Funded through a partnership of local organisations including Hammersmith & Fulham Council, the 45-minute sessions in the inaugural 'School Arts Week' saw local creatives and cultural organisations provide tutors to inspire the pupils.
Cllr Sharon Holder, Mayor of H&F, said:
It's fantastic to hear how popular these workshops have been. Giving children the chance to be creative and experience different art and cultures is really important and is part of our work to make H&F a stronger, safer and kinder borough."
The project was set up as part of H&F's Cultural Compact – a partnership of 14 arts and cultural bodies collaborating to a model established by Arts Council England to connect with young people and give them experience of the artistic riches on offer in the borough. More than 750 youngsters benefited from the inaugural week.
"We come to them – they don't have to come to us," explained Amy Belson from Hammersmith's Lyric Theatre as she welcomed local MPs Ben Coleman and Andy Slaughter to watch workshops in their constituencies.
The local MPs visited workshops held at All Saints primary in Fulham and at Ark White City in Dorando Close. Teachers had a choice of subject best suited to their pupils, with the options including circus skills with Turtle Key Arts, costume design with the Lyric Hammersmith, contemporary dance with DanceWest, inclusive dance with The Amici Dance Theatre Company and theatre acting with White City Theatre Project. All the groups helped fund the arts week, which also included Olympia London.
All Saints, Fulham
Year 5 teacher Patrina Willat from All Saints picked Shakespeare skills – as her class of 28 had already been enjoying A Midsummer Night's Dream in the autumn term. "We'd already spent time talking about the characters and the morals, so the workshop built on that," she said.
John Eastman from the Primary Shakespeare Company was the facilitator provided by Hammersmith-based LAMDA, using the full size of the school hall to give the children roles, explain the plot and act out scenes. "How long ago do you think the play was written?" he asked his young participants. A hand shot up. "In Shakespeare's time," was the pithy response from a sharp nine-year-old!
While MP Ben Coleman was still able to dredge up a few quotes from the memory banks having studied the play for his own GCSEs.
Ark White City
At Ark White City, head of school David Williams canvassed opinion from his Year 5s before opting for a visual arts and manga workshop which saw the young artists design their own Pokémon cards, facilitated by Kwuali Meghie and Kiaya Cornish from the IDEA Design Hub based in Hammersmith.
It proved a big hit, with 28 pupils having no problem coming up with names, ideas and designs for new monsters, as well as deciding on their superpowers. "There are no rights and wrongs in art," said Kwuali, encouraging the young artists to think outside the box.
MP Andy Slaughter was impressed. "There's an amazing take-up for School Arts Week, with almost every school in the borough being involved. It's lucky we have so many high-quality arts organisations in H&F to allow the council to take all that professional experience and bring it into our schools."
Keeya and Makki share their stories
Nine-year-old Ark White City pupil Keeya was one of the creative students singled out for special mention by workshop tutor Kwuali Meghie.
She was praised for her originality in designing four new Pokémon characters, including Flowerbed and Snail Fly.
"The Snail Fly is half purple and half gold, and when it gets angry it can shoot a snail-like weapon at its enemy," she explained. Another of her inventions was Halfblood; a combined girl and chicken! "I've really enjoyed doing it – it's been fun," said Keeya, who has a collection of 250 of the trading cards at home.
Classmate Makki, 11, was so keen to attend the Pokémon workshop that he cancelled a school trip to attend.
"I wanted to stay here for this," he confirmed, before unveiling his new designs, including Flame, Sliver (a green poisonous monster) and Tik, which has serious bite power. "I collect Pokémon cards," said Makki, who says he wants to "influence people" when he's older.
