Home Local News Four Skelmersdale schools exhibit their Great Art at Chapel Gallery

Four Skelmersdale schools exhibit their Great Art at Chapel Gallery

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More than 100 schoolchildren from Skelmersdale attended the Grand Finale exhibition of the Great Art Quest, which has featured artwork of four schools from the town.

The West Lancashire Borough Council-run Chapel Gallery is proud to have been selected by Children & the Arts as one of only four galleries nationally to participate in the Great Art Quest, alongside Falmouth Art Gallery in Cornwall; New Walk Museum in Leicester, and Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast.

Children’s charity, Children & the Arts created The Great Art Quest with the aim that it would allow children access to high quality visual and performing arts that otherwise they might not have the chance to see and participate in. The children visited the Gallery and took part in workshops in the Gallery and back in the classroom leading them to develop their own creativity and imagination and create their own artworks that would go on public display. West Lancashire Borough Council received a grant of £10,000 from Children & the Arts to develop and deliver a quality schools project, that would invest in young people’s creativity and build aspirations for the future.

Little Digmoor, St Francis of Assisi, Hillside and Brookfield Park schools worked with professional artists Sharon Kelly, Andy Shaw and storyteller, Izzie Major.

Children & the Arts’ project began at the Chapel Gallery with a specially designed programme of Creative Professional Development activities for teaching and support staff at the four schools. These activities aimed to extend staff knowledge of the arts, build confidence in how best to engage pupils when in a gallery setting, and to explore ways in which the arts might be used to enrich pupils learning experience across the curriculum.

Together, through visits to the Chapel Gallery, focused discussion and creative workshops, they have produced a vibrant collection of artworks and stories, tapping into and encouraging the children’s individual interests and talents. The resulting collection of sculpture, collage and audio works can be seen in the Great Art Quest exhibition at the Chapel Gallery until Saturday 15 April.

Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive of Children & the Arts, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Chapel Gallery in helping to inspire children and broaden their horizons through participation in the arts.”

Dave Tilleray, the Council’s director of Leisure and Wellbeing, said: “This has been a very exciting project for the children and they have produced some great work, so make sure you come along to this exhibition to see what they have done.”

The schools continue to develop their newly acquired sculptural, animation and storytelling skills and look forward to participating in future gallery visits and other art based initiatives.

For more information about the Chapel Gallery please visit www.westlancs.gov.uk/chapelgallery or www.chapelgallery.org.uk.

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