ARTS VOLUNTEERING 2018/2014

Moncrieff-Bray Gallery 2018

Our first project this year was a trip to the Moncrieff Bray Gallery, with year 6 pupils from Fittleworth School. We found a brilliant art teacher Maureen Wells, to accompany us for the day. She encouraged the children to look carefully at the sculptures in the garden and instructed them on the techniques of one particular artist exhibiting in the gallery. It was a glorious day and they sketched outside and studied paintings inside. The afternoon was spent back at school painting with acrylics. It was a fantastic day much enjoyed by children and staff alike!

POPUP EXHIBITION, PETWORTH FESTIVAL 2018

We organised the Popup Exhibition as part of the 40th Anniversary of the Petworth Music Festival. This involved 17 local Primary Schools and made for a colourful and diverse exhibition. Many members were kind enough to help steward this event. The town crier beckoned passers-by and it was a huge success once again. Those who visited it, might remember the variety of work - from small canvasses of acrylic landscapes to large lino cut designs. The work illustrated the amazing talent to be found in West Sussex. There was a display of beautifully crafted pottery houses depicting the village of Bury and some amusing robots made from scrap metal material. Awareness of the disastrous effect plastic is having on our oceans was represented with 2 and 3D images. Click here to see a selection of the exhibited artwork.

POETRY WORKSHOPS, PETWORTH FESTIVAL2018

Lastly, following last year’s very successful Popup Poetry workshops, Rachael Long returned to run the 4 day event. A renowned poet and educator she came down from her base in The Barbican, in London to run 6 workshops in schools near here. At the end of the week a Poet Laureate and a runner up from each of the 8 schools involved was invited to read their poem to a public audience in the Petworth Literary Festival, along with anyone else who was brave enough to join in!

POPUP EXHIBITION, PETWORTH FESTIVAL 2017

The Emperor's New Clothes, Petworth Festival 2017

PROJECT AT WISBOROUGH GREEN SCHOOL, APRIL 2017

West Sussex DFAS sponsored the Brighton artist Ellie Bond to spend two days as artist in residence at Wisborough Green Primary School. Her brief was to involve all pupils at the school in the designing and making of a large decorative collage on the theme of ' the Forest'
It was wonderful to witness the enthusiasm of the children as they used their imagination to create the forest backdrop and the brightly coloured birds that made up this vibrant piece of art.
Thanks to Ellie's encouragement and WSDFAS support, the school has a unique piece of art on prominent display and each child a pride in their own part of it's creation.