Great response to our new 'Change' exhibition!

We've had a fantastic response to our new exhibition of science-based artwork form local schools! 'Change' launched last Wednesday, and has been receiving some great comments from visitors over the past week:

"Clearly a lot of effort and talent has been harnessed. Truly inspiring how this public space has been used to display community art and make it available to the wider community."

"Cross-curricular work like this can sometimes lead to superficial science and low quality art. You have managed to do impressive science/technology and some lovely artwork which genuinely complement each other."

"Fantastic, fabulous to see all this inspiring work. Made me very proud to have been involved."

"Lovely fusion of thoughts and colour!"

"Excellent, well displayed work."

"Fantastic displays from all schools. Lovely to see!"

"Fabulous collection of quality art and science work. Hundreds of very worthwhile hours spent by all involved."

Change is an annual Visual Arts project run by Mosaic (a long-standing Batley-based community arts organisation) in partnership with Batley Girls' High School. This year has seen a significant development, with a strong Science and Technology focus to the project and the involvement of Cummins Turbo Technologies as our project sponsor.

The ethos behind Change since it started in 2011 is to enable children and young people from Batley and Birstall to experience high-quality Visual Arts learning opportunities of a kind that they may not otherwise have the chance to access in school, in order to encourage their enjoyment of art and introduce them to new creative skills. Each year a team of professional artists work with groups of young people in local schools, running hands-on workshops in a range of visual arts media and creating work for a public exhibition which runs throughout the summer. The project also includes an explicit cross-cultural dimension, with schools from diverse Batley communities being paired up so that children have opportunities to have 'creative exchanges' and share their ideas and artwork with each other.

The 2016 project has seen a strong emphasis on linking the visual arts activities to the STEM (Science, Techonology, Engineering & Maths) curriculum, with the creative workshops specifically designed to support children's studies in a particular science topic - Light, Animal Habitats, Plant Lifecycles, Forces, Electricity, and so on. Teachers at all 11 participating schools have reported significant learning outcomes for their pupils in both science and art, and have given many examples of how the project has also had a positive impact on young people's personal and social development (see http://locacreatives.blogspot.co.uk/ for examples).

The exhibition runs at Batley Art Gallery until Saturday 3rd September. It features artwork created by each of the 11 schools groups, inspired by their exploration of their chosen science topics during a series of artist-led workshops last term run by artists Shelley Burgoyne, Craig Dyson and Tim Curtis,, with additional work by adult learners who attend art courses at Batley Girls' High.

Mosaic Chair and BGHS Co-Head Julie Haigh said: "We are committed to embedding a deeper understanding that creativity and science are inextricably linked and that their 'separate' status is a relatively modern misconception. Change gives us a perfect platform to promote this powerful message by inspiring young people to engage with STEM through creative practice. The project is about making a significant, sustainable impact on our local community and involves work with primary and secondary school children, families, adult learners, teachers, artists and scientists. The stunning array of artwork presented in the exhibition is a showcase of all the ideas explored and skills learnt through the workshops, and a tribute to the talens with have in Batley and Birstall".

Contact for further information:
Tracy Shaw, Change Project Co-ordinator
tracy@locacreatives.co.uk
Mobile: 07772 100125

For more information visit http://locacreatives.blogspot.co.uk/