On Monday 4 July, 50 participants from Bishop Thomas Grant, Lansdowne and Lilian Baylis School gathered for the first time to celebrate their participation in the Present in the Moment Public Art project led by three artists (Tereza Araujo, Maya Campbell and Laurie Fitzgerald).
Present in the Moment
Present in the Moment celebrates the creativity of young people within their communities, improving their wellbeing and increasing their engagement with arts and culture. The project is framed through the lens of experiencing the beauty of the here and now.
Teamwork, team games
The event began at the Marcus Lipton Youth Centre, where participants took part in group work presentations with their assigned artist. After lunch, there was the opportunity for fun activities, play and team games in Grove Adventure Playground.
All students received certificates and plans are afoot to share the finished creative responses with the public.
Project aims
- Raise the status and value of Lambeth schools within our cultural ecology. We are aware that Lambeth has many rich cultural assets including a high concentration of National Portfolio Organisations, but many Lambeth residents do not access them, this project will serve to…
- Bridge the gap through giving local communities access to art as they go about their everyday lives.
- Challenge some of the prevailing power dynamics of place, through working outside institutions (i.e traditional arts spaces and/or schools), giving young people agency and visibility in reclaiming, repurposing and reframing Lambeth as their borough.
What students have said about the project so far…
present in the moment painting
- “I feel more confident in my artistic abilities”
- “I’m more confident to express my ideas”
- “I want to do it again please”
- “It makes me feel like things will get better”
- In answer to the question ‘what has changed since taking part in the programme, one student said “the artist in us!”
