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Talented Newham pupils Make it 2 best of borough art show at UEL

Thursday 5 July 2007

Make it 2, Newham’s annual celebration of the best of the borough’s school artwork, is currently on display at the University of East London’s (UEL) Docklands Campus.

Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales joined hundreds of local pupils and their teachers, families and friends to officially open the exhibition at UEL’s School of Architecture and the Visual Arts on Tuesday 3 July.

The show, which includes work by over 6,000 pupils from all of Newham’s primary and secondary schools, is a key feature of the Newham Arts Festival 2007 and will be open to the public at UEL until Friday 13 July.

Sir Robin Wales said: “I’m constantly inspired by the wealth of talent in Newham, and this year’s show is extremely impressive. I’m particularly pleased to see that so much of the work focuses on young people’s aspirations.

“Our borough has a young, dynamic, vibrant and diverse population and it’s fantastic to be able to work with partners like the University of East London who really understand the area and the people of Newham.”

This is the twelfth year that the Newham school art exhibition has been held at UEL. Pupils from Manor Park School marked the occasion with a live performance of West African drumming in collaboration with Jamojamo Arts.

Cliff Nicholls, Head of UEL’s School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back Newham’s annual schools exhibition. The work on display here is a glimpse of the future of art and design in the UK. Hopefully, we’ll be welcoming many of these promising artists, designers and architects back to UEL in years to come.”

The Make it 2 exhibition includes examples of exciting curriculum projects developed in conjunction with the Tate Gallery, Cloth of Gold and the British Museum.

Andrew Mutter, Arts Adviser for the London Borough of Newham, said: “We’ve got some fantastic work on display in the show, including a video installation room that show-cases cutting-edge digital work, special drawing and design and technology sections, an Olympic sculpture project and the winner of the Young at Heart national art competition.

“I’m extremely confident that we’re making the ground fertile for the cultural Olympiad that will soon be arriving in Newham.”

The Make it 2 Newham schools exhibition will be open to the public at UEL’s School of Architecture and the Visual Arts in Docklands from 10am-6pm on weekdays and 10am-4pm on Saturdays until Friday 13 July.

For further information, visit www.newham.gov.uk/artsfestival or call 020 8430 6363.

Newham pupils involved in the Make it 2 exhibition include:

Sawsan Al-Turaihi (13), of East Ham, is a Year 8 pupil at Brampton Manor School. Sawsan said: “In my class, we’ve been creating big colourful clay pots. Working in groups, we explored different areas of Newham, finding out stories about the local area and using them to inspire our designs.

“I really enjoyed the project and it’s very exciting to see my work on display in this big exhibition and to talk about it to important people like the Mayor of Newham!”

Farhad Parvez (16), of Forest Gate, Giovana Soobrayen (15) and Samira Patel (15), both of East Ham, took part in a special expedition to Oman and the United Arab Emirates in February this year.

The pupils, from Plashet and Forest Gate schools, were among nine East London students involved in the twelve-day trip, organised by the Offscreen Education Programme to build cultural bridges and better educate UK school children about the Arab world.

Giovana said: “Applying for the expedition was a challenging process – there was a lot of competition from other talented students – but we all really wanted to take part and were extremely happy to win.

“We experienced everyday life in the Gulf, interacting with local people and getting a real taste of what life is like in Arab countries. We took a lot of photos and videos, did a lot of sketches and collected a loads of materials to produce big artworks with when we returned.

“The most important things that we learnt were never to judge people by the way that they look, and not to always accept the reality of life in foreign countries that is portrayed by the UK media.”

Zubair Bhatti (13) exhibited a fruity pot that he made as a year 8 student at Cumberland School. Zubair said: “The idea behind this project was to make clay pots inspired by the artist Kate Maloney and her use of natural forms. My pot is shaped like a pineapple with grapes on the outside.

“I love art – it’s definitely one of my favourite subjects – so it’s really exciting to have my work on display in a big exhibition like this.”

Damilola Babajide (14), of Canning Town, is a pupil at Forest Gate Community School. Damilola said: “Our class work was inspired by an attempt to portray London’s youth in a better light than we’re normally shown. I chose the word ‘imagine’ because it’s important to imagine how many positive things we can achieve.

“We used digital cameras and Photoshop to create the main image, then painted over the print to add extra colour. Before this project, I never really thought I was very good at art, but now I feel much more confident.“

Ends/.

For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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