Archive | November 2011

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Before the events I was concerned that people might not want these colourful “things” all over the village but in fact we found that people were very enthusiastic about it and if anything they wanted the all the artworks to be permanent! This could mean that project could leave an interesting legacy, it could possibly act as a pilot scheme for a much larger project in the future.

Lots of interesting ideas, trails and stories were identified during the event. I will be looking through these over the next few weeks and putting together a plan for what each year group will create for the trail. Exciting times!

Some ideas gathered at the community events

clothes line textile artwork at cistern green
dingy paths would be nice with some colourful steps/stepping stones
field of mushrooms
bird inspired art in cistern green
weaved hut for bird watching
bunting for use on gala days
murals/artwork that can be transferred to school fences at the end of project
water inspired art
decorate errol house park gates
flags along high street/ entrance to errol
wigwam in the park
giant ladybird in the park
bench at southbank
artwork at stables
light art inside school
trail should start and finish at school
artwork that makes noise or spins in wind
eco-friendly

Watch this space……

November 2, 2011

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COMMUNITY INVOVLEMENT

We wanted to create a buzz about the start of the project so decided to hold a community event. It is very important to us to gather people ideas and concerns so we decided to hold the event twice once on a Saturday and once after school on a weekday so everyone could have a chance of being able to come along.

The event was made up of a number of activity tables that people could visit and join in with in no particular order. This was a great opportunity to collect peoples ideas, stories and get the word out about our project. The activities that people took part in were -

MAPPING THE TRAIL

Draw on our maps where you think the trail should lead
Where should the artworks be placed?
Tell us or draw what the art installations should be
Identify any areas of Errol that need some attention

STORY TELLING CORNER

An opportunity to share your stories
Tell us all about Errol and your experiences of living here
Do you know anything about the local industries, heritage, folk law?

JOIN IN

An opportunity to get hands on with this project
Create your own clay figure to become part of the arts trail
Vote on how these figures should be displayed

FRIENDS OF ERROL ART TRAIL

Find out how you can be involved in the project beyond today
Sign up to receive up dates of how the project is progressing
Donate some materials to the project
Get involved in some of the workshops
Share your knowledge or skills

November 2, 2011

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ERROL ARTS TRAIL

Here marks the start of an exciting school and community engagement project. I will be working with pupils at Errol Primary School to explore public art and engage with their village.

I was chosen by a steering group made up of local community, teachers and pupils. They will be with me throughout the project to guide me in the right direction.

Together we identified the aims of the project, which are to -

•Collaborate with ALL the pupils in school including nursery

•Involve and interact with the local community

•Bring the community into the new school building

•Create a permanent artwork sited inside the school, Create a legacy

With these aims in mind I thought about how to create a buzz and interest within the local community and how to bring them into the new school building. We could have an exhibition where people come to view the collaborative artwork that we had made for inside the school. That was ok but I wanted to really get people involved and interacting with the project and the pupils. We wanted to create something exciting and ambitious. We wanted a celebration of Errol and its community.

The Idea

I developed an idea that I thought met all our aims and was exciting and challenging. When the day came to unveil my idea to the steering group I was quite nervous. I had become so excited about the thought of putting this project together that I really hoped they liked it!

Success! With a few tweaks we had our plan……

ERROL ARTS TRAIL WAS BORN!

A series of temporary art installations
Created by pupils and community
Inspired by local industries and heritage
Each year group will work together to create an artwork for the trail
The pupils will have the opportunity to learn about and be inspired by their local heritage and engage with their community
Celebrating creativity in our neighbourhood
The last artwork in the trail will be sited inside the school to bring people in and to celebrate our new school

Celebration weekend

People will have the opportunity to view all the artwork we have created by following a trail around the school and village.

What will happen to the artwork in the trail after the celebration weekend?

The artwork within the school will be permanent. Where possible the artworks will be re-sited to within the school grounds or a suitable place within the village. Other artworks that are more temporary will be photographed and professionally printed large-scale for display within the school as a record of out achievements and decoration for the new school building.

Our Green Credentials

We plan to use recycled materials wherever possible throughout the project. We plan to make the project carbon neutral by planting a tree during the celebtation event, the pupil will be involved in this.