The theme came from us thinking about the injustices of the world in the past and also in the present and how the children wanted the world to be in the future ‘The World Reimagined ‘. We looked at the 5 C’s at the start of The World Reimagined’s learning resources (Compassion, Communication, Curiosity, Courage and Critical Thinking) and our school values Respect, Care and Excellence.
An Imperfect World’
The globe was created by Y10 GCSE pupils with a focus on reimagining equality in the future. The countries around the world were painted, blurred and splattered to blur the boundaries and work by students was collaged on looking at the tradition of the Transatlantic Trade inspired by artists such as Richard Mensah, Kente cloth and students’ ideas of powerful women – working in an all girls’ school that is very important. The base of the globe is covered with the hopes and dreams of the rest of the school for a world where everyone is equal submitted by years 7-10 as well as staff.
We took our inspiration from the animals and nature seen in Mother Africa. We illustrated this by painting the freedom of animals to roam and included the colours of the sunset and the beauty of exotic and exuberant flowers, which symbolised growth through nurture. We painted one side of the globe in black to represent the oppression and the removal of human rights through the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. We illustrated this by showing the inhumanity of the overcrowding of the enslaved on ships and the use of chains to depict the removal of freedom and human dignity.
Our unique ‘PLTS characters’ surround our globe to show the learning skills that encircle our everyday learning. Around it is the Oasis logo, the ‘circle of inclusion.’ It symbolises our inclusive ethos and demands that we do better and do more to break the cycle of racial prejudice and institutional inequality which is endemic in our society. We have also included large flags which show connections with children or staff at Hobmoor. Our community is very important to us and alongside our Hub, we encourage everyone to come together outside of the classroom.
Year 5 children at Mansfield Green worked to develop ideas using image and text based on their personal response to the theme of ‘global anti-racism’. Countries of the world were painted onto the surface of the globe sculpture using a sophisticated, yet limited colour palette, with acrylic paint and Posca pens. Positive messages were stencilled over the top of the traditional globe imagery, detailing the children’s thoughts about the current local, national and international situation regarding prejudice. The young artists intend for their sculpture to raise important social and political questions about the world around us.
The Year 6 children were responsible for the globe but planned and included contributions from the whole school! As a theme they decided to celebrate our school values of Community, Aspiration, Learning, Love as they felt these values apply to society as a whole. In designing individual symbols, classes used some of the lessons from ‘The World Reimagined’ relating to Adinkra symbols.
‘The Talking Cloth’
“Our globe was inspired by the Adinkra symbols from Ghana. Pupils across the whole school learnt about the symbols through the story, ‘The Talking Cloth’ by Rhonda Mitchell. They explored the meaning of the symbols and colours in order to better understand part of Mother Africa’s history. The cloth wrapped around the globe has been printed and painted with Adinkra symbols and new symbols that the children created to symbolise thoughts, feeling and ideas that they value. The globe is surrounded by the Adinkra symbols of patience and tolerance, understanding and agreement, cooperation, knowledge and learning and harmony – all of which are needed to create a wonderful, shared world and future.
Our globe was designed and created by a small team of Year 5 and Year 6 pupils who attend a weekly art club after school at Colmers Farm Primary which is part of Excelsior Multi Academy Trust. Our pupils wanted our globe to focus on three things – traditional African patterns, flags of different countries within the vast continent of Africa and some key messages to remind people that we are all human and everyone should be treated equally regardless of the colour of their skin. One of the key messages includes ‘No Outsiders’ – All different, All welcome. ‘No Outsiders’ is a scheme that was created by Andrew Moffat who is Personal Development lead at Excelsior Multi Academy Trust which involves the use of story books to teach about seven of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. These include: age, disability, race, gender-reassignment, religion or belief, gender and sexual orientation.
St Chad’s has a strong African community that is reflected in our globe. Patterns were designed by the children through their study of African textiles and patterns. Sue Guthrie brought together the children’s designs and incorporated key Adinkra symbols to show the ethos of our community – Patience, resilience, beauty, perseverance, friendship, faithful, courage, understanding and that we are God’s children.
The silhouettes are of some of our younger children and show our uniqueness within our community family. Year 5 and 6 worked with great enthusiasm and responsibility to bring our vision alive and with Sue’s expert guidance took part in every step of our creation.
This globe is our school’s vision of a racially just society. The design was arrived at after children all had the opportunity to submit their ideas. The jigsaw pieces show that everyone at St Patrick’s fits together to make our school work as a whole. The number of pieces represents the number of countries our families are from – plus some extras for any new families!
Our school is greatly enriched by our diverse community so we have included the word DIVERSITY. The hearts show that everyone is loved in our school and the hands are waving in welcome.
During the project, every child who was present at school contributed to decorating the globe.
Every child at Shoscombe spent the Spring term learning about the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans through studying the work of African and Caribbean artists, musicians and architects. Their research inspired print designs. Children of different ages used a variety of print techniques including lino, batik and fruit printing as a medium for their ideas.
During art week their printmaking was scanned, printed, torn and collaged onto the Globe. The torn pieces are small fragments of us all, carefully placed and glued together to form a reimagined world. All children explored their ideas with Hip Hop Artist Blaise. He drew together the children’s ideas to create a rap, the lyrics are displayed at the bottom of the Globe. The globe is symbol of our reimagined world where we are unified and where we can all say: I am seen.
This projects links to our Build a Better World Erasmus project through which we accessed music, poetry and the visual arts to build student experience and understanding of how together we can Build a Better future. Each creative form aimed to facilitate a range of experiences so that each child could actively engage with the project and deepen their understanding of the impact of the trade I enslaved Africans on our shared history and how together we can Build a Better World.
After consideration, the students decided they wanted to explore “Still We Rise” for their globe design.
We had weeks playing with the concept and imagery, trying various creative techniques and producing different responses to the theme. Their final design incorporated the following representation:
Boats – acknowledging and remembering the past
Self-portraits – here and now, celebrating difference.
Slogans – the future changes they wish to see.
Their hopes and aspirations rise up the globe from the darkness that was the trade in enslaved Africans and migrations, to a positive, inclusive, equitable future, “Still We Rise”.
Imagine yourself as a five-year-old in a Bubble Bath – how your imagination would run wild – building mountains out of the bubbles and imagining the adventures you would go on. Now put that same energy into re-creating the world’. Broomhill Junior pupils spent some time thinking about what the word world means; is it the physical earth we see, or the growth of humans and the ever-changing environment we live in? We recognised that as humans, we ARE the world and with that comes responsibility. Responsibility to do right, get it right, make it right! The children made note of everything that they, individually, believed to be currently unjust in the world. They recognised the unfair treatment of some humans all around the world and acknowledged that nobody gets to choose where they are born, therefore why should they be treated differently. From that, they were asked to re-imagine what their world would be and create art that represented this. The black land represents a blank canvas ready to be re-created, and the jigsaw pieces indicates that for re-creation to happen, communities need to come together with the same vision.
Our children collaborated in the research, design and making process. We took the idea of “The World Reimagined” and thought creatively how borders, nations and ideas could be transformed. Lines and symbols connect and move around the globe as a suggestion of how people’s ideas and language can form connections and bring people together.
Our theme was to celebrate all the areas that you suggested to us that would be appropriate for primary so we set up an art competition to involve lots of families. We also looked at symbols and patterns in school in Years 6 and 3. We decided to put four Africa templates on the globe to showcase people, culture, landscape, and maths and engineering. We chose the colours to be sunrise to sunset with astronomy at the top to recognise their advancements so many years ago.
Cosi Cosi Iyaphela… here I rest my story
The children at Roundhill have been excited to learn about African Storytelling! They have discovered that:
African stories have traditionally been passed down by telling them out loud, rather than writing them down.
African stories are a great way of giving advice or teaching a moral in a fun way.
Learning about African stories helps to approach people’s culture with respect and openness.
It is fun to find out about popular story characters such as Anansi.
Mother Africa was drawn and painted by 8 year old, Valerian, from memory.
Anansi and the Wisdom Pot, a story from Ghana, was drawn and painted by Crystal and Gypsy, aged 9. ‘It is better to be generous than selfish and greedy.’
The Lion and the Jackal, a story from South Africa, was drawn and painted by Miley and Jessica, aged 10.
‘Quick thinking will save you from a dangerous situation!’
The Wise Mother – a story from Sudan, was drawn and painted by Hollie and Rebecca, aged 11. ‘We should always listen to our mother and obey what she says!’
The Hatseller and the Monkeys – a story from Mali, was drawn and painted by Elijah and Rihanna, aged 11. ‘Only after you eat some mangoes, can you think with a clear head!’
The Great Hunter – a story from Swaziland, was drawn and painted by Charlie and Albert, aged 9. ‘It is important to have compassion and respect for Wildlife.’
Too Much Talk – a story from Ghana, was drawn and painted by Isabelle and Hallie, aged 9. ‘Sometimes strange things really do happen!’
Pippa and Poppy, aged 10 decorated the background.
Rebecca and Abigail, aged 11, designed, drew and painted the border and all of the writing.
Year 5 (Foxglove Class) were inspired by our learning about Adinkra symbols. We chose some Adinkra symbols which most represented our values and used them as the focus for our artwork. The symbols we chose are; Gye Nyame (Except God – a very popular symbol in Africa), Sankofa (learning from the past to build the future), Denkyem (adaptability and cleverness), Aban (a symbol of strength), Woforo Dua Pa A (support for good causes), Osram ne Nsoromma (faithfulness and loyalty) and at the top we have Akoma Ntoaso, the symbol of togetherness. We used this vocabulary to deepen our learning about Bristol and its place in the history of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. As ethical and connected learners, we ambitiously discussed how we can all play a part in the progression of racial justice across the globe. We have 54 Adinkra symbols on our globe to represent the 54 countries in Africa.
In between the Adinkra symbols, we have designed some of our own symbols which are inspired by words taken from our learning about African culture. Inspired by some visiting Zimbabwean artists, we began with the word nhemumsasa which means build a shelter and represents looking after one another. We then researched ubuntu (South Africa) which means togetherness, nakapenda (Swahili) which means I love you, omoluwabi (Yoruba) which means respect or courage, amandla (IsiXhosa) which means power and jabali (Swahili) which means strong as a rock.
Finally, around the bottom we have self portraits inspired by our research into different African artwork styles, we particularly liked the use of colour and pattern.
Our globe was decorated to represent Mother Africa. Every child in school designed a poster on the theme of ‘belonging’. Some children drew flags, family, friends or food. Others drew designs based on the Adinkra symbols from Ghana. Over 30 children then helped paint their designs on the globe.
They also write statements welcoming new migrants to the UK. We chose to write “We belong here. We belong everywhere” on the globe.
Threads of Africa weave around the world.
Our design was inspired by the fabrics of Africa. We felt that fabric threaded and wove its way around the globe. We used words from the meanings of the colours and included a proverb found on one of the fabrics and added some African words. We filled the Africa map with fabric designs.
The Cabot Learning Federation is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Our Pupil Parliament identified two key priorities for us, which both feature in our Strategic Plan for 2022-2030.
These two priorities are Inclusion – looking out for each other and Climate Action – looking after our world.
As part of our Arts Mark work across the trust we applied to be part of The World Reimagined project.
The globe featured as part of our CLF Arts Festival in July and was hugely admired by students, teachers, families and members of the community.
Our Racial Equality Steering Group have shared the video and outlined our involvement in The World Reimagined Project.
We work on the Globe was completed by leaders, teachers and students from our Academies and led by Bristol Brunel Academy and City Academy.
Design
The design is centred around the theme of Mother Africa. Each portrait represents a small visual glimpse of the African journey. The first depicts its rich, cultural heritage prior to the transatlantic slave trade and leads on to the journey that so many Africans suffered. The story unfolds into a world reimagined where, there is racial justice and differences are unifying rather than divisive.
The African and British flowers symbolise hope and understanding. The design is underpinned by a calm but often turbulent sea and a vibrant sky that contains a new constellation. The stars follow the path of the triangular transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans to recognise the suffering, impact and legacy of slavery.
Threads of Africa weave around the world
Our design was inspired by the fabrics of Africa. We felt that fabric threaded and wove its way around the globe. We used words from the meanings of the colours and included a proverb found on one of the fabrics and added some African words. We filled the Africa map with fabric designs.
Year 4 and 5 have been learning about the historical and cultural significance of fashion and textiles in African Culture. Inspired by their learning, the children developed their own prints, using acrylic paints and incorporating the colours and patterns of Africa. These prints were then used to create a patchwork of colour across the globe. Around the centre, the words justice, hope and beauty are written. These words were drawn from the children’s discussions around culture and cultural appropriation. The children also created logos of identity inspired by the Adinkra symbols, representing harmony and adaptability – these are displayed around the base.
Our globe has been made with captions and images .
We have learnt about :
● the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans
● Edward Colston
● George Floyd
● colourism
● human rights
● creation of a world where slavery had never been
● human rights
● Black British heroes & sheroes (we felt that American Black Heroes and sheroes have more coverage in schools than people who are living in the UK!).
Using all of our knowledge of the past year’s work we have created a globe that recognises the journey of the past, present and future. The globe features images, captions and writing.
Koinonia Globe
Abbey Grange students have created portraits that represent their family, heritage and culture, reflecting our diverse global community. One of our Christian values, Koinonia, is a deep sense of community that reflects our shared ethos and how we live that out.
We discussed a mixture of themes around; racial justice, social justice, community, how there is still more to be done, and how these issues may have affected the lives of others.
Each learner designed a motif based on these ideas and we collaged the ideas together to create the final outcome.
The theme was based from one of our Art fact file: Collage, with the influence from David Hockney. The colourful section dividing both black and white and coloured pieces is based on Pride (as it has been celebrated very recently). Celebrating no matter who we are or where we come from, we all have the ability to shine through colour.
We started the project with a visit from Ras Akyemi Ramsay alongside Alison from the Henry Moore institute.
Our globe was created to celebrate the culture of Africa and the Caribbean using colours, patterns and characters.
We were inspired by Caribbean folklore and the ‘Jumbies’ that featured in them. These stories have been told for hundreds of years and travelled with people who were enslaved and taken to America and the Caribbean. Some of the Jumbies we explored included; Mama Watti, Lusca and Chickcarney. We changed our characters slightly to represent how stories change over time as they are passed from generation to generation. We then created patterns inspired by Kuba, Kente and Madras cloth to decorate our characters.
We have used our The World Reimagined project as an opportunity for pupils to share their experiences and understanding of “self” as they transition to new schools and new experiences. To generate initial ideas, Year 5 and 6 pupils worked with digital artist EMELBI. They then used simple face templates as a starting point to represent themselves and important others in their wider community. We considered how we represent ourselves to others and how we really want to be seen. Each face on our globe is different, unique. Each face has been individually drawn and painted by the children, using acrylic paint and Posca pens. The background of our amazing world has been collaged by hand – if you look carefully you may even find a message in the words!
Our One World
This is our world and we are: joyous, a family, supportive, effective, multi-cultural, multi-faith, safe, unique, adventurous, brave, friendly, colourful, beautiful, proud and different. (Year 5 & 6 children in their own words)
We decided as a school to decorate our globe to show the ethos of our school and celebrate our rich learning. It shows our commitment to saving the environment, our Forest school, out Youth Trust project as well as the other things which the children enjoy.
A group of Year 7 students researched different aspects of African culture including pattern and textiles and wildlife and how those have influenced designers around the world. They picked out elements from traditional patterns and combined them with the patterns and colours of flags of African countries. They then had the idea of bringing the wildlife element into the design and as a lot of African countries are represented in our school community, they thought it would be good to link it to our schools logo which features a pair of hands forming the wings of a dove. All students then designed their own “dove” featuring their interpretation of African pattern/flags/costume.
We also learnt why the colours red, yellow and green of the Ethiopian flag represent Pan-African countries and we decided they were completely appropriate colours for the background of our globe.
Our students looked at various African artists and artwork, spanning many centuries, styles and meanings. They then took inspiration from the idea of deep links to culture and identity (through the use of traditional pattern) moving further away, and considering how culture is in the background, but is adapted to reflect change (seen in an abstract and fluid manner).
The globe was painted by Year 8 students over a series of weeks.
Our children have created their representation of ‘The World Reimagined’.
To begin with, Class 3 and Class 5 worked together to plan and share their ideas of how they wanted the world to be if it could be reimagined. They decided that the equator should be created using love hearts as a sign of love being spread around the world: the joining of hands connecting people together; and our school values linking continents along the original enslaved trade routes. They then shared ideas about positive and negative words as a discussion point and how these could be used in future PHSE lessons to spark a conversation and thoughts about how we can empower future generations to make racial justice a reality.
The theme for Brigshaw High School’s globe was the incredible story of Ellen and William Craft – a black couple who made a daring escape from slavery in Georgia (USA), fleeing to Britain in 1850. These abolitionists travelled Yorkshire, lecturing and performing on stage to educate Britons on their own experience of the horrors of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, and their own brave journey to freedom. Artist Jean-Michael Basquiat’s scribbles, diagrams and graffiti style were the inspiration for the visual depiction of the Crafts’ story on our globe.
Our pupils have based their design work on the last theme ‘Reimagine the Future’.
The idea for our globe is based on our school and showcasing everyone’s individuality and backgrounds and showing how we are all part of an inclusive community.
The students (mostly KS3) have created art works which show them in a simple cartoon form and have also included objects which tell their story in the background. Some students have chosen to include flags, objects or words which help express who they are.
Our Globe is based upon ‘The World Reimagined’. We imagine a world where we love, care and respect each other no matter what the colour of our skin is, no matter what we believe in, and no matter who we love.
The children in Years 1-6 have been taught the history of racial injustice. We began by gathering ideas about what racial equality is and how this has not happened in the past, thus leading to racial injustice in our world. We will also talked about Black Lives Matter (BLM) as this is something we teach at school through our No Outsiders work and equality lessons.
We then went back in history to understand how racial injustice happened through learning about Mother Africa and how rich the continent was before the trade in enslaved Africans began. We have then used appropriate sources from the past to explain about enslaved Africans and how they were transported to work in America and the Caribbean. The lesson will explained how this history of the trade has caused racial injustice for decades and we are learning about it so that we can make a change now and for the future. We explained The World Reimagined project and how the message will be about equality for everyone.
The children then learnt about an element of African culture through the lessons provided by The World Reimagined:
● Reception learnt about food grown in Africa
● Year 1 and 2 learnt about Textile patterns (Kanga, Kente and Bologanfini)
● Year 3 and 4 will learnt about Adrinkra symbols
● Year 5 and 6 learnt about past and present icons with African heritage
New Bewerley have a carnival in July, which celebrates children’s countries of origin all around the world. Year 2 were celebrating Kenya. Year 2 studied Maasai Dance and are studying the artist, Joseph Thiongo. They experimented with colours and textures – using and blending oil pastels with increasing difficultly. They practised their line work – creating images of members of the Maasai tribe. They then experimented with poly printing in their sketchbook using traditional repeating patterns.
All this work was then translated to the globe, with the help of a few Year 5 and 6 children, a group of Year 2 children painted the globe, created repeated patterns, and sketched and painted figures representing Maasai dancers and tribespeople on to the globe.
The globe was also embellished with paper weaving.
Our Globe is a celebration of Kenya and Maasai culture and we are incredibly proud of our young artists.
Our year 9 pupils have been studying the work of Yinka Shonibare during art and design lessons this academic year; in particular his wind sculptures. They were initially inspired by the use of pattern and the bold colours and shapes that he uses, then they further explored the deeper meaning behind these patterns for a greater appreciation of the work. The patterns are based on Indonesian designs, which were brought and traded by the Dutch during the colonisation of Africa and enslavement of millions of people. Our pupils were also given further food for thought by a visit in March from David Olusoga wherein he discussed how we view colonial legacies. Year 9 therefore explored these themes of colonisation in their globe designs using textile designs to show the global impact that the textile trade so linked to our region has had, and how we must all be more aware of the negative impact it has on the world.
We worked with the whole of Year 7 who had workshops with Lladel, our Artist Educator about African culture. In art lessons we looked at the African Empires, the trade in enslaved Africans and then reimagining the future. The students’ drawings have been transferred onto the globe, text from their poems has been added and they have recorded poems too.
This globe was designed by one of the children. She said it represents our school because it doesn’t matter what language you speak, which country you’re from or the colour of your skin…. you’re treated the same at Castleton.
St Bartholomew’s design is based on a dyeing technique called Batik. This wax and material dyeing process was adopted in Africa during the colonial period by native Africans as an art form for clothing. The children practiced the Batik method and then looked at African designs. The two crafts were then married together to produce individual pieces creating a patchwork effect on the globe. The patchwork symbolises the multicultural diversity of our school community representing, we are all different, but together we make a beautiful world.
We are a diverse school in North Leeds and we have chosen to display every primary phase child’s artwork on our globe using the theme Mother Africa. In EYFS, the children learned about African food. In KS1, the children learned about African fashion. In LKS2, the children learned about African hairstyles, and in UKS2, the children learned about African icons. Each child produced a piece of artwork which was then scanned and resized so that over 400 pieces could fit onto the globe! As you walk around the globe, you can see our learning journey from Reception class to Year 6. We have really enjoyed the project and how it has empowered our children and celebrated our diversity.
We chose the theme of Mother Africa and the whole school joined together for an ‘Arts Week’.
We explored African patterns with the children and they created their own designs on an outline of their own hand. These hands were then transferred to our globe with the help of two local artists from Charnwood Arts who came in to help us with the project. Our younger children completed our artwork by adding their own unique fingerprints in the spaces between the handprints so that all the children in our school have ‘connected’ to our “World Re-imagined”.
We have gone with the theme “unity”. There is great pleasure to be derived from art and, through deeper understanding, we can gain access to cultural richness and diversity.
The whole school experimented with block and stencil printing. We studied images of African textiles and the Adinkra symbols to create intricate designs. Inspiration for the final three designs came from African textiles and Adinkra symbols as well as the plant life of the African rainforest.
We have focused on fashion of hairstyles and fabrics from African culture.
The theme we went with is Diversity and Equality. The children all created a piece of artwork about what diversity means to them and our talented staff took their designs and added them to the globe.
We explored the theme, ‘Reimagine the Future’. Our students gained an appreciation on the influences of the African Caribbean diaspora on contemporary music, and reflected messages from lyrics in grime, reggae and R & B in the words and images used to decorate the globe.
After selecting words which reflect our ethos in a variety of languages, we slowly started tracing them on, painting and then varnishing. The small hearts which were placed all over the globe was the most time consuming of all. Each were individually painted, varnished and then stuck on. Saving the hardest task for the end we now began sticking the big hearts on. After a lot of slipping and sliding and playing a constant game of catch the heart, we finally got the hearts to stick on.
Our globe represents the positive impact that African culture has across the world. Mother Nature is shown not just holding Africa close to her but also reaching out and representing the far reaching influences that African culture has all over the globe. The children at Mellor chose the earthy tones for the rest of the world with Africa being a bright orange beacon at the centre.
The Year 5 children took their inspiration for decorating the globe from Mother Africa – The power of fashion.
On the central cloth, squares and triangles were significant and each square contained a different pattern – that’s us! On our globe each square contains an individual pattern to reflect the unique nature of all our children. The patterns live in harmony, although they are very different, and that is our hope for the future of the world.
Our globe has lots of different flags on which shows where some of the families from our school are from. We have a big heart with our school value on and the hands around the globe represent us caring for our world, and in the hands the children have written key things about how they would like the world to be.
In response to the themes connected to the World Reimagined, a group of Level 2 Art and Design students at Leicester College worked together in collaboration to design a globe that very much focused on the future. The students, recognising their different background and histories, were motivated by ideas of hope, aspirations, working together, of unity and of togetherness. They developed visual ideas based on combining images and forms together such as a patchwork or jigsaw. A symbol of the challenges we face to try and address disconnected attitudes and join together towards creating a better world. The continent of Africa depicted as a tree symbol was used to represent physical and spiritual transformation, liberation, and union. The ribbon motif (inspired by the Race Equality Foundation logo) wraps itself around the globe to symbolise joining together and of support. The students used the design cycle and followed the process of initial ideas, primary and secondary research, contextual references, idea development and material and technique considerations.
Taking inspiration from the poems of Benjamin Zephaniah and the importance of diverse texts, our globe’s theme is belonging. In our school, language and literacy is an important focus because it gives children the tools to effectively communicate their feelings and experiences. We value the idea that language allows children to weave their unique stories and experiences together to create a community, so we chose a poet who has used his authentic voice to do the same.
We went with the theme of ‘belonging in our world’. The children looked at Adinkra symbols and designed their own symbols to reflect what makes them feel like they belong; these were then made into stencils and painted onto our globe. The wording around the bottom is taken from short poems and quotes written by year 5 about what belonging means to them.
When designing our globe, we focused on African symbols and the repeating patterns of African fabric. All the children in the school, from Foundation 1 to Year 6, were set a challenge to design similar symbols to represent our main school character muscles, which are to be: CREATIVE, INDEPENDENT LEARNERS, PROBLEM SOLVERS, TEAMPLAYERS,RESIILIENT and REFLECTIVE LEARNERS.
Our globe creation includes African symbols, as well as, some of the character muscle symbols designed by the children. During the creative process, children from across the school were selected to paint or draw on the globe using acrylic paint and art pens. They also included the title of ‘Mother Africa’ and inspirational words, which reflect the African symbols and our school character muscles, that are painted onto the globe.
Our globe is titled ‘Together we make a difference’.
The Arts Council at Leamington Community Primary School came up with the concept of the world being broken and cracked and that they wanted us all to work together to fix it back together. They decided that the best way to represent the whole world was to use all the nation’s flags and then paint a crack running all the way around the world. Hands were painted to represent the diversity of our school community and a large plaster was applied to help heal the world. The tag line ‘Together we make a difference’ represents what we are trying to do as a school community to help make a better future for everyone.
Holly Lodge Girls’ College’s globe sculpture has been created by Yr10 GCSE pupils. It is inspired by a woodblock painting by Willie Cole called ‘Stowage’ as well as influences from the secret languages that the enslaved used to communicate to each other, including plans to escape. The sphere depicts a maritime scene made up of sand decorated with the cornrow patterns and braids which doubled up as maps on the scalps of the slaves, a blue ocean patchwork of ‘negro cloth’ scorched with iron burns reminiscent of branding of slave flesh as well as the cramped boats used for transportation. The night sky is illuminated by the North Star quilt matrix design as a constellation which is also reflected in the grid of mosaics spelling the ‘FREEDOM’ along with complementary quilt patterns.
At Gateacre School we started the project by looking at the artwork of Koby Martin. We used this as inspiration to create artwork about news stories of social and racial injustices across the Globe. Some of us were inspired by our own experiences in the world, and living through the pandemic and others were inspired by news and events from the past few years. We tried to encompass all races and highlight injustices faced by young people in the world today. The globe is split into a variety of unusually shaped sections. The lines splitting each section represent strands of hair running through the globe and the phosphorescent clay pieces represent different groups of people, at the top of the globe all joining together to create one unified circle of peoples. It features criss cross hand drawn, squiggly black lines going around the globe. This is symbolic to black history journey, also representing black hair, it features braids and other textures in an abstract form. In addition, celebrating our hair and how far travelled as a community,well-connected, influence driven and varied our hair/culture can be. Our hair tells stories, from placing rice grains in our cornrows for food or creating cornrow patterns in our hair to leads us free from our slave master. Or our natural hairstyles are seen as unprofessional. Protective hairstyles like braids, cornrows, weave and dreadlocks demonstrate versatility and culture, yet we get penalised for it. Between the hair, are snippets of injustice and for the audience to acknowledge and remember. This was created by the students, demonstrating personal experiences, peace and love. We attached glow in the dark pieces to represent the shining influence ‘Black Culture’ has and still continue to have across the globe.
Our globe is created around racial equality around the world. We have used a ‘patchwork’ Idea to ‘knit’ together different races and cultures. Every pupil in our school has their own patch and have chosen what they want to include based on this theme.
We were honoured to be asked to get involved in this project and the initial idea for the globe came from an “ESOL” student who used “Google Translate” to convey ‘I have a right to live in peace’. This was a powerful statement and embodied the ethos of Liverpool Lighthouse. Peace and how it may be represented provide the focus of the globe created at Liverpool Lighthouse with artist Ali Harwood. The art has been made by different groups who use this amazing space – including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) participants, World Craft makers, plus members of staff and curious other individuals of all ages and backgrounds! Whist acknowledging the important role of Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its echoes in the present, we focused on how we create an environment of mutual respect and dignity. We were interested and ready to learn from one another. Our globe enjoys several elements, including flowers, birds and words. The flowers symbolise the individual journeys taken by the Liverpool Lighthouse community, including the Eritrean daisy, the French Guianese water lily and the Ukrainian sunflower.
· The birds represent the diverse journeys we have all made to make this community hub (and former cinema) our current nest – from the Sudanese secretary bird to the commonly underappreciated pigeon and the familiar gull: our secretary bird contains warm wishes in Arabic amongst its feathers; our pigeon includes important messages shared by its creator; and our gull contains the gratefulness of an Afghan man it guided to these shores when little hope remained.
· The word ‘peace’ is written on the collar of our artwork in different languages and reaches around the world in a continuous golden orbit.
There are 97 hearts around the base of the globe, one for each person who lost their life because of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. In the shadow of Anfield, we remember them and the love we need to share.
The process of creating this globe has also included the writing of poetry in Farsi and English, shared within and beyond the walls of the building to receptive audiences across Merseyside. This globe is a mirror of the people involved in its making. It is vital, vibrant and hopeful and has many stories to tell.
Features hand painted black lines, dividing each section. Representing hair but featuring written slogans, ‘Please don’t touch my hair’, referring to the Black experience. In between the abstract hairlines are hand-painted experiences and injustices that continue to happen regardless of BLM. Spray painted quotes encouraging for change, Peace – Just leave us Alone; we just want to live our lives with no extra stress. Love is Love: refers to Apartheid and in general inter-racial relationships, Always be kind, Young Gifted and Black and many more. The above issues that still continue to happen are not addressed in society and most of all not taught in schools.
Our young people took a look at all the themes and we had In-depth discussions about them. The young people had a wide knowledge of the subjects and the themes. They decided that they wanted to incorporate all the themes into their designs. They discussed how ‘Echoes of the Past ’have left legacies that paved the way for us today. How the Uprising of the enslaved was a crucial moment in history that triggered many more movements in civil and huma rights. We discussed the abolition of the trade, and what that meant for the future of Black communities. The children wrote poetry addressing these issues, some of which is featured on the globe. We talked about pivotal role models in today’s society who echo leaders of the past, and we featured them on our globe, including Maria O’Reilly. The young people were particularly interested in showing that there is hope in a future world reimagined; there can be unity, equal rights and everyone could live in abundance. They used flowers, hearts and colour to capture the hope of tomorrow whilst using darker colours to depict some of the struggles Black people have faced over the last five hundred years. They were literal with some of their art, while other parts are more abstract and profound. On the whole, we are totally blown away by the work these young people have created and the conversations they led.
This a piece of art created by the young people of Speke working with local artist Patricia McDonald. The art piece invites its audience to observe a visual representation demonstrating the learning undertaken by young minds as they explore; the trade in enslaved Africans, colonialism, Black history and cultural identity by reflecting on both people and place and discovering the links that exist between their neighbourhood, their city and the world. Our globe involved working with the young people and hearing their voices and thoughts on how the world can be reimagined in terms of positivity in the face of adversity. During our hands on workshops we discussed and created images, patterns and text on how we wanted the world to be and then we questioned how many people in the past did not have a say on how their lives would be lived. We focused on Speke in Liverpool and the wealthy landowners of Speke Hall; we delved into its past and how much of it focused on the movement of men, women and children from Africa without permission during the trade in enslaved people. Imagery and ideas began to flow and the young people realised the Liverpool Docklands and River Mersey were a key focus for our globe development with links to travel and entrapment – hence the use of chains as a progression from the river. The children wanted to celebrate culture and its diversity and how we as a city have the largest Afro-Caribbean community in the UK. Patterns, colour and symbols during printmaking workshops led to the children deciding they wanted a vibrant and celebratory piece about our wonderful diverse and welcoming city. Therefore the use of a variety of traditional African patterns, symbols and the mapping of Africa was important on our globe. We want to educate, inform and entertain with our designs. The use of the Liver Bird for looking after all communities and welcoming all sits proudly next to its friend the African Sankofa Bird which signifies the need to reflect on the past to build a better future. The young people loved this idea and wanted the birds to be together as friends. Some of our young people are from a variety of backgrounds and their parents are from Ghana and the Congo. Traditional dresses and outfits were brought in as a part of our sessions and a photoshoot led to some images being used on our globe. Other ideas included the small hands of youth shaped into a heart and the beautiful pattern and colour of a modern African dress. Our focus has been on the beauty of tradition and friendships lasting forever – no matter what your origins. Patricia McDonald said, “The young people of Speke are a credit to their community and I have been very proud and privileged to work alongside them to create wonderful artworks; and for us all to arrive at a Globe for Speke.”
Having piloted the World Reimagined curriculum with our Y6s, (we had been studying the symbols unit which explores the Adinkra symbols). We learned how symbols and art tell stories and how these have been passed down through generations and have journeyed across the globe, most notably during the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. We explored symbols that represent ourselves and our communities and even had a go at making our own in the style of the Adinkra symbols. Local artist Nina Edge helped a selection of our pupils to bring their designs to life and were very much involved in the transfer from plan to the actual finished piece.
The artwork focused around the historical city of Liverpool and its lifeline – the River Mersey. The artist Tom Cockeram worked with both the history and art department to explore historical Black figures who shaped the Liverpool we know today. Images were produced by yr. 9 students and these in turn were worked into the map. Students were encouraged to use the shapes they found in the streets to draw images out. The work was opened up to students from yr. 7 and 8 producing a collaborative outcome from a wide range of abilities. We also looked at how the wealth gained from the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans led to the development of the city, including lots of the landmark buildings. The research done by the students fed into their designs that were drawn by using the streets and landmarks of a 1924 map of Liverpool as a starting point, following on from artists such as Matt Cusick, Ed Fairburn and the imagery made by cyclists, walkers and other vehicles by tracing GPS data made from their journeys.
We have been working with our resident artist Roz Shabazz-Johnson in order to support us in creating our globe responding to the theme ‘Mother Africa’. Children from all year groups from ages 2-11 contributed through educational sessions exploring a variety of themes including traditional dance, dress, African symbols and inspirational figures. The globe is St Cuthbert’s children’s response to this and represents and celebrates our widely diverse school community.
We have focused on the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, the importance of the Trade triangle and the links with Liverpool. Breaking the chains is symbolic of the people involved in this trade. We have explored the contrast of colours of the chains and hands with the richness of the African heritage colours, and patterns.
The globe was designed and painted by a year 6 group of children. We have redesigned our curriculum over the last two years and have included many topics around Black history, and have gained a school of sanctuary award. We looked at material around ‘Mother Africa’ and thought about what African countries have given to the world, for example; culture, music, art, architecture, number systems, fabric, and foods, to name just a few. We wanted all our children to take ownership of the globe, so every child made a finger mark in our school colours.
On receiving the globe, the children in Year 5 were excited to incorporate their art and design landscape unit of work with the Mother Earth project. On one side of the globe is a British landscape and the other an African landscape. The children in Year 5 wanted the globe to represent ‘Belonging’ so they united the landscapes with a rainbow. They chose Adinkra symbols that they felt represented their school community to place at the bottom of the globe including: independence, love, leadership, cleverness and wisdom.
The Year 3 children worked with an artist called Jioni Warner. Using African prints they came up with their own inspired designs which Jioni then put together to create the globe’s theme. Jioni then worked with children from Year 6 to make that design become reality. They firstly drew the design onto the globe and then using acrylic paints added the bold and vibrant colours to ensure they captured Africa’s unique visual expressions of culture, its beliefs, and history.
The Wirral Multicultural Organisation’s globe has been reimagined as a patchwork quilt composed of stories generated from four facilitated workshops. The design of this globe pays homage to the agency and empowerment of enslaved Africans who kept alive visual and oral language traditions across both time and space and the stitched manifestation of the African American experience ‘Enslaved Africans and their descendants …remembered or were taught their past. And through the materials available to them began to reconstruct themselves in the United States, a new very restricted environment. The cultural knowledge of ideas and methods of creating art that the enslaved Africans brought with them were preserved at great risk, and hidden in everyday items and crafts which were appreciated because of their decorative qualities. This no truer than in the making of patchwork quilts which incorporated a system of visual codes and meanings in their use of colour and patterns.
Our globe focuses on the local links between the city of Liverpool and the trade in enslaved Africans. Beneath the city skyline are figures associated with Liverpool and enslavement, alongside some courageous, female black abolitionists. The key image on the globe is that of Abell, Liverpool’s first recorded black resident ‘A Blackamoor belonging to Mr Rock’ – who appears in the parish records of St Nicholas’ Church in 1717. Edward Rushton also features; he was an abolitionist from Liverpool, who previously worked on slaving ships. On one voyage he lost his sight and went on to write poems to encourage people to support an end to the trade in enslaved people. He went on to set up the Liverpool Blind School. Nanny of the Maroons, and her hair, cover the globe. She encouraged enslaved to braid maps in their hair of escape routes to freedom. Sally Bassett from Bermuda, poisoned her ‘master’ and was burnt to death in Bermuda and Harriet Tubman helped people escape enslavement in the US. The base of the globe is covered in extracts from the log of the ‘Unity’ a Liverpool slaving ship, captained by Robert Norris. His records outline brave acts of resistance on the Middle Passage.
As part of The World Reimagined Project, Southport Against Racism (SAR) community group – formed in the aftermath of the brutal public murder of George Floyd – teamed up with Christ The King, in our second high school collaboration, to produce one of a number of globes to be displayed throughout the UK. Our globe, in line with the themes set by The World Reimagined, represents the past, present and future of Africa, the African Diaspora and the ongoing African and Global legacy of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. We were keen to highlight the inspiring achievements of those of African descent.
Ideas for the globe started during the training delivered by World Reimagined at the Slavery Museum in Albert Dock. The textured marks and images on the walls within the museum inspired the surface coat of the globe. Students’ added gravel to the surface and used sponges and dabbing techniques to add depth and texture to the globe using a palette of earth colours including Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Roman Plaster – this represents walking this earth together; side by side. Art sessions also focused on Adinkra symbols used within African art and how we can use symbols to communicate with each other. Some students were able to talk about how it can feel to be judged and what makes them feel uncomfortable within society. We discussed the meaning of some symbols and students gave examples of working together, being a team, having compassion etc. The symbols on the globe are designed out of Fimo (representing the many colours of earth and the existence of life) and they are also a representation of Adinkra symbols. The lizard represents adaptability and strength. The top of the globe reveals a model of Pingu – and when questioned about how Pingu represents diversity and equality the student replied “Pingu is black and white”. Bold marks and patterns painted onto the base represent the patterns and designs associated with African art. Students were confident in painting onto a surface other than paper and used the space creatively.
M. Gleave Artist and Teacher
Theme: The Journey from Liverpool European capital of slavery to becoming Liverpool European capital of culture.
Our globe is about Liverpool history. Pupils had deep discussions about history, racism and Toxteth 1981. The city being built on profits of slavery and how it has become a progressive modern city that has learnt from its past; the complex triangle; Toxteth 1981 and street names; Liverpool trade; 1.5 million enslaved through Liverpool.
At Christ Church we worked with artist Jo Eyles to create our globe. Children developed their own ideas exploring the impact that the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans had on Liverpool. Our globe celebrates Liverpool’s journey out of this trade and incorporates our school values to recognise the importance of freedom and equality.
The themes provided were shared with all the children at school. In their classes, they worked together to develop some ideas for the design. Art Councillors from each class then met and collated the children’s ideas. The collective ideas revolved around the themes of unity, environment, sharing, culture, traditions and people. They pulled these ideas together to finalise their design and the Art Councillors, along with a local artist, painted it.
Taking inspiration from the Social Commentary Artwork of contemporary artist Grayson Perry and vintage travelling suitcases, students at King’s Leadership Academy Hawthornes chose to research and review their families’ heritage, culture or country of origin. Some discovered tragedy with the historic enslavement and displacement of people; others identified those who stood up for humanity. Deciding not to shy away from the effects of racism or difficult conversations around this topic students actively engaged with The World Reimagined globe project. Acknowledging we, unfortunately, don’t live in a perfect utopia the globe produced by the students at King’s Leadership Academy Horthornes has already become an artefact of hope, for open and honest discussion and a vehicle for continued education in the search for racial justice and equality when it returns for permanent display back at the school.
As a Gold Rights’ Respecting School our theme is based on children’s rights, in particular the right to non-discrimination, the right to a name and nationality and the right to an identity. We used the concept of hands as a way to link the world together and the children included pertinent words to show their commitment to racial justice. We explored the Mother Africa symbols and their meanings and made links between our own school values and the five ways to wellbeing which we focus heavily on as a school community. Although we are a predominantly white British community, we always teach the children about the importance of difference, diversity, equality and equity and our children were inspired by the theme of racial justice and that the Mother Africa symbols are part of everyone’s history.
St George’s globe is a celebration of Mother Africa. Our globe is split into 5 sections:
● fractals, which are layered to create the continent of Africa;
● symbols, which display the Adinkra symbols;
● fashion, which showcases the textures, styles and colours of African clothing;
● food and society, which were selected after the children taste-tested a variety of food found in Africa
● and icons, which have been studied and honoured using their flags and silhouettes. The words encircling the globe represent pupils’ reactions to the incredible icons’ lives.
We have really enjoyed creating our globe. Our whole school took part in designing the globe understanding the history of the Transtlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and how our histories can be shared and respected to create a new world. We interpreted our locally community of the Dream and the representation of the youth of today dreaming of a world and society where we see no more injustice, we respect others and we understand and empathise with others’ histories.
The butterfly effect refers to the idea that a butterflies wings might create changes in the atmosphere that may alter the path of a tornado and prevent it from happening. This is why Evelyn Community Primary School have decided to use our ‘wings’ to begin to make small changes that hopefully will lead to bigger, more positive results in developing equality and kindness across our world.
Our globe represents the extent of the horror that enslaved Africans faced at various stages of their experiences. One half of the globe aims to help the viewer begin to understand and know what enslaved Africans endured; from being bought, forced onto ships to suffer the middle passage to the Americas and the removal of identity on plantations. The other side of the globe represents the abolition movement highlighting the effort to end slavery. You will see an image of the British ‘West Africa Squadron’ which patrolled the Atlantic trying to stop the trade. In the spirit of recent events by Liverpool City Council, our piece aims to inform and reflect on Liverpool’s history as a major slaving port, its ships and merchants dominating the transatlantic trade in enslaved people in the second half of the 18th Century. We have included information about Liverpool street names connected to the trade of enslaved Africans acknowledging our history and factual information about Liverpool individuals and families involved both in the trade in enslaved people and its abolition, and how it was they came to have places and streets named after them. For further information about any images on the globe you can scan the QR codes where our pupils have given explanations.
We chose two classes (Years 5 & 6) to work on the project, developing two of the 5 Cs: compassion and curiosity. Earlier in the year, they had studied racism, tracing Black history from the kingdom of Benin, through the trade in enslaved people, the American Civil Rights movement and finally reflecting on current issues. Through this study, they had also learnt about tie dye and produced their own t-shirts. We decided to take this further by exploring The Power of Fashion section of Mother Africa, learning more about the beauty of African textiles as well as the history of pattern, shape and colour used within them. We focused on the Adire fabrics and clothes of Nigeria, looking at the traditional meanings of the repeating patterns produced using batik (wax resist). We also brought this into the present day, looking at Adire Lounge in Nigeria – ‘a sustainable fashion technology start-up that creates products with fabrics, empowering women in underserved communities and using recyclable packaging to offset their carbon emissions.’ Our final outcome was for each child to produce a pattern for Adire fabric, either taken directly from the traditional meanings (or creating a pattern with their own meaning. Our original idea was to encircle the globe with 60 rectangular pieces of batik fabric, each designed and made by one of our children. However, time restraints didn’t allow so we decided to create our ‘pieces’ on the globe using emulsion paint and Posca pens. They loved the challenge of working on the large-scale 3D surface, something they have never done before! Our arrangement of patterns is designed to show African fashion and culture reaching every corner of the globe. We hope our Knotty Ash globe celebrates our learning about, respect for and appreciation of African fashion and culture.
The World Reimagined MYA globe produced through the eyes of 6 young men, care experienced with varying disabilities. It proved to me the power of The Lundy Model of youth participation.
In May, we at Flourish and Succeed were chosen to take part in The World Reimagined globe project. The first thing we did was arrange a visit to the Liverpool Slavery Museum; I thought this was the best place to begin our research. This in itself was an eyeopener to us all. Our group consisted of 25 white men, so the first thing was to split them into groups for research purposes. We were then allocated our artist, Ally Harwood – he was a godsend and formed a bond immediately with the lads It was then decided that we’d go with a painting which is in the museum ‘The Hunted Slaves’ painted by a Liverpool born artist Richard Ansdell. We added some of our own research, both visual and literary, as in poems etc. As leader of this project it was both a proud and humbling experience to lead 25 white males on this experience; I am so proud of how they embraced this topic and I saw their emotions at first hand. A massive thanks to Ally who was superb and has formed a bond with the lads which i’m sure will only flourish. Thanks to all the men for their hard work in embracing this emotive topic.
Year 7 & 8 pupils at Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy produced designs inspired by art from different African countries and cultures and explored the link between Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and the Liverpool City Region. As part of the World Reimagined Project, students developed their understanding of this topic and came to realise the impact it had locally, nationally, and globally. This was a cross curricular project as students in English also created poetry exploring diversity and discrimination. Lines from poetry have been incorporated in the finished piece.
Our globe was designed by students in Year 8 who started the project by researching the significance of St Helens and Liverpool in the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. We discovered that our community was impacted in three main areas; maps and people, architecture, and products. As a result we decided to design our globe in three sections and on the top of the globe is a triangle which represents the triangular trade route. Maps and People: Many local roads are named after people associated with the trade in enslaved people. Our map on this part of the globe is entwined with a vine which signifies the hope that nothing like this would happen again and that we can learn from the past. Products: We discovered that factories in St. Helens manufactured copper manilla bracelets which were used as currency to trade for the enslaved. Ships returning from the triangular trade route brought back cotton, sugar, tobacco and salt and this is depicted on the second section of the globe. Architecture: Many iconic buildings in St. Helens and Liverpool are named after people involved in this trade. On this section of the globe, we designed images of these buildings around a ship’s steering wheel. Between the spokes of the wheel is an image of Carr Mill in St Helens.
Overall Design
The silhouettes of the ship and slave trader signify these are from the past, whilst the rest is in colour. This use of silhouettes was inspired by the work of the African artist Kara Walker and the bright floral patterns and colour schemes were inspired by the work of Kehinde Wiley and Karobo Poppy Moltsane.
A small group of young people worked on this globe with artist Complex Simplicity and selected a theme from Journey of Discovery – Expanding Soul – due to their Performing Arts backgrounds and interests. The globe includes historical references to St. Helens and Liverpool, abolitionists and positive people of colour from history (Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks etc) along with references to the trade and the history of the town. It also includes references to diverse cultures and races, modern day role models (Barack Obama) and African prints and textiles.
Our globe is wrapped with intertwining roots and branches, stemming from a beautiful black woman. Flowers inspired by those native to Africa can also be seen perched upon the tangled branches. Our globe is enveloped completely in gold leaf which represents both the beauty of Mother Africa and the African riches plundered under occupation. Our globe was inspired by ‘From Roots to Fruit’. A tree symbolically represents the generations in one’s family; a tree sprouts from a seed, grows and branches out, sees how far it can go, and then creates a new fruit that gives life to the next generation, to begin anew. Roots and branches also symbolise family, which through its intricate network of branches shows us the continuity through all generations. Everyone is connected through intertwining branches to their parents and grandparents and everything in their past. We wanted to recognise and honour the enslaved and their descendants who resisted, who succeeded, and who broke new ground. The colour scheme on our globe is inspired by Pan African Colours. Pan African colours consist of Red, Green, Yellow and Black. Each of these colours have a meaning – ‘Black’ represents the people of Africa, ‘Red’ represents African bloodshed during the years of European occupation, ‘Yellow’ represents optimism, justice, and equality for all people and ‘Green’ represents the fertility of the land. Initially, yellow was not included on the list of Pan African Colours. The Ethiopian flag inspired the addition of the colour yellow. Ethiopia is the only African nation that was not colonised due to its indigenous people being too powerful for Europeans to handle.
Year 6 class completed a history topic back in March on the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans with a specific look at how it impacted Liverpool. We used information from Liverpool’s Slavery museum as our prime sources of evidence. When it came to creating the globe, the children were asked to sketch different objects for which African people were exchanged. Two sections of our globe were covered in images of the tobacco plant, cotton plant, sugar cane and coffee beans (also a few weapon images were included). The other sections were covered in tessellating triangles to represent the triangular trade. Although perhaps difficult to see, we split the globe into jigsaw pieces so that it created a puzzle interlinking each image. It took around six weeks to complete.
The globe was created with ideas with members of the Serial Culture Halton youth magazine team, GLOW LGBTQ+ group members and other young people participating in groups at The Studio Widnes. The groups along with artist Meg DeMar looked at the story of Halton’s link with the production of soap during the American civil war and how it was supplied to clean cotton. The globe looks at the story of John and Johnsons soap and alkali business in Runcorn and how they had attempted to run the Union blockade in the American civil war to supply materials to the Confederate States, resulting in the loss of almost all their steamers and therefore money. It looks at the buildings that came from the money made in supplying soap during the civil war and people in the industry such as William Gossage.
Year 5 looked at the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact on all of us. We worked with an amazing artist called Becky. She helped us to create our globe. We considered how greed and the love of money damage the world and we added a money tree to our work. We thought about how we could reverse this and what people could do so we added words such as compassion, resilience, respect and hope. We studied African culture and decorated the globe with our African designs. We thought about equality and improving the world for everyone. The fact that we need to change and through change we come closer together as a global community.
The globe is inspired by a project the Inclusion Ambassadors, year 6 students who strive to have an inclusive school, worked on over the academic year. 20 students surveyed the school book corners to see if they were diverse (race, gender and disabilities) after hearing a statistic that there are more animals than people of colour as main characters in children’s books. They found that their book corners could be more diverse, so they went to a local Black owned book shop to order new titles for the book corners. On this globe they have included books that reflect a wider reality of Britain, as well as a British flag in the pan African colours, Ankara print reflecting their learning of West African civilisations and traditions, QR codes to documentaries created that link to their project and a rainbow which represents their diverse school.
The theme the students looked at was famous black figures in history – past and present. This was cross curricular with history as we have black history season at our school too.
The collaboration between October Gallery Education and Torriano Primary School for The World Reimagined began with art workshops based at the October gallery; the workshops offered a new and exciting opportunity for students to make artwork in a gallery setting inspired by the exhibition ‘Jonkonnu Masquerade’ by contemporary artist Sokari Douglas Camp. After the gallery visits every student took part in art workshops delivered in school by October Gallery Education artists Esther Adesigbin and Hannah Littlejones. In developing art workshops for the ‘World Reimagined’ project we wanted to ensure that our love of diverse material making was shared with the students. Using traditional and contemporary techniques the children created Adire cloth panels, Ankara wax resist ‘sails’, painted portraits, and assembled decorated recycled metal into a sculptural ‘garland’. We explored the work of four international artists, Sokari Douglas Camp, Julien Singozan, Alexis Peskine, and El Anatsu, all represented by the October Gallery. The broad range of making styles and personal expression exhibited by these artists helped us to expand our creative thinking when responding to the themes of Mother Africa, Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation, Expanding Soul, and Reimagine the Future. For us it has been a joy to work with children on this wonderful and necessary project whose themes speak to the heart of our art education practice at October Gallery.
Esther Adesigbin
October Education Programme Facilitator
We think it’s important that we, as a society, stick together and work together. That’s why we chose constellations to show how different places connect – whether that is through languages, cultures, friendship etc. Our group word is ‘humanity’ as it means the human race, including everyone on earth. As well as that, it is a word for the qualities that make us human, such as the ability to show love and have compassion, be creative, and not be like a robot or alien.
Our globe explores and celebrates the rich diversity of cultural backgrounds of the children at our school. We explored the work of three international artists, Sokari Douglas Camp, Julien Singozan, and El Anatsui. Taking inspiration from these artists, the children used traditional and contemporary techniques to create Adire cloth panels and Ankara wax resist ‘sails’, to create words and symbols on recycled materials and to create metal sculptures. All of the children’s work has been used in designing and decorating the final globe. The children very much enjoyed talking part in the project, which offered a new and exciting opportunity for them to learn about the continent of Africa, to create their own artwork and to celebrate differences.
Our globe project explores the idea of freedom and investigates the continued need to fight for equality of opportunity, rights, and cultural validation. We explored the concept of slavery and freedom and researched the history of the anti-slavery movement. We learned about Josiah Wedgwood’s anti-slavery medallion design which raised public awareness of the horrors of slavery to give momentum to the abolition campaign. Students designed their own freedom themed medallion and created freedom slogan graphics which cover the surface of our globe sculpture giving voice to the aspirations of our students for freedom in our society.
“Marooned in the grey, you decided to garden… how cunningly you masked your pain”, Olive Senior: Meditation on Red, 1994. To imagine the world with more colour, beauty, empathy, compassion and community, the students at Ashely College saw flowers as the perfect metaphor. Inspired by the World Reimagined’s learning ‘Through Texture to Textiles’ and artists such Yinka Shonibare and Ebony G. Patterson we were keen on reimagining African and Caribbean fabrics as flowers and signify the presence of Black culture around the world.The more we worked on it, the more we realised we were also creating a piece that responded to the Global Climate Crisis by collaging all the natural beauty that we are losing. This globe was done by students in KS3 and KS4 and as their facilitator I can see the impact of working together on an art project on their communication and problem-solving skills specifically. Thank you to the World Reimagined for giving us this opportunity.
The St Thomas’ Federation globe symbolises the legacy left behind by local people of North Kensington: Kelso Cochrane, The Mangrove 9, and all those who stood up for their rights in the Notting Hill Race Riots. The children had already studied these important parts of their local history and decided to make links between this learning and Mother Africa. The globe offers a mark of respect towards local heroes of African descent, who have returned to their ancestors; and other people of African descent, who the children see as positive role models and wanted to celebrate. Africa was positioned at the top of the globe, and over-sized to reinstate it as the place where life on Earth began, and to draw people’s attention to the fact the size of the African continent is often much smaller than it ought to be. Mother Africa watches over all her children.
The theme of our globe is ‘Connect together to work together’ and shows that whilst we are all different like the puzzle pieces, we work better together when we connect with each other rather than being apart. The design comes from a combination of two designs in our school created by Lexi (Y2) and Dilan (Y5).
Our globe is a celebration of humanity’s evolution and culture by highlighting various creators and inventors that paved the way for science, engineering and art. This ties in to our collaborative effort between the science and art departments to create the globe, hence the word ‘STEAM’ placed on the globe (STEM + Art). Countries from all over the world are represented on top of a yin-yang like background to symbolise that different races and cultures can be complementary and, when brought together, can create something truly great. The drip-effect of the black paint is supposed to be a metaphor for Black/minority cultures ‘bleeding’ and breaking into a white-dominated world where previously only white innovators were acknowledged and celebrated.
Our globe is all based on the song ‘We Rise’. Children have chosen inspirational Black role models who have inspired their own aspirations. We made our globe using mixed media: acrylic paints, photos and card.
The Mandeville globe focused on The Power of Fashion from the Mother Africa unit. We looked at pattern designs from different countries in Africa, comparing similarities and differences, thinking about occasions these patterns might be used and identifying if these patterns were representative of any of our children and their families. Small groups of children then took the design ideas and created their own patterns inspired by the unit, thinking about colour, shape and line. They used mixed media: acrylic paints, African cloth and ink. We are hoping to add a model plane in the shape of the Mandeville plane logo which will sit on a wire travelling around the globe.
Our globe is based on the theme Mother Africa and Adinkra symbols. We watched videos of inspirational women including Floella Benjamin. We looked at a range of Adinkra symbols. We recreated some traditional symbols as well as designing our own. We related some symbols to climate change, nature and the environment as well as positive emotions and qualities such unity, strength, learning and understanding. We wanted the symbols to have a sense of depth and texture so we used a range of mixed media including paint, tissue paper, felt, different materials, cardboard, coloured buttons, wool, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners.
The theme of our globe is diversity: it is showing that we are all learning together for tomorrow’s world. The children’s hands show how multicultural our community is. The hands also represent our community working together to make our world more understanding of different cultures.
The globe is a symbol of the following themes: equality, diversity, and unity. The globe has been divided into sections to represent the different boroughs within London. The boroughs in London have been painted using colours that reflect the LGBT community, a community that represents pride and individuality and ensures everyone feels seen. Additionally, the surface of three areas of the globe have been raised to highlight the most diverse areas within London and bring to our attention for the need for more areas within London to be more diverse. The raised areas have been filled with an array of buildings that are iconic and individual to London, this has been created using calico, paint, coloured paper, thread and felt. Furthermore, each borough has been outlined throughout the globe which join at the top and bottom of the globe, unifying all the boroughs together to represent a sense of unity which is paramount to ensure a city is created whereby racial justice is a reality.
The creators:
Year 7, 8 and 9 students supervised by Ms G. Simon, Art and Design teacher
Our concept was to celebrate the way our shared African history/culture of 200,000 years as modern humans intertwines with our current culture/s and to demonstrate its influence around the globe by using butterflies as message carriers.
Butterflies because of their ability of transformation.
We reimagined a world where we are seen for what we are – originated in Afrika enriched by many cultures – and we celebrate diversity with tolerance, kindness and respect.
The Globe-Gang
Anthropologists and historians have demonstrated that the first humans developed in Africa around 250,000 to 300,000 years ago. In the history of humanity, the African continent is literally the cradle of our species. However, we argue that Africa is not just the biological source or essence of the human species but also the home of a community of people that continue to nourish the world with their vibrant and influential culture and inspirational resilience. Our globe sculpture is a homage to Mother Africa and its people. In particular, it is a homage to the African diaspora who, like a blanket, cover the entire world with their courage to help humankind move forward despite the systematic efforts to push them down. We have included flags of all the nationalities on the continent to help disseminate the idea that Africa is not heterogenous or monolithic. It is both the cradle of humankind and a rich amalgamation of complex civilisations. The masks that decorate the globe’s base remind us that they should not be encased in a museum exhibition devoid of their true traditional meaning but celebrated in conjunction with the rich civilisations that made them. Mother Africa and its people represent the root source of humanity and our future.
Each year group at Elm Wood Primary School focused on one of the Mother Africa lesson plans: the power of fashion; dance, music and storytelling; the power of symbols; icons and heritage; science and maths; or society, education and food. From the lessons, pupils generated designs for the globe based on their learning. Year 6 children from our ‘Children Against Racism’ project and Sarah Pimenta, our resident artist, chose aspects from globe ideas from across the school to create the final design. Here is what our Year 6 pupils had to say about the project: “The first thing we did was cover the globe in white primer and let it dry for two days. After it had dried, we painted the globe pink, red and yellow and layered some gold over the yellow. We put some tape on the pink to mark out a pattern. Then we painted the base green and made a semi-circle template and used it to decorate the base. We waited for the paint to dry and then peeled the tape off so that the semi-circle pattern remained. Next, we put some designs on the semi-circles and create some template of hearts, triangles, zig-zags, circles, lines and darts. The designs were inspired by the Adinkra symbols and based on the ideas of the whole school. Once the paint was dry, we stuck phrases on the glove: ‘grow in power’; ‘anger becomes determination’; ‘equality not discrimination’; and ‘love not hate’. These phrases came from some of the reflections of our ‘Children Against Racism’ group in school. Finally, we used special pens to add fine detail to the globe.” The colours that we chose to use have special meanings in some West African cultures: Yellow = quality and success;Maroon = healing and Mother Earth; Blue = harmony, love and peace; Purple = strength and nature; Red = death, grief, spirituality and politics; Gold = money, high ranking, wealth and nobility. We are incredibly proud and humbled by the achievements of our pupils. We think the outcome is stunning and their ideas are inspiration: grow in power.
Our nursery globe is entitled ‘Friendship has no limits’. In the early years of life, children’s friendships are born out of shared interests, familiarity, kindness, memories and laughter. Our learning about Picasso led to us to celebrating our similarities and differences with a particular focus on faces. The varying shades of green and blue hands at the bottom of the globe represent our world whilst recognising that the intricate lines on our hands make them unique to each of us but when joined together they represent solidarity, strength and friendship.
The Globe shows Africa, The British Isles and the USA. Ships loaded with enslaved Africans sail out of Africa to the west. There is a broken chain showing Emancipation. Portraits of Martin Luther King and Barack Obama show the journey from enslaved to a Black man being the most powerful person in the world. Out of Africa in the opposite direction (in same shape as the slave ships) we have included colourful African designs from ladies dresses. This is to denote all the wonderful things that have come out of Africa.
The participating students in Year 9 have chosen to study fine art next year in KS4. Our students form a part of various diasporas with rich and varied multicultural heritages. Initial meetings on how we would approach this exciting project bought up various avenues of exploration and research before settling on the theme of stories, especially folk stories. The commonality of the content of these folk stories were cautionary tales, heroic common people and extraordinary magical characters and creatures. These stories’ heroes, magical characters and creatures have been intertwined and juxtaposed into a painted collage to create a rich tableau that represents in some part the rich cultural lives of our students here at Sacred Heart School in Camberwell.
We discussed many topics on racial diversity and inequality issues facing people from BAME backgrounds. The class decided on using hands to symbolise the positive impact diversity has on the UK. The children also opted to celebrate features of themselves that are not usually celebrated in the media such as afro hair. The hands are their identity and their culture marking on the world and the UK.
| We went with the theme of Allyship and identity to show that we can stand up and support people to promote racial justice. The globe is a map of the world highlighted with fingerprints and key words that the children generated. |
The globe has been based on the cotton industry that Oldham is historically well known for. The students have been learning about this history and our links to the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.
The globe features handprints symbolising our identity, an industrial mill skyline filled with collage or powerful imagery, and fragments of poems and messages inspired by and created with the support of Ella. The students wanted to add the message ‘Oldham, our history, our future’ to reinforce the theme.
Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, we decided our starting point would be to speak to as many learners as we could in order to gather as much information and as many personal experiences and stories as possible. This theme ignited their creativity, generating classroom debates and conversations about culture, diverse nationalities, the history of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, the atrocities that took place back in the 19th century and the issues that are still ongoing in the 21st century, 200 years later.
On receiving our globe, we gathered all the information together and began to sketch our designs. Our learners were instrumental in determining what would be portrayed onto the globe and it was decided that we should have a section which explored the dark past of enslavement, alongside a lighter area which celebrated Black and African culture.
Upon completion, the decorated globe has what appears to be an ornate pattern around the perimeter of the base, but on closer inspection, the viewer recognises minute images of enslaved people packed tightly together aboard a ship. Above the bodies and again around the perimeter of the globe, the image of cotton bobbins represents Manchester’s prosperous textile industry which thrived on the back of slavery.
Around the main sphere is an orange and black background showing hands holding hands; this represents the unity of different cultures. The Black Lives Matter fist blossoming into a tree celebrates African patterns and colours as foliage. As you scan the entire globe, you will recognise references to Manchester’s vibrant music scene and the genre of Hip Hop which was born from the Civil Rights movement. In addition, poetry written by our learners has been handwritten onto the globe, contributing personal viewpoints.
Although this has been a delicate subject to explore, our learners at HMP Manchester have shown great sensitivity, compassion and a willingness to understand the history of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans. We as a department are very proud of the final piece and we look forward to the public and our learners’ families being able to view our globe.
Unity’s Year 6 class learned about the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, conditions on the Brookes slave ship and the story of Henry “Box” Brown. We then learned how enslaved people resisted oppression through music, religion and art, including the Adinkra symbols. We talked about light as a symbol of hope in many cultures and religions and designed our globe on the theme of “Light and Hope”. Finally, the children wrote their own messages of hope and resilience on the base of the globe.
Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/433614/central_library
An exploration of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans through the lens of Yinka Shonibare’s work
Our theme was focused on celebrating the lives of Black people. We held a competition for all the children to design artwork for the globes, with a focus on the learning we have done around Black lives, hidden histories and being anti-racist over the past 2 years.
We wanted the designs to come directly from our children so we selected 3 winners – One from KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2. We then combined the design ideas, incorporating some ideas from other entries also.
We’ve included significant figures from our learning, poignant quotes, Adinkra symbols and art which represents the healing of Africa. The KS1 globe has the fingerprint of every child in year 1 and year 2, we wanted as many children to contribute and leave their mark as we attempt to reimagine the world!
Our theme was focused on celebrating the lives of Black people. We held a competition for all the children to design artwork for the globes, with a focus on the learning we have done around Black lives, hidden histories and being anti-racist over the past 2 years.
We wanted the designs to come directly from our children so we selected 3 winners – One from KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2. We then combined the design ideas, incorporating some ideas from other entries also.
We’ve included significant figures from our learning, poignant quotes, Adinkra symbols and art which represents the healing of Africa. The KS1 globe has the fingerprint of every child in year 1 and year 2, we wanted as many children to contribute and leave their mark as we attempt to reimagine the world!
Year 4 at Longsight Community Primary School designed their globe, inspired by African adinkra symbols. After researching these symbols and their related proverbs and meanings, Year 4 designed some of their own symbols which reflect the theme of ‘community’. They also selected adinkra symbols and images from their community that portrayed this motive. Street artist Becky McGillivray collaborated with Year 4 to create this piece of art using stencils and spray paint.
St Luke’s Primary School when designing were inspired with designs from Aboriginal people. Children from the school picked this theme because they liked how their art and paintings mostly represent ‘the dreaming’. Children at St Luke’s never want to stop dreaming of their future.
We went for a colourful design with children painting our ‘colourful world where everyone is equal’ we also filled the base with our children’s handprints again in bright colours.
Making Waves – Black Britons lead the global sea change’
Students focused on the Reimagine the Future thread and have titled the globe ‘Cultural Kaleidoscope’.
During The World Reimagined project, we explored minority cultures and our mission was to create a globe that represents racial justice – a re-imagined, fair, and equal world which shows that we are all one family. The theme of our globe was Racial Justice.
We followed this theme by painting each continent in rainbow colour to show the equality between EVERYONE. We didn’t paint the border lines of the countries to emphasize this equivalence. In our reimagined world, we used a variety of skin tones to represent every race. We stencilled our children’s hands onto the globe as if they are holding it up, creating a new Earth, full of love and acceptance.
During our final term, we have been learning about Adinkra symbols used in Ghana and what they represent. These inspired us to create our own logos, which we decorated the bottom of our globe as a demonstration of racial equality and then used posca pens to add a pop of colour.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
The images you see represent the poem co-constructed by the children in Year 5. It is a symbol of the future, where we stand stronger, growing together. The water runs from Swansea, from the River Tawe to the sea where it joins the vast ocean, no longer forced to take a narrow path. The cocoon itself symbolises entrapment, a struggle with what is inside and a need to escape to something freer, an openness of hearts and minds. The metamorphosis of what is trapped inside, the change of the ideals and ideas from the past is transformational. It is life changing. The butterflies represent freedom and migration, a move away from entrapment and enslavement, where the world is brighter, more colourful where the journey changes those journeying, where a new, brighter future is made. The chains of the past are painted in copper, a reminder of Swansea’s industrial past, when as Copperopolis it dominated the world and the copper industry. A sign of Wales’s power as the first industrialised nation in the world. A reminder of the darker side to that industry, how copper – whilst shiny and bright – had a darker undertone of slavery; with the copper being used to make Manillas used as a form of currency to buy and enslave African people. The broken chains, another sign of freedom from enslavement. The copper is meant to glint in the light or sun, a reminder that we should not hide from our hidden, shameful past but that we should break free and stand up for what is right, for justice and equality. A new future together if we only take the time to put the pieces together through looking back at our history, moving forward through repentance and reconciliation. The quote from Edmund Burke studied by the children is included telling us of the need to do something, to make a stand for justice and equality just as he did for the abolition of slavery. However, it is included also to make us think, a reminder to challenge what we read making us question his belief that Africans were “barbaric” and needed to be “civilised” by Christianity. Our globe is a fusion of past and present, painted by many of the children that now represent our multicultural, multi-ethnic, diverse school community. A school where children come from far and wide, a school of sanctuary where all are accepted, seen and welcomed, where children stand up against inequality and make a stand for racial justice. From a place of darkness, restriction and struggle, a seed of hope can grow, break free and transform into something full of life, colour and hope, educating, transforming and reimagining our world together for a better future.
Our globe has the world map as the background, with images drawn by the children of people from around the world circling it. The base then has the school’s 12 values which the children have created symbols to represent following on from the ‘Mother Africa’ module about the Adinkra symbols.
Our globe features a portrait of Mother Africa, decorated with gold leaf and ‘diamonds’ (rhinestones) to show the natural resources of Africa that have been exploited, often to the benefit of other countries. The rest of the globe is covered with outlines of Africa, each containing a symbol designed by one of our pupils. These include ancient rock art, and a foetus with umbilical cord, to show the origins of humankind in Africa; traditional musical instruments, shields and weapons, native fruits and animals to celebrate Africa; shackles, ships that transported the enslaved and hands breaking free, and lots of pattern work inspired by our visual research.
Our theme was the copper trade and slavery in Wales and its effect on the whole world. The globe includes our school values of Care, Respect and Community – also written in Welsh Gofal, Parch a Gymuned.
St Illtyd’s School have used the Adinkra symbols that correspond to our 16 Catholic pupil values – faithful, loving etc. Each class decorated two symbols
Throughout the project we have focused on the term belonging, and what that means to the children. Through this, our globe represents the journey of culture through Adinkra symbols, where the children have replicated and created their own symbols based on belonging. When looking at the theme of belonging the children highlighted the importance of their rights and how this enables them to belong.
We have taken part in The World Reimagined, which is a groundbreaking, national art education project to transform how we understand the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact on all of us. Parkland year 6 classes created printed and painted images on this globe. The year 5 classes were introduced to the theme ‘Mother Africa’ as part of their unit ‘Working with Nature’. All 75 children in year 6 contributed artistically in the making of this work of art. This project was overseen by visiting visual artist Vivian Rhule, who was selected to work with Parkland School’s year 5 and 6 classes. She found these pupils inquisitive and keen to learn and discuss. They all knew the schools mission statement ‘Together we thrive’. These classes were engaged in their learning through observation and discussion. They then had the opportunity to create prints and sketches; including making mud paint in groups and on their own. The theme was ‘Mother Africa: The Power of Symbols’. The key question was: How has art and symbols been used to tell stories of belonging in African culture? In response to this, the children discussed various symbols, e.g. West
African Adinkra symbols, Emojis and the logos on their clothing. Various discussions took place on ‘What does belonging mean to them?’ and ‘What reminds them of where they are from?’ The pupils also learnt and shared their thoughts on patience, understanding, belonging, curiosity, and compassion. Some wonderful and insightful discussions took place. The three years 6 classes used paper tearing techniques. Then they worked in smaller teams to discuss and create three of the five Cs; Curiosity, Compassion and Connecting. Using hand torn and cutout paper letters a huge circle of these words were formed. This led into the final design idea to combine the written word and pattern, which can be seen in one of the images above. An integral part of this project was the discussions that opened up as the pupils worked together.
’Together we thrive’
A group of Year 10 students have worked on designing and creating our globe, building upon their existing knowledge and studies based on ‘Identity’. The starting point for our work was The World Reimagined’s resources, exploring the theme of ‘Mother Africa’, in particular masks. In discussion with the young people involved in the project, we looked at ways in which they could respond artistically and emotionally to the challenges they face as diverse group of young people, in an environment where there has been so much turbulence. They established the following key areas:
Environment: responding collectively to littering, cars, pollution, fossil fuels, and recycling. Basic human rights: to education, equality, safety, medicine, food and spiritual freedom. Actions and words speak: our response to racism, LGBTQ+ phobia, misogyny and bullying. Above all the importance of speaking with your own voice, and celebrating your identity. Amongst other things we looked at the origins of individual names, zodiac symbols and animals or cultural traditions the young people related to. This work directly came into the mask designs, celebrating colour, fabric prints in some cases, as well as in a literal sense writing in Kurdish Arabic, Cantonese and Ukrainian on the base of the globe. We established that looking after each other, having opinions and values which differed without conflict, being supportive, generous, kind and respectful were of the utmost importance, and this tied in well with The World Reimagined 5 C’s of compassion, curiosity, courage, connection and critical thinking. Each student has documented the project as it progressed. Pupils have developed a range of practical art skills and techniques, whilst deepening their contextual understanding. The masks were created using papier mache, waterproof pva, voile, acrylic paint, west African fabrics and beads. The designs incorporate the themes studied, whilst also reflecting the pupils own individual identity through colour and symbolism.
We discussed with the children what they wanted the theme of our globe to be before they began sketching their ideas. They decided that they wanted to depict their world and what’s important to them. They placed the school and the local community at the heart of their designs. A part of the globe makes reference to Hafod’s industrial past. The dark colours of the Copperworks with its tall chimney stacks depicts an era of pollution which created a hostile environment for flora and fauna, as well as the residents of “The Copperopolis”. Then you see the bright colours of the rainbows, flowers, bees and butterflies that symbolise regeneration and regrowth. The children wanted to show that we are a Rights Respecting school, so our globe contains some of the articles of the UNCRC that are most important to us. We are also a Peace Mala school; you can see the dove of peace encircling our multi-faith and culturally diverse school and community.
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