Ryan Heath
Between Homes, 2021, 360 Degree Digital Artwork by Ryan Heath, Hannah Evans, Michael Goodall, Tom Morley and David Salisbury.
As part of LEVEL’s residency lab, a group of participants connected to the studio worked remotely with me throughout the first UK lockdown in 2021, shaping a series of drawings for a digital artwork exploring Derbyshire’s countryside.
Inspired by the county’s sweeping landscapes, the work weaves together locality, heritage, and abstraction, developed through online drawing sessions. These drawings were then brought into a 3D game engine, forming a shared virtual world—an immersive space to be explored in 360 degrees.
With gratitude to LEVEL staff and all the participants who brought this world to life.
Guardian Workshop Series, Artcore, May/June 2021
In these workshops, we explored the architecture of Derby—its shapes, emblems, and structures—drawing inspiration from its history to imagine and create a ‘Derby Guardian.’ Myth and place intertwined, culminating in a 3D-printed model for each participant to take home.
Artcore's workshops nurture confidence, self-esteem, and creative initiative among young people aged 8-15 in Derby, particularly those from newly arrived communities seeking to expand their artistic skills. Each block unfolds over six weekly after-school sessions, offering space to collaborate with professional artists and peers across a range of artistic mediums.
Augmented Reality and Conservation Awareness, Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, Feb 2021
collaborated with young people in a series of online workshops during the pandemic, navigating creativity, conservation awareness, and technology. Designed for those aged 16–25 in Nottinghamshire, the sessions asked: can augmented reality (AR) deepen engagement with conservation?
Taking Attenborough Nature Reserve as a starting point, participants developed interactive digital signage—a virtual layer to inform visitors and inspire support for the reserve.
Prototypes emerged as digital artworks, showcased at the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity in February 2021.
With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.
Luminous Landscapes, Light Night, Creative Quarter Nottingham , 2020.
A workshop for Nottingham Light Night, led alongside creative facilitator Gina Mollett at BACKLIT Gallery. Open to the public on a drop-in basis, welcoming participants aged 5+ from across Nottinghamshire.
Together, we explored sculpture and bioluminescence—playing with light, paint, and clay to create glowing dioramas to take home.
With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.
'Space Academy' with Anna Manfield, BACKLIT Gallery, UK New Artists and Nottingham Refugee Forum, 2019.
A week-long series of workshops at BACKLIT Gallery, led alongside Anna Manfield and Gina Mollett, in collaboration with UK New Artists and Nottingham Refugee Forum. The gallery transformed into a ‘Space Academy,’ a hub for interstellar exploration through creativity.
Participants took part in cosmic-themed activities, culminating in the final day’s workshop, where light, paint, and clay came together to form dioramas to take home. Each young spacefarer was awarded the prestigious honorary ‘space certificate’—an essential qualification for any future astronaut.
With thanks to Arts Council England for their support.
Wayfinders with The Harris Museum, Preston, 2019.
In April 2019, artists from the GRAFT group show were invited to lead a series of workshops at The Harris, open to the public and designed for ages 6+.
Rather than a didactic, information-heavy approach, participants explored the exhibition through observation and interpretation. Each child and carer worked with their own materials, following a set of loose drawing tasks.
In the second session, drawings from the first workshop were cut in vinyl and placed around the museum, forming a collective visual trail leading to the exhibition space.
This project was kindly supported by Arts Council England.