Cultivating spaces for extraordinary artists

Ray Jacobs

Ray Jacobs is a movement and digital artist. He works as a solo artist, creating film, installation image and performance, and as a facilitator of creativity, fostering safe and supportive environments where people can express themselves through movement.

He has made a number of films, collaborating with director of photography Jonathan Tritton, to reveal stories untold and the depth and beauty often hiding underneath.

The short films 'Smile and Run', 'The Group of Gardeners', 'I Saw a Girl' and 'The Sea Reminds Me', have all been made in collaboration with learning disabled performers from Arty Party in Telford. The films have won awards and have been shown at international festivals including Moscow, Calgary, New York and across Europe.

Ray's love of the landscape is reflected in his photographic work. As well as exhibiting his photographs around the region, his images on Flickr have attracted over 76,000 views.

Movement and dance are at the heart of Ray's practice. Recent projects have included: 'Opening the Treasure Chest', a series of workshops exploring bereavement through movement, for learning disabled people; and a collaboration with dancer Rachel Liggitt to direct 'An Open Sky', performed by Contact dance at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester.

Ray is currently setting up Shropshire inclusive dance (Sid) with Rachel Liggitt, with the aim of making Shropshire a place where people can come together to share and make dances in a supportive and creative environment.

Works in the making include an installation entitled 'Bastion', to be shown at Wolverhampton Arena and Wolverhampton Art Gallery between October 2013 an February 2014.

Bastion - an Installation

Bastion - an installation, is open for public viewings at Wolverhampton Arena Theatre from October 3rd – 25th.

The installation is open from 10am – 5pm each day and for one hour before theatre performances. Entry is free!

A simple, funny and powerful story of transformation is projected onto three screens. Sounds surround you. A barber's chair sits invitingly in the middle of the space and human hair is beneath your feet.

“An ordinary day, a few of the regulars, old gents with less and less hair to cut each time, I was ready to head home, and then he entered, that harmless fool.”

Come and spend ten minutes experiencing the installation, less time than it takes for a No. 3 crop. There's even a comfy chair…

Digital and movement artist Ray Jacobs worked with a team of disabled and non-disabled artists and actors, in Wolverhampton, to explore the story and produce this exciting installation.

The main parts in the projected story are performed by talented young learning-disabled actor James Doolan and West Midlands based actor Denny Hodge.

The installation is based on a story by Simon Armitage.

The installation is being shown during world mental health week and aims to challenge our preconceptions about people around us. This has been supported using public funding, by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Further information - Ray Jacobs 07817194644 jacobsray@hotmail.com