Community Art Partnership
Working with our partner, The Holburne Museum in Bath, we provided free creative art visits to the Museum, whereby Year 5 children from Bathwick St Mary Church School, visited the museum to view the latest exhibit there (sponsored by KES) - The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics. This was followed by a creative art workshop in the museum's creative learning space led by the Head of Art from King Edward's School.
The activity involved both Year 5 classes at the primary school (approx 36 children in total).
Ahead of viewing the exhibit, pupils were introduced to the artwork on view via a short presentation by the Museum's curator.
Aims
The aim of of the partnership with The Holburne Museum was to provide local primary schools with free access to the exhibition combined with a creative art workshop led by KES.
The community outreach initiative was enabled by exclusive access to the exhibition by the Museum and the provision of an art-based workshop led by KES Art teachers.
The immediate beneficiaries of the initiative were the Year 5 children at Bathwick St Mary Church School.
Background
The Art trip organised for Bathwick St Mary Church School arose from King Edward's School's sponsorship of The Holburne Museum's exhibit on The Tudors. Our decision to sponsor the exhibit was led by the desire to offer access to the exhibit both to KES pupils and to pupils from local state schools.
The Art workshops were jointly developed by King Edward's and the Museum. The partnership was established in 2022 and we hope to undertake further, similar initiatives in the future.
Resources
The outreach initiative relied on exclusive access to the exhibit, provided by the Museum, and the availability of KES art teachers to run the creative workshop.
The entire workshop and visit, lasting two hours, took place at the Museum.
Financial support was provided by King Edward's School via its sponsorship of the exhibit as well as the provision of teaching staff and materials.
Impact
We have had some excellent feedback from the Year 5 children who took part, with some quotes below describing their experience. Teachers at the primary school were appreciative of the learning experience.
“It was really fun because I learnt about the Tudors and all the paintings”
“It was really fun and the staff were very kind”
“I was fascinated by all the art work that was on display”
“I loved going because I enjoyed doing the art activities and learning about the Tudors”
“I really like the art and I enjoyed learning about the new art techniques”
“I really enjoyed learning about the Tudors, and I liked the art resources”
“I thought it was really cool that the whole museum was closed so that our class could do some fun art”
“ I really liked all the different art techniques we did”
“I really liked being inspired by all of the paintings”
Pupil Involvement
No students from King Edward's School were involved in the initiative, rather KES teachers led the workshop, supported by staff from the primary school.
Frequency
Although this is the first outreach initiative we have run in partnership with The Holburne Museum, we have offered outreach opportunities to Bathwick St Mary Church School for well over ten years. From KES Maths and English teachers regularly visiting the school, to Bathwick St Mary children attending our annual Activities Week in the summer.
