School Visits by Artists

Year One pupils at St. Aidan's C of E Primary School have been working with Cultural Partner Lapwing Crafts to creatively explore their farm topic.

In pairs, the children worked with ceramic artist Sally Danys to create a range of colourful farm animal tiles. These were fired and glazed by Sally, and returned to the school to make a stunning display.

Lapwing Crafts deliver workshops in a range of arts and crafts, including felt making, textile collage, hooky and proggy mat making, silk painting, mosaics and much more. For details visit the Lapwing Crafts website. Don't forget to tell your Network Coordinator about your creative activities (Caroline.pearce@newcastle.gov.uk if you are in Newcastle or Hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk if you are in Gateshead).

Five schools in Newcastle and Gateshead have been working with new Cultural Partner Lucy Carlton-Walker to recycle everyday objects into their own landscapes of the future.

 Lucy visited Glynwood Primary, Fellside Primary and Oakfield Juniors in Gateshead, and Walkergate Primary and Waverley Primary in Newcastle, to talk about the work of sculptor Sarah Sze, and inspire the children to creatively explore what their community will look like in 2060.

There were some fantastic inventions and ideas, including remote control teachers, flying houses, underground tunnels to escape air pollution, fortune tellers, and trees that grow money, to name but a few!

Here Matthew Thompson, Acting Head at Oakfield Juniors reports on his class' landscape of the future:

Year 4 at Oakfield Junior School created amazing sculptures to depict the planet in 50 years time. Lucy Carlton-Walker, a professional artist, joined the class and showed us images of sculptures by Sarah Sze, who uses recycled everyday materials to create landscapes of other worlds. We then designed and created our own landscapes of the future.

"It was exciting when we saw all the materials in the classroom after break" Harry Brown-King

"It was fantastic working with Lucy. When the display was finished it looked jaw-dropping!" Caitlin Leverett

"I was amazed to find we could use everyday materials to create our own masterpieces." Olivia Binns.

"It made me want to be a sculptor when I grow up." Matthew Stephenson.

To enquire about sculpture workshops available in your setting, please email Lucycarltonwalker@hotmail.com or contact Hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk

Fellside Community Primary School has used the Cultural Ambassadors' Grant to work with The Bare Toed Dance Company. Here Cultural Ambassador Jane Armstrong, and her colleague Sarah Balkwell describe the project:

Key Stage One were working on a topic called Fire! Fire! So the workshop was based on the movement of flames and the events of The Great Fire of Gateshead. Jo bought with her some fabulous resources - flame coloured chiffon scarves were used as emerging flickering, dancing flames that grew in the raging winds and finally died down into slow moving embers. Sheets of lycra were used to create shapes emerging from burning buildings, movements to suggest frantic and controlled rescues were developed and a story in dance was slowly built up.

 As teachers we were keen to look how resources were used and incorporated into dance sessions to stimulate ideas and help illustrate them and we took away with us a recognition that in school such collection of resources should be developed beyond our much used 'parachute'.

St. Oswald's are working with Creative Partnerships on the Enquiry Question, 'How can a creative exploration of other cultures increase our understanding and empathy of the diverse cultures within Reception class and beyond?'

The Enquiry will take place over a three week period. The school hopes to launch it with Mohua Kumar who will tell the children stories from India and will then encourage the children to retell the stories through movement and dance. Staff will follow this work in class with stories, music and art work. Mothers of some of the Indian children in the class will work with the children doing Indian cookery and crafts. 
The school also hopes to work with Lip Lee, who will continue the storytelling using shadow puppets. He will also share stories from China with the children. A mum from China is coming to work with the children looking at cooking and crafts. After each session Jyl Friggens will help staff to extend the ideas. After the second storyteller, Jyl will help the children to make puppets and use the school's own shadow screen to tell stories through the children's own movements, or by using puppets, or a combination of the two. At the end of week two and the beginning of week three Pascale Koyne will work with the children and listen to their ideas and help them to write and act out their own stories.One of the children's mums who is French is coming into school to sing some French songs with the children.

The Enquiry Question 'How do we effectively use creative approaches to develop an innovative and stimulating curriculum that inspires learning and promotes transferrable skills?' has been the focus of Creative Partnership at Fellside Primary.

Work with the costume designers will be over a concentrated period whilst the work with the animator will be over a longer period to ensure that staff and pupils have time to absorb, reflect and apply the knowledge gained with the support of the practitioner still available. The school plans on using costume design as a way to develop the understanding of different cultures using the focus of marriage for key stage 1 children, specifically years 1 & 2. It is hoped that the activity will offer support for a range of learning styles, leading to greater engagement and enjoyment for the children. Key stage 2 pupils in years 3 and 4 will work with an animator to develop staff and pupil skills. It is also hoped that the costume designer will work with year 5. Whilst focusing on a specific topic, the skills developed by staff will be used in other curriculum areas.

Emmaville Primary School have been working with Creative Partnerships on the Enquiry Question 'How can drama and creative thinking empower our pupils to be more effective learners?'

The project's activities will be drama based, working with outside practitioners in school. We would expect our drama activities to take place across the spring term, linking in with the curriculum areas covered during that time. Kirsty Newman is involved in the project, as Year 5/6 were identified as benefiting from wider creative experiences to impact on their literacy skills. She is also part of the arts faculty, which includes leading literacy throughout the school. We have planned for the Year 5/6 class Copenhagen to take part in the project. This may extend the rest of the phase group if possible or advantageous.

Kingston Park Primary School are using their Creative Partnerships project to 'find out if dance, music and creativity can be instrumental in raising standards in writing in Year 4'.

Year 4 will take part in a range of dance and music workshops with The Bare Toed Dance Company, designed to help them explore and develop ideas, leading to writing. These workshops will be part of the planned topic for the first half of the spring term, Our World Our Future. This topic has an environmental focus and the children will be learning about the global impact of rainforest destruction, pollution and waste as well as different cultures.

Outdoor learning opportunities have been the focus of Hilton Primary's Creative Partnerships project. Using the Enquiry Question, 'How can out of classroom learning opportunities re-engage and enthuse pupils who currently see no relevance in the curriculum?'

The school identified a courtyard space within the school as the 'Wild Wood' which they will focus the project around. The courtyard space has had some investment in the past and has become slightly neglected. There are established willow trees and a pathway leading through it, however the space does not have a focus or identity within the school.

Read on to find out more about the project...

Kells Lane Primary School have been working with South African dance group, Caliber, as part of the Swallows Partnership. This forms part of a project linking artists and performers from Port Elizabeth, on the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with communities in North East England.

Fifty-eight Year 5 children worked with the dancers over two days. The dancers performed for the children which instantly engaged their interest, although their focus was on the children's creative expression. Teacher Paul McIntosh said, 'The dancers' enthusiasm was infectious and made the children feel like they could achieve anything, and gave the children lots of confidence and encouragement. I liked the fact that there was a team of dancers and that they worked with small groups of children rather than it being a class focus'.

The children were divided into girl and boy groups and worked with some of the dancers, who focused on the children's ideas and brought out their creativity. During the afternoon, the class put each of their dances together and created a final dance, followed by a question and answer session with the dancers. The dance was performed for a full audience of parents at the Spring Concert on Friday, alongside other year groups who have been focusing on various countries. These included the African drumming afterschool club, which has been led by Cultural Partner Arts Isiziba.

The children thought it was an amazing experience and enjoyed creating their own dances, with some of them commenting that it was the best thing they've been a part of in Year 5.

The Cedars School used their grant to create a mural with artist Gavin Mayhew. Here Art teacher Alan Finn reports on the experience: 

Cedars School Sports College were lucky enough to receive a Cultural Ambassadors Grant for creative activity. We decided to transform a plain unappealing wall in the school play ground by painting a colourful mural on it.

We found artist Gavin Mayhew, an artist who has worked on school murals in the past.  The pupils have really enjoyed being involved in working with a 'real' artist, they were very enthusiastic about creating their own ideas and then transferring them into a large mural. 

Now that it is finished the pupils at Cedars have described the mural as 'awesome ' and ' wicked '! It is bright, colourful and full of life very much like the students at Cedars school.

In 2005 this guide was compiled by Gateshead Council Arts Team, following consultation with Council departments, external bodies, Cultural Partners and teachers. It is designed for use by any staff bringing an artist into their learning setting. If you have any feedback or would like further information please contact Hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk / 0191 433 6920.

Lucy Carlton-Walker's recycled sculpture workshops, Landscapes of the Future, are booking up fast!

Key Stage Two classes at Glynwood Primary, Waverley Primary, Walkergate Primary and Oakfield Juniors will each spend a day working with Lucy, building sculptures of their community as they think it may look fifty years from now. Watch this space for photographs of their creations...

One workshop is still available for a Key Stage Two class in Newcastle or Gateshead on Wednesday 28 April. Click here to find out more about the workshops and to book.

Susan Warlock, Artist in the Community has been delivering environmental art workshops at Bill Quay Primary School. Here Susan describes the project:

I had been asked to run a series of art workshops with Year 2 based loosely on the environment. For this first session I focused on introducing the children to land art, using two English artists; Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long as inspiration.

The children enjoyed looking at the images I had brought as I explained to them how these two artists used natural materials such as wood, bark, grass, and stone to create often very temporary sculptures only leaving behind photographs of the work as a record.

I provided the children with a selection of natural materials including paper straws, wooden sticks and ceramic beads and they set about creating their own individual patterns. The class took to this task very well and made lots of beautiful and quite complex work. They made and remade their work and didn't mind that it was temporary as I assured them that I would take photographs of it as a permanent record.

In 2009 all Cultural Ambassadors were invited to apply for a grant of up to £250, which they could match fund to bring an artist into school or to pay for a creative CPD session.

Whickham School was one of the recipients of the grant, which they used to fund workshops with Cultural Partner Dylan Baker. Here is their report of the project:

The new Creative and Media Higher Diploma course got off to a great start last term thanks to our Cultural Ambassador Grant. Staff and students were privileged to work with Cultural Partner and photographer Dylan Baker, who provided an excellent learning experience for both staff and students. Indeed it was described as the best CPD event ever! Inspired by the Twilight novels, a theme of Dark Romance was chosen and this is how Louise from Year 10 described the day:-

"We visited Dylan Baker, a professional photographer, at his studio in Gilesgate, Durham to find out about his job, learn about photographic techniques and to take part in a fashion photo shoot.  Dylan organised a great day for us.  Firstly we worked with a make-up artist to create the Dark Romance look on the model. Once she was ready, we went out on location to nearby woods. While taking digital photographs of the model, who posed in a variety of places around the woods, we learnt about lighting, reflection, focus, composition and other photographic techniques. 

After lunch we took part in a second photo shoot back in the studio. This session was a head shot, aimed more towards beauty than fashion. Dylan taught us how to use a professional camera and equipment to enhance the quality of the photograph, such as the backdrop, spot lights and reflector. The photos will be displayed for public viewing soon.  We really enjoyed the day and would like to experience something similar again."

We can't praise Dylan highly enough for such a fabulous experience!

Watch this space for news of how the other grants were spent!...

Future funding opportunities will be announced in the fortnightly e-bulletins.

Windy Nook Primary School have enjoyed an International Arts Week as part of their Creative Curriculum.

Pictured are Year 5 / 6 pupils doing an African drumming and gumboot dance workshop with Cultural Partner Arts Isiziba. Year 3 / 4 enjoyed working with John Treherne from Gateshead Schools Music Service, who delivered a fun and informative French workshop, involving plenty of singing and dancing.

Each class chose a focus country for the week. They researched their country to produce booklets, flags and displays, and then took part in an 'International Cafe' to further their knowledge about their country and excite their tastebuds!
Parents joined in assemblies, classroom activities (such as work on the Chinese Zodiac) and cooking. The week was great fun for staff and children, one of whom commented, "I liked it when our mams, dads and Grandparents came into school to help us." Another pupil summed up the experience, saying "Yippee, the whole week was fun!"
Teachers agreed that the week was "totally engaging for the children". The chance to learn about others through various activities and a sponsored event made the week a valuable learning experience.
 

If you're planning an International Arts Week remember to contact your Network Coordinator for details of Cultural Partners you might like to work with: Hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk or Caroline.pearce@newcastle.gov.uk

Cultural Partner Striding Edge Films are offering an event based on the award winning film, Beat the Bully. The film was made by a group of Year Ten students from Monkwearmouth School as they directed a professional film crew. Beat the Bully has been positively received by young people throughout the region, and has been hugely successful in communicating the anti bullying message from young people to their peers. Striding Edge Films is one of the latest Partners to join the Cultural Ambassadors Network and this event is a chance for schools to learn more about the highly accessible workshops they offer.

We need a venue for this event! Please read on for details.

Cultural Partner CTC Theatre present an innovative and daring take on Macbeth. Aimed at 11 to 16 year olds, the production is a fantastic introduction to Shakespeare.

Performed in the round, the play puts the audience claustrophobically close to the action, making each viewer complicit in the horrors that unfold.  As the audience enters, conflicting news reports blare out and internet screens glare with misinformation. The witches in this world are journalists, weaving a tale of spin and trickery, scouring newspaper headlines for rumour, passing gossip amongst us as we take our seats.
This production presents a world turned upside down by media influence, where all of us are at the mercy of rumour and deceit. A world where - even in our most personal moments - we are watched and judged.

To book a performance of Macbeth in your school between 2 and 27 March 2009, telephone 01325 352 004.

A free BEAMworks sound technology workshop is available for a Gateshead primary school on Wednesday 28 January. Run by artist Stuart Freeland, this workshop involves using a piece of equipment called Soundbeam. This allows the user to trigger notes and melodies, samples or sounds by interrupting an invisible beam.

Groups create and develop a piece of interactive art in sessions by creating sounds, recording, and capturing image for visuals and then releasing them through movement.

We're pleased to showcase the work of Konflux Theatre in Education, who are York-based, but travel all over the UK delivering workshops and performances. They use drama to develop a breadth of skills, such as confidence, citizenship, teamwork and concentration. Based on National Curriculum topics ranging from the environment to Shakespeare and history to healthy living, Konflux's 'Play in a Day' workshops are accessible to all.

Cultural Ambassador Vivienne Howell would like to share the latest cultural and creative activities at Whickham School...

Textile artist and Big Knitter, Ingrid Wagner worked with a group of Year 10 and Year 11 students on a two-day group project using recycled fabrics and yarn.

The project of course began with research, planning and preparation. Using "The Angel" as an inspiration and source, the students listed and discussed what the angel meant to them - powerful, embracing, trust, shelter, safety, security, proud, protecting, a landmark.

It was decided that the textile piece would be a panel made up of sections like the Angel's wings, which would then be used as a chair covering. This would demonstrate many of the Angel's qualities- somewhere to visit, to sit, to read or reflect; somewhere safe to snuggle into, to wrap around and embrace you; a monumental structure to offer protection.

We're pleased to introduce one of our latest Cultural Partners, New Line Graffiti. The group offer graffiti workshops to children and young people, giving them an opportunity to explore the artform and discover the positive impact it can have upon their space.

New Line Graffiti have recently completed a project with West Jesmond Primary School, at the school's temporary site. Concerned that unpleasant graffiti was frequently appearing in the playground, the school decided to commission the artists to run workshops that would fill the playground with the children's artwork.

The theme of 'the jungle' was chosen, and after a week of workshops with New Line Graffiti, the children had brought their playground to life with words, animals and plants based upon the theme.

The teachers, children and artists were thrilled with the results. "We've had a great five days working with some of the nicest and most enthusiastic children you could meet," said the artists, "They worked really well over the five days and we covered years three to six. The kids created some really great work and they all learned a lot, and more importantly had a great time whilst doing it!"

New Line Graffiti are available for workshops with children and young people of all ages. To find out how they can work with your learning setting, email Robby at info@newlinegraffiti.com or see the website www.newlinegraffiti.com

Artist Jane Swan, great granddaughter of Joseph Swan, has donated an original work of art to the school that shares the inventor's name. Jane is based in Cornwall, but travelled to Newcastle last year for the launch of The Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research at Newcastle University. It was there that she met Headteacher Allan Fuller, and offered to create an artwork especially for the school.

Sally Marshall, Cultural Ambassador at Heworth Grange Arts College wants to contact other schools in Gateshead for an Autumn term project:

Dear Cultural Ambassador,

Website: www.dorafrankeldance.co.uk

You can no log on, find out what the ideal virtual school looks and sounds like on the Virtual Vision website and post a comment (scrolling to the Explore menu (right hand side) and clicking onto 'Thoughts and Ideas'):

Click onto:
www.virtual-vision.org

Virtual Vision - Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd of June 2006

We invite you to review our flagship project, where Gateshead teachers worked one-to-one with our Cultural Partners to create a virtual creative school, creative curriculum and creative management model.

Stage to Learn is a new and exciting service available to primary schools, offering drama workshops for pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2.
See attachment for full introduction and contact details.
Download file

Looking to supplement the Victorian, Tudor or World War II eras in school this year? Tyne & Wear Archives Service can offer first-class resources, an onsite classroom, a visit to school, document packs to borrow and INSETS - all curriculum relevant.
Contact Peter Hepplewhite, Learning & Outreach Manager
0191 232 6789 or email: twas@gateshead.gov.uk
The TWAS website: http://www.thenortheast.com/archives/
Westall's War site: http://www.westallswar.org.uk/