Blazing a Trail...
WheelWorks Arts (WWA) has just received excellent feedback from school children involved in Trailblazer programme that the charity ran in primary schools across Northern Ireland in 2022/2023.
It aims to improve inter-communal awareness and good relations between the province’s divided traditions. It does this through developing cultural understanding between different groups by using the medium of storytelling through participation in digital arts, namely filmmaking and animation. Children draw characters and then animate them into a narrative that they develop collectively.
During 2022/23, WWA worked with 71 children at Greystones Primary and St Joseph’s Primary Schools in County Antrim and 53 pupils at St Colemans Primary and Brackneagh West Primary Schools in County Down.
These schools worked together to write a common story using digital technology and met up to develop the narrative together. The programme aims not only to improve inter-community understanding but also promote new skills in teamwork, literacy, and leadership in the process.
The feedback was positive. Below is a selection of the views of the young participants:
“I loved doing the animation and getting it to fight off the bad people!” – Abel, aged 7.
“I didn’t know how to use the app at first, but I loved it in the end” – Alphonse, aged 7.
“It was great when we went to…[the other school] with the ipads and made films. We had a great time with the other school” – Aoibhan, aged 8.
“I liked doing the drawings for the animations. I made a sea princess who helped people” – Ruby, aged 8.
“I liked meeting the other [children from the other school]…and playing games with them about good and bad stuff” – Alfie, aged 7 .
“The artists were really cool. It was good fun” – Joel, aged 8
“We made teams up with the other schools. That was good.” Grace, aged 8.
“We made up brilliant superheroes that fought evil bad bully's and made us feel better” – Levi, aged 7.
“We went to [the other school]…and made films together. We took photos and had lunch. It loved it” – Skylar, aged 7
“When we all shouted out ideas for the characters and made-up stories together was really cool” – Annastasia, aged 8.
“Making the drawing and films with my friends was good. It helped me I think” – Alvio, aged 7.