ATTENDANCE is up on Fridays at California Gully Primary School, when Arena Theatre Company take over classrooms to get creative with kids.<\/p>\n
Four artists are currently in residence at the school, leading students in visual art, audio and 3D technology activities which will be put on display in an end of term exhibition.<\/p>\n
Arena\u2019s executive director Sharon Custers said the program is helping to develop student confidence and creative thinking through opportunities they wouldn\u2019t otherwise have access to.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchools like this need artists to come in and actually show them what\u2019s possible. That\u2019s why we generally will go to the schools that need us most,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids get to feel like they\u2019ve made something bigger than what they would normally make.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir voices are being listened to and they\u2019re collaborating with the artist, they\u2019re not being told what to do, they\u2019re part of the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our artists, this is like food for them to be working with young people. It\u2019s amazing for us to be back in schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arena usually run one or two school residencies a year and a handful of one day workshops across the region.<\/p>\n
California Gully Primary School principal Andrew Frawley said the program is also challenging students in the classroom while opening up new opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality and expertise that is available to us, you couldn\u2019t match it with what Arena is providing for our school at the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the artists walked in the door the first time, the excitement, engagement and care that\u2019s gone into working with the kids is evident with every session that we\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly we\u2019re seeing every day, particularly as the project is moving on, the chance for us to allow kids to explore and create is such an important part of their development.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ATTENDANCE is up on Fridays at California Gully Primary School, when Arena Theatre Company take over classrooms to get creative with kids. Four artists are currently in residence at the school, leading students in visual art, audio and 3D technology activities which will be put on display in an end of term exhibition. Arena\u2019s executive […]<\/p>\n