Celebrating the arts
On Wednesday 12 July, The Children’s Trust School hosted their annual art festival. This year’s theme was ‘Regeneration’.
The theme ‘Regeneration’ was chosen as the learners at The Children’s Trust School have used art to regenerate, have fun, express themselves and promote mental health and wellbeing through times of change.
The theme was also explored with displays inspired by deforestation, ‘under the sea’ and the rainforest, including tree sculptures made from plastic bottles. Recycled materials were used where possible, including items sourced from The Children’s Trust charity shops across Surrey.
An immersive experience
Sensory objects were hung from the walkway to create an immersive experience for the young people. They were able to travel through the walkway, experiencing the different sounds, colours and textures of the objects.
A beautiful display of flowers created by the learners was put together on the grounds. The flowers were made first by decorating the recycled vinyl records using paint pouring and spinning mechanisms, and then heating and moulding into them shape.
The flowers symbolise each young person as an individual, and then the coming together as a collective and continuing to bloom.
Accessible art
To ensure the learners are in control of the artwork they produce, the staff at the school have come up with many imaginative ways to make art accessible.
An example would be ‘pouring art’. A cup is filled with paint and loaded onto a mechanism which is adapted to tip when the young person presses a switch. The paint pours onto canvas creating beautiful patterns of colour.
The team also set up a catapult outside, which enabled the young person to choose their colours, and then load the paint onto the switch-operated mechanism. It was a lot of fun for the young people taking part and the results were really exciting!
The show must go on
Upon entering the School Hall, visitors walked into an immersive performance of the ‘Flyaway Bird’. The stage was set using large television screens and Christmas trees all around the edge of the room, meaning that the audience was inside the play. The lighting was colourful, and the atmosphere was created with sound effects and textiles.
The class all took on parts within the play, and the adults in the room were asked to repeat back lines of the narration in rhythm. A professional dancer joined the group, playing the ‘flyaway bird’, and danced among the young people in full costume and lit-up wings.
Getting moving
For the first time, the festival included a dance workshop this year. The session started with a warm-up involving stretching the young person’s arms and legs and taking part in breathing exercises. The group then took part in an inclusive dance routine designed for wheelchair users, moving in unison and in cannon, backwards and forwards and in a circle together. There were moments where they danced alone ‘in the spotlight’ and then as a group.
The music was uplifting and energetic, and the session was lots of fun for the learners involved. There was lots of whooping, clapping and interaction! It gave the young people the opportunity to have fun with their peers and the staff.
Making music together
The festival ended with a performance from the sing and sign group – an after-school club run by The Children’s Trust music therapists and play specialist. The group of young people and staff sang and signed along to uplifting pop songs, and even got the audience to join in and learn a few signs too!
