South Shields schoolchildren to have artwork displayed at National Gallery

Each year, the institution in London invites primary schools nationwide to submit their creative responses to a painting from their collection.

Artworks are then selected to be displayed in a special exhibition at the National Gallery entitled Take One Picture.

SS Peter and Paul RC Primary School were one of 37 schools to be chosen out of 1,000 entries from across the country to take part.

The school said South Shields Museum & Art Gallery (SSMAG) played a major role in supporting all year groups at the school with their involvement in this programme.

The team at the centre in Ocean Road helped pupils engage with the National Gallery’s selected painting 'Men of the Docks', by George Bellows, delivering a school assembly and developing and delivering museum workshops.

During these workshops the school children also engaged with South Shields Museum’s 19th Century painting 'The Wreck off the South Pier', by John Scott, and other objects in the collection through visual literacy, movement and poetry writing.

The result of this and other visits helped form the work created for their Take One Picture submission, as well as for an exhibition that teachers and children curated and displayed at South Shields Museum in November 2019.

"The team at South Shields Museum were fantastic in enabling us to create our exhibition so that it demonstrated the vibrant responses that the children had to the whole experience,” said Jenny Parker, who led the project at SS Peter and Paul RC Primary School.

“The museum’s assistant learning officer led a whole school assembly and arranged workshops for the classes.

"She also supported us in finding a space in the museum to exhibit our project.

"The exhibition opening was celebrated in style, with a speech from the Mayor, the school choir singing, the very fitting, ‘Big River’ by Jimmy Nail, and friends and family all able to enjoy the children’s work.”

Councillor Joan Atkinson, deputy leader of South Tyneside Council with responsibility for Culture and Leisure, said: “It is wonderful that our very talented school children are seeing their artistic flair being showcased at such as prestigious venue as the National Gallery, London.

"To be selected out of so many entries and the only school chosen from our region is simply brilliant.

“It is testament to the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of our young people that their creations are now capturing the attention of a national, and international, audience while shining a spotlight on South Tyneside.

“I’ve no doubt their parents and guardians, teachers and staff and the wider community will be so proud of their accomplishments. Well done to them all. We would urge everyone to take the time to view the exhibition and see this fabulous work for themselves.”

The artwork created by SS Peter and Paul RC Primary for the National Gallery’s Take One Picture programme can be viewed virtually at https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/take-one-picture-2020/explore-the-exhibition.

:: South Shields Museum says it can provide tailored classes or whole-school projects that explore cross-curricular themes and subjects through their Take One Treasure virtual learning programme.

Fore more information, contact [email protected] or visit South Shields Museum’s website https://southshieldsmuseum.org.uk/learning/take-one-treasure-school-learning.

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