A “wild, imaginative ‘wonderscape’” that saw the Main Gallery at Lighthouse Poole completely transformed by young artists, the venue’s first summer camp has been hailed a success.
Over the course of a week, young people aged seven to 12 quickly grasped the nettle and treated the Gallery space as a blank canvas, creating creatures, dens and alternative environments using repurposed and recycled materials, found objects and natural dyes.
The summer camp, Wild Art Wonders, was delivered by the award-winning Coda Music and Arts Trust, and children were able to drop in a day at a time or book in for the whole week, with optional wraparound care at the beginning and end of the day to help busy parents.
“It was fabulous; what they achieved was incredible – they finished the day full of enthusiasm and were so proud to show us the wild, imaginative ‘wonderscape’ they’d created,” says Katy Griffiths, Head of Programming at Lighthouse and mum of two of the young participants. “It was an amazing opportunity for them to work with professional artists and let their imaginations run wild.”
Heidi Steller, Creative Programme Director at Coda Music and Arts Trust, adds: “This was a unique opportunity for a group of young artists to explore creating their own space. We made a fully immersive artists’ studio environment that allowed their imagination to journey through the week in an unhindered way.
“Having the Gallery for a week in this way allowed us, as artists, to work in a responsive and child-led way. Having different artists coming in to the space brought different skills and energies so that there was always something new to explore. Let’s do it again!”
In general feedback, parents were very keen for it to run again next year and the youngsters left with hands full of creations to take home asking when the next one would be.
:: A follow up mini camp with different themes is being planned for the October half term. Watch this space!
(NC)