Digswell Arts Fellow Kirke Raava has been working with year 6 students at St John’s Church of England Primary School and will be curating a pop-up exhibition this Friday, 29th March 2019 that will reveal the work produced during this project.

Digswell Arts is piloting a scheme called “Artists at Schools” which gives school children access to a range of talented artists from whom they can learn new skills. It all came about when the Deputy Head teacher at the school, which is based in Digswell Village, contacted Digswell Arts Studio’s and asked if the children could come and visit. As part of the “Art Rebels” project, St. John’s Primary School children visited the Forge studios and watched artists as they created their art. This gave the children the full experience of a working artist’s studio.

After the session, artist Kirke Raava visited the school every Friday in March to teach the children some of the skills that they had witnessed at the studios. She introduced them to mono-printing, different acrylic paint techniques, watercolours and finally introduced students to sewing machines to have a go at stitching on paper with a mixture of materials.

The students also wrote reports about the artists they had visited and had some lively discussions at school.

The project culminates on the 29th March 2019 with an Art Exhibition, at the Forge Studios, of the work produced by the students. The year 6 pupils will also be curating the exhibition. Kirke commented, “We have cleared the space and painted the whole studios to give students the real feeling of an art gallery. They are so proud of the work they have produced and the whole process will stay with them for a long time”

Art Rebels, the Pop up exhibition by the Year 6 Pupils of the St John’s Church of England Primary will open its doors this Friday 1.45 until 4pm at The Forge, Digswell