Children at Outwood Primary Academy Alne, near Easingwold, have been selected to exhibit their work in the Take One Picture project at the National Gallery in London for the second successive year.
Their project Tessellating Bricks was inspired by the award-winning York Handmade Brick Company, also based in Alne.
The children visited York Handmade’s factory and then made their own real life tessellating patterns using bricks.
The exhibition runs until the end of August at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
Vicky Harpin of Alne School commented: “This is a wonderful opportunity for our Year 3 and Year 4 children. We are extremely proud of them, especially as this is the second year in a row that their work has been chosen to be part of the Take One Picture project. It’s tremendous to see their effort and talent being rewarded.”
This year the children based their work on the painting The Courtyard of a House in Delft by the Dutch artist Pieter de Hooch, where the intricate brickwork in the background plays a key part.
Vicky continued: “As luck would have it, the York Handmade Brick Company is just down the road from our school and, when we contacted them, they were kind enough to arrange a visit for us. This was a magnificent opportunity to see bricks being made by hand and we witnessed the whole process, from digging for clay in the quarry, to the finished fired bricks.
“This was inspirational for our children and was a major factor in helping them to create work good enough to be shown in the National Gallery. They wrote thank-you letters to York Handmade, saying how much they had enjoyed their visit.”
Guy Armitage, managing director of York Handmade, commented; “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the children of Alne School to our factory. We were very impressed with how seriously they took their project and we were delighted to help them. It is no mean feat to have your work exhibited at the National Gallery and the children should be very proud. Who knows, if one or two of them fall in love with bricks, a job could be waiting for them here down the line.”
This year, over 83,000 children from 380 schools took part in the Take One Picture programme – the biggest ever cohort for the programme’s 30th anniversary. Out of those 380 schools, 40 were chosen to display their work in the National Gallery after a rigorous selection process.
A spokesperson for the National Gallery explained: “For 30 years the Gallery has been inviting primary school children nationwide to focus on one painting from the collection and respond creatively, following their own questions and ideas.
“The programme aims to put art at the centre of children’s learning across the curriculum, inspiring creativity, curiosity and a lifelong connection with artists’ work. By exhibiting a selection of the projects produced, the programme also provides a platform for celebrating children’s work, building pride and confidence in their achievements, and fostering a sense of ownership and belonging in the Gallery.”
