Eight striking visual artworks capturing the voices of students from the Lionheart School, working with artist Nathan Holt, will feature in ‘Words Beyond Language’, an exhibition on the café wall at Quay Arts throughout August.
The project – part of Artswork’s Young Cultural Changemakers programme, funded by Arts Council England – aimed to help students develop a personal connection to their words and better understand their impact. Recognising that improved ‘oracy’ (fluent and effective communication) is linked to better mental health and academic achievements, it focused on three key strands: vocabulary, voice and confidence in speaking.
The students worked with Nathan Holt to explore the range of frequencies and subsequent vibrational patterns of their words through cymatics and spectrogram experiments, creating visual images of their speech.
These have been developed into multidimensional artwork using spray paint, acrylic prints, etching, words and text.
The project provided 20 students across KS3/4 with an opportunity to express their own experience and point of view. This was designed to bring a deeper understanding of the effect of words and sounds and how they can impact others.
Juliet Lainson Art Teacher at Lionheart School says,
“Lionheart believes that every child has the potential to thrive and that learning happens best when students feel seen, heard and understood. Creative learning encourages collaboration and exploration where students may feel more comfortable to express themselves. Group discussions, listening and responding, opinions, respectful ideas and constructive arguments result in meaningful speaking.
“This project has been a fantastic opportunity for the students to work collaboratively with creative professionals and industries. We would like to thank Artswork, Kreative Studios and Quay Arts for their continued support.”
Nathan Holt says,
“Once again I am so impressed with the brilliant artworks produced by the Lionheart students. This project required focusing on complex subjects and summoning the courage to speak out in a positive way. Having the artworks exhibited on the Quay Arts’ cafe wall is testament to the student’s courageous creativity and admirable dedication.”
Peta Rainford, Placemaking Creative Producer with Artswork says,
“We know from our many creative consultations that children and young people on the Isle of Wight tend to feel that their voices aren’t heard or their opinions taken into account. This can have a significant impact on confidence and self esteem. I am excited that this project has allowed the Lionheart students to create these striking visual representations of their spoken words.”
Youth voice is at the heart of Artwork’s work and this project is an extension of ‘No Decisions About Us Without Us’ a literacy/oracy/advocacy collaboration between Barton Primary School and creatives Adam Gaterell and Jess Ong, which created protest songs and poetry and T-shirts and cartoons that were also exhibited at Quay Arts.
Ian Whitmore Quay Arts Visual Arts and Education manager says,
“We are delighted to continue to partner with Lionheart School to showcase students work.”
The exhibition will run from until Sunday 31st August.
News shared by Peta on behalf of Lionheart School. Ed
