Studio COCOA — Social Art Library

By

Paul Evans

Castlegate Open Community Of Artists (COCOA) was a temporary collective whose aim was to ‘shine a light’ on the Castlegate Quarter of Sheffield.

COCOA represented a temporary community of artists whose aim was to 'shine a light' on the Castlegate area of Sheffield. This was approached through a variety of means including the development of a 'Castlegate Glossary' of invented terms, street signage and a projection event.

A highlight of the project was the two-day 'Studio COCOA' open studio event run in collaboration with local creative practitioners and the public in Castle House, the iconic site of the former Co-Op building designed by G.S. Hay. This was attended by over 1,100 visitors. COCOA was open to all and everyone was welcome to join the collective and become a COCOA artist for a period of time that suited them; this might be for a few minutes during one of the COCOA workshops, or on a long-term basis throughout the duration of its temporary community.

COCOA was initiated by the artist Paul Evans as part of his residency within Exchange Place Studios, Castlegate, Sheffield; part of the Engaged University Programme, supported by The University of Sheffield in partnership with Yorkshire Artspace. It ran from April until November 2015.

More information: https://cocoartists.co/studio-cocoa/

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Paul Evans

I am a contemporary artist based at Yorkshire Artspace, Sheffield. Since 2010 I have utilised a range of socially engaged and collaborative artistic strategies to explore our relationship with science, nature and heritage. Where possible I aim to work on projects that lead to definite social and/or environmental benefits. Awards include the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement Engage Award, 2014 and the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community, 2017.

https://pkevans.wordpress.com/