'Wild At Art' community art sessions and competition

The King’s ‘Wild at Art’ Competition is an exciting new enrichment opportunity, celebrating the wonderful subject of Art. Specifically for primary school children in Macclesfield and hosted by The King’s School in collaboration with Macclesfield Museums and Macclesfield Library.

Aims

To bring children together from across the borough to share an art experience with visiting experts and differing art forms. The event provides a fantastic opportunity to inspire a new generation of local artists, and at the same time engage with the local museum and library.

Background

King’s has been looking to host an Art Outreach event and the collaboration with Macclesfield Museum and Libraries has led to the first workshop day of what promises to be an annual event.

Resources

With a number of visiting schools, the sessions are based in the School’s main hall with workshops also taking place in different art rooms and halls on the school campus. The visiting pupils will be in school for the full day with lunch and break times on the school campus. Art materials and staff will be at hand to support the children throughout the sessions.

The 2022 theme is ‘Ancient Egyptians’, in celebration of 100 years since the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Impact

A fully engaged, learning and creative opportunity for children to experience artistic challenges alongside their peers from other local schools.

Positive feedback was received from primary schools attending:

“I just wanted to say thank you for inviting us to the 'Wild At Art' competition. Our children had a brilliant time meeting other children, the animals and all the adults who made the day so special for them. The children were really proud of their art work and I could hear them chattering away to their parents when they were collected. To be out of school with a group of pupils for the day was incredibly inspiring and special as I haven't been able to do that due to the impact of the pandemic on our school. It was lovely to visit another school and meet other people and your team of staff were so welcoming and helpful.”  Headteacher

Pupil Involvement

Sessions were designed to suit the different pupil age ranges and the numbers attending sessions. Children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 attended the sessions from five different primary schools in Macclesfield, plus those from King’s, so around 100 children attended in total in 2022.

 During the day, each child produced sketches and a final piece of artwork under the guidance of experienced artists, inspired by the observation of real artefacts and live animals revered by the Ancient Egyptians, including snakes, owls and lizards.

Frequency

The annual Art enrichment experience runs for a full day with children arriving at 10.00am and departing at 3.00pm.