Draper’s Mills Primary in Margate and Ellington Infants in Ramsgate have teamed up with other primary schools across East Kent with a shared mission of bringing creativity into the classrooms for thousands of children.
Some 15 schools have joined the #ArtBuilders campaign, spearheaded by Canterbury-based Animate Arts Company CIC. During the month-long campaign in June, schools are pledging to run art weeks, creative days and exhibitions working with professional artists, partnering with local galleries and getting children creative.
Draper’s Mills will be creating a ‘Space Museum’ filled with all things Out Of This World. The work will be entirely created by pupils in years 1-6, showcasing their creativity, ideas and their expertise in a range of media.
The artwork will be displayed from Saturday, June 29 to Sunday, July 14 at 101 Social Club, Northdown Road, Cliftonville. Visitors are welcomed to see the work and support the #ArtBuildersprogramme.
Ellington Infant School created a woodland display made from cardboard and based around a book called Lost Words. The work was entirely created by pupils across the school, showcasing their ideas and their expertise in making animals, trees and plants. The art work has been on display at St Laurence Church in Ramsgate.
Jo Dyer, Artistic Director of Animate Arts, said: “We want to support schools across Kent to actively campaign and speak-up for arts in schools. From our experience, schools are desperately craving art and creativity but it’s becoming increasingly difficult with low morale and cut-backs in resources.
“Art Builders is rallying schools and artists together to voice why art is a vital part of the curriculum and we hope to inspire more schools to join our campaign. We believe that a creativity education can be a powerful tool to raise standards in schools and most importantly it helps to build children’s confidence, well-being and learning.”