Schoolchildren will design sculptures representing hope and celebration as part of a project which will see seven art installations go up around Newham.
Pupils from 14 Newham primaries are involved in the Institute of Imagination’s The Big Build project, led by East Ham artist Anne Harild.
Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz said: “From young people to elected officials, we are Newham because we are one community. This project will bring focus on exactly what we need this year – hope, community and creativity.”
The workshops start by asking children what hope and celebration means to them, and then the participants put their ideas to paper in creative doodles.
They then used materials designed by Collective Paper Aesthetics for the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention to bring their ideas to life.
Helen Tarbuck, assistant headteacher at St Luke’s Primary School in Canning Town, said: “The project is really clever, it had our students enthusiastically folding paper to create their geometric shapes into small 3D models, which then led them to work collectively to connect their small shapes to form their one large whole school sculpture.
"It incorporated lessons in maths, science, technology, engineering, and art rolled up in one.
"This project takes learning off paper worksheets and makes these subjects real and more tactile for children to experience.”
A Year 3 child added: “I learned that it’s good to be hopeful and to try my best.
"Our tower fell over, and that taught me that sometimes things don’t work out the way you first thought. I also learned that I can just keep trying, I can just build it again.”
After the school workshops, the children’s ideas and sculptures - all which have been captured in film and photos - will be translated into seven sculptures across Newham.
Anne said: “My role is to bring it all together, taking the sum of the children’s ideas and translating their thinking and their work to fit the language of the local environments, where we have chosen to display the final sculptures.”
The project will continue throughout June, with the opportunity for everyone in Newham to visit the sculptures or join in by downloading and printing the shapes to build at home.
Institute of Imagination's co-directors Tom Doust and Stephanie Dittmer released a statement: “The Big Build is an invitation for children and families in Newham to reconnect with their imaginations and to help rebuild their cultural community through creativity.”
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