The stunning lampshade sculpture shown here was the end result of a ten week project at St Gregory the Great School in East Oxford, funded by Oxford City Council and Oxford Youth Ambition and generously supported by Pooky Lights who donated the plain lampshades on which the project was based.
There were seven students in each workshop. One group was from Year 8 and the other was from Year 9. The groups met once a week on a Tuesday. Each session lasted for two hours and was facilitated by Will Long, Lead Therapeutic Arts Facilitator and Manager for AT The Bus, together with a visiting professional artist. The visiting artist for the Year 8 group was Alison Berrett. The visiting artist for the Year 9 group was Susan Moxley.
The sessions were run according to The Beattie Method, a relationship-based art as therapy practice that supports education, health, and wellbeing in schools. Sessions take place in a specially designed studio space either in school or on board our double decker bus. They are organised around an art project in which objects from everyday life are recycled into works of art. This is intended to encourage a sense of agency and creativity, and to symbolise the capacity to affect the world around us. They also include opportunities for talking, peer-to-peer support and relationship-building, and group social interactions including play.
Students enjoyed the experience and found it made a difference to them, allowing them to feel calmer, less anxious and more confident:
• “It’s really calming and gives me a lot of energy, the stress-free environment and how you can freely speak” • “It has helped me feel more confident” • “I liked how we can do so many things such as painting etc” • “It has helped with school because when I’m in here I can feel like I’m at home which I love” • “I liked that we got to do something we all enjoy” • “It helped me with calming down and also makes me worry less”
The final artwork will hang in a prominent place within the school. If you’re visiting St Greg’s, do look out for it!