Artistic youngsters from CET schools had their work displayed at one of Cumbria’s premier galleries as part of a major collaborative project.
Students and pupils put their creativity into The Big Draw, the world’s largest drawing festival involving more than 25 countries.
CET’s secondary and primary schools joined together over several weeks on a variety of art works which culminated in a pop-up exhibition at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle.
CET’s secondary schools, William Howard in Brampton, The Whitehaven Academy and Workington Academy, each organised a workshop for the trust’s six primary schools.
Under guidance from the senior students, the young artists were encouraged to use their imagination under a theme of #Drawntolife. They used a wide range of drawing and mark making skills to create the finished works.
The project was the idea of Allison Murphy, the Head of Expressive Arts at Workington Academy, who wanted to build on a previous project involving different year groups painting Flimby train station.
She said: “The art we have in our secondary schools is very strong. We thought it would be lovely to outreach to the primaries and do a project that really pulled the trust together in a way that we haven’t done before.
“We’re quite a new trust, some of the primary schools are very new. Hensingham only joined in November, so we’ve got some new schools and it’s lovely for them to feel part of something.
“We started to work from a natural base and link it to Cumbria. A Level and GCSE students designed some of the workshops and led them.
“We wanted to end the project with a celebration of their efforts like an art gallery exhibition and Tullie House offered us a lovely room, so we had the space for a day.
“It was really wonderful to see everyone together, the older students and the younger ones.
“I’m delighted with the finished project. I’m very happy with the turnout and the children are proud to see their work on display in a gallery. The sixth formers from Workington helped to curate the display which is another important stage of the project. They’ve worked hard on this and it’s a very positive experience for students and their families to come along and appreciate their efforts.”
The prolific output of the groups meant that only a selection could be on display to be admired by families, staff and friends of the trust. The primaries taking part were Caldew Lea and Yewdale in Carlisle, Longtown, Tebay, Yanwath in Penrith and Hensingham in Whitehaven.
CET’s Chief Executive Lorrayne Hughes welcomed guests and said: “This has been a fantastic collaboration between the older students and younger pupils. I’m delighted our staff are working in this way and we can showcase the talents of our children and celebrate their achievements.”
