The Ritual

In The Ritual, commissioned by Museums at Night for their 2016 national festival, Aowen brought the magic of Chinese spiritual tradition alive within Compton Verney and their 17th Century Capability Brown chapel by creating a massive phosphorescent rice field installation which visitors explored with UV torches, played in and used to create their own sparkling art works.

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The Installation

Compton Verney Art Gallery & Chapel

Museums at Night Event

October 22nd, 2016

Making the Work

Audience Engagement

Alongside the main artwork Aowen curated and organised a number of important activities which engaged the local community more deeply with the installation and the topics it addressed:

• Direct partnership with Coventry University – the first time Compton Verney had ever engaged with a university – to run workshops for students from the school of art and design, to explore the medium.
• Presentations by the Coventry University students on the opening night to present their artworks to the public, and how they worked with the rice medium.
• A talk during the night by successful creative experts (Aowen, other artists, poets and broadcast journalists) to inspire the local community, especially young people, visiting the show.
• Interactive space in Compton Verney’s main hall, where visitors were given a bowl of UV rice to create their own artworks. They were encouraged to take the rice home at the end of the night as a memento.
• Volunteer programme with local charities, especially Work in Process, helping give disadvantaged young people access to opportunities. These volunteers were involved in setting up the exhibition and helping on the opening night.
• Unique late night opening of the gallery’s exhibits – including the nationally designated collection of Chinese bronze – so that viewers could see Aowen’s contemporary artworks in direct contrast with the traditional items that inspired it.