Glaven Valley Young Arts Projects  

As a society we aim to encourage young people to appreciate and develop their creative abilities and this is especially important in the current financial climate which is seeing school art budgets being severely cut back. Each year we look for a suitable project to give local school children opportunities they might otherwise not have. Our funds are not infinite and recently we have successfully funded our projects from raffle proceeds.

2026 Funding art classes at Frettenham Primary School

Frettenham Primary School teacher Elly Haynes had been keen to work with TASGV for several years so we were delighted when the opportunity came up to put her in contact with local artist Rachel Duffield. Rachel, Elly and our Young Arts Co-ordinator Jane Oulton gradually developed a plan to show the children how to begin the creative process, whether a painting, a design or a piece of pottery, in a sketchbook – a process which is, of course, used by very many artists in all walks of life, and can allow the original idea to change and develop before it is put on paper, canvas or the potter’s wheel. 

The project took place over two blocks of time in March and June with Rachel working with the children and the class teachers in Classes 1 (4-6 years old), 2 (6-9 years old) and 3 (9-11 years old). The staff were very welcoming, and the children in each class were a joy - open, very communicative and engaged with Rachel. At the end of the last session the work of each class was displayed and the children visited each of the classes - there was plenty of chatter, laughter and congratulations exchanged! 

This project, funded by the sale of raffle tickets at TASGV monthly lectures, and generously supported by a central Arts Society grant, was a great success with the children meeting new challenges, and expanding their visual and manual development and creative skills. Rachel Duffield is a warm and inspiring communicator as well as a talented artist in her own right and the children were very fortunate to work with her. 

Image by kind permission of Frettenham Primary School.

2025 Project introducing sixth formers to careers in the world of art and culture

This project was with a group of sixth formers at Paston College, North Walsham who were studying theatre, drama, film and media. We introduced them to interactive sessions with four professionals from the world of art and culture.

 A young theatre director described to the students his work of an assistant director in the West End as well as describing writing and producing his own sell-out fringe show. The international set and costume designer, who works on operas and musicals, described the value and importance of set and costumes to creating the right ambience for a production and the need to work closely with the director and lighting engineers. This was an area the students had not considered before as a career path. An RSC actor described his career on the stage as well as in films and on TV. Lastly, a director of an arts and culture management programme with experience as a BBC executive introduced the students to the business side of TV, film and theatre.

 The key takeaways were that there are many more career opportunities than the students had appreciated, relentless drive and determination are needed to succeed and building networks is a key requirement. Feedback from the students was enthusiastic. One reported that ‘the actor was especially effective at communicating the role of actor and how it pairs with uncertainty’ and that another speaker ‘gave a complete well rounded view of the industry and its opportunities'.

2023/2024 Joint project with the Duke of Lancaster Academy and the Norwich Puppet Theatre

The project for 2023/2024 will see Young Arts working with the newly established Duke of Lancaster Academy, which is a special needs school in Fakenham and the Norwich Puppet Theatre, helping children to develop their communication skills and broaden their interest in cultural activities.  Many of the children who attend this school are on the autism spectrum and for them, social communication can be particularly challenging.

The children will be taken to a performance of The Pied Piper at the Puppet Theatre in Norwich and will then have three workshops at the school that will see them focussing on creating the story that they would like to tell, designing and making the puppets and presenting their own puppet show to the school. 

It is hoped that this project will build the children’s confidence, develop their fine motor and sensory skills, and support them in developing their communication skills while also opening their imaginations to the wonderful world of puppetry and the theatre.

2021/2022 Fused Art Project with Primary School pupils

Our project for 2021-22 has given children at Holt Primary School the opportunity to use their imagination and, based on themes in their course work, produce examples of fused glass work. We appointed Debbie Burton, a fused glass artist, as artist in residence. In small groups the children explored different design themes based on set books or their studies of the local environment. They researched, designed, and made  individual pieces of fused glass inspired by their studies. Every child took home their own finished work.

In the second part of the project each individual school year group came together as a team to produce one large, themed glass panel, based on their original designs. Six original panels were produced.

Over the course of the project the children learnt the rudiments of fused glass design and were encouraged to make artistic decisions and choices for each glass panel produced. Participation in the project helped them to develop their self-belief and confidence. It was a delight to watch their progress and see them grow artistically. Most importantly the whole school participated in an art and design project which introduced them to new artistic skills and techniques and the work produced was fresh, beautiful and self-expressive. The children loved the experience and watching them bloom was wonderful to see. All the work will be exhibited in Holt before being returned to the school to go on permanent display.

The project was funded by the proceeds of raffles held at our monthly meetings and by a small grant from our Head Office.

Young Arts Project 2020 
We were unable to sponsor a project in 2020 because of the Pandemic.

 2019 Art and Design Projects with Secondary School pupils
In 2019 we donated £1000 to the Alderman Peel High School in Wells. The donation was used to fund three individual art and design projects, each tailored to the needs of students of different artistic capabilities and providing artistic opportunities they would otherwise not have enjoyed. The work produced was of a very high standard and was exhibited at the school prize giving at Holkham Hall.

Eighteen pupils aged 15 &16 took part in a terracotta clay workshop and evening class to make clay heads under the guidance of a sculptor. The work formed part of the pupils’ GCSE course work.

Talented students aged 14 to16 were introduced to larger scale acrylic and oil painting as well as print making in 2 three-hour workshops.

Pupils aged 11 to 14 were introduced to sketching, photographing and making large scale sea paintings. 

 2018 Poetry Slam with five Primary School pupils

During the Centenary Year of the Arts Society we donated £2000 to the Falcon Poetry Slam project. Falcon exists to provide opportunities to engage in creativity in all its forms. Its goal is to make a valid contribution to the creative and learning environment of all children in Norfolk, who might otherwise have limited access to these influences and opportunities.

The project involved children from five local primary schools taking part in an interschool poetry competition.  Each school had two whole days of an in-school workshop with a lead poet, during which the children would write, develop and perform their poems in front of their individual schools. The best poems were then selected and included in a final Grand Slam contest between the five schools on stage at The Little Theatre , Sheringham. There was a special evening performance of the winning poems for parents, donors and any members of the Arts Society who wished to attend