge the lives of disabled communities in Corby, will feature on national TV on Monday 20th September. Jason first started working in Corby in 2016, when he was commissioned by Made With Many for a year-long artist residency at Oakley Grange on Patrick Road, during which he also connected with Teamwork Trust, another local organisation which supports disabled people. Meeting these local groups was life-changing for Jason as the people he worked with made a significant impact on his artistic practice and strong friendships were forged in the town. Jason has since become an Associate Artist at Made With Many, working extensively with Teamwork Trust at their base in St Mark’s Road, where he was filmed for the current Landmark TV series. Each episode of this bold new series on Sky Arts, hosted by Gemma Cairney spotlights three artists who are competing against each other to create local landmarks. Jason will appear in the Midlands heat with his tribute to the people of Corby, alongside metalwork sculptor Luke Perry who pays homage to the people of the Midlands and urban artist Alfie Bradley, who is inspired by the studies of Charles Darwin. Manual labour goes up against technology as the artists explore the differing ways in which art can be produced today, under the watchful eyes of two expert judges: Clare Lilley, curator and Director of Programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and artist Hetain Patel; as well as the celebrity guest judge Benjamin Zephaniah. The winning artist on Monday evening will gain a coveted place in the final where they will pitch for a national landmark which one of the finalists will be commissioned to create for display in Coventry, UK City of Culture for 2021. Helen Willmott, Programme Director of Made With Many, commented, “It's been an absolute privilege to work with Jason through the process of filming Landmark. His innovative digital work is a brilliant celebration of the disabled community in Corby and we're thrilled to be able to share that with the world, as well as hosting the inflatable and digital sculptures here in the town that inspired their creation.” Artist, Jason Wilsher-Mills added, “I am a disabled artist who makes work about other disabled people. I am not from Corby, so did not know anything about the town, but through working with these incredible people, I fell in love with the place and I can honestly say that it changed my life and the way I thought about making art. I stopped making art about myself and started making more adventurous work about the learning disabled communities of the town…and beyond. More than that I made friends. To me Corby is magical, because of the people and I keep coming back because I miss the people. When Sky Arts asked me who I wanted to make art about, and create a national monument for Corby, and I said yes straight away. Now, for a Wakefield born Yorkshire man that is a huge thing to say, in that I wanted to make art about my ‘adopted’ town, and not the Yorkshire ‘homeland'. I am proud of the work and even prouder that it gave me a chance to share my friends in Corby with the world. Please pop along to the Savoy Cinema to see the work I created for the programme. It was made in the spirit of love and friendship” Landmark will air at 8pm on Monday 20th September on Sky Arts (Freeview Channel 11) and streaming service NOW. You can also view the interactive artwork in the Savoy Cinema foyer, where you can download the app that goes with the work via QR code. To find out more about Jason and his work visit www.jwmartist.co.uk Keep in Touch For future updates on news, events and opportunities please sign up to the e-newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn – or Get Inspired on our website.