Online Photography Workshops for Young People
Working with Berwick Record Office and photographer Joanne Coates, we created a follow-on online photography workshop to the taster event created in the spring, aimed at children 6 to 13 years old. This was launched alongside the opening of the Portrait of a Town.
The workshop helped children think about how to take a set of photographs that tell a story. There was a presentation for teachers to use in the classroom and a film showing Joanne visiting places in Berwick-upon-Tweed, discussing what to consider when taking photographs. A quote from one teacher who used the Taster workshop with key worker children in school:
"I have included some photographs to demonstrate the work that the children have done regarding the wonderful photography taster session that you forwarded to our school. We would most definitely like to participate in the further sessions."
Both online photography workshops will deliver an on-going legacy for the Berwick Photo Centre Collection and will continue to be used by Northumberland Archives on their new education platform. https://www.photocentreberwick.co.uk/learning.
Photography Project at Spittal First School
We also held an online Creative Schools Cluster session on 6 May to introduce the new photography workshop to teachers and the accompanying Work and Play pupil photography competition.
Our artist in residence, photographer Joanne Coates has worked in person, over the course of a week with all pupils including nursery, in Spittal First School. The school and teachers successfully continued the approach of our Create Aspire Transform programme and delivered a whole school, creative learning programme during the summer term.
The photography project used iPads and was designed to celebrate the local area and bring the school together, as well as supporting literacy. The children had already undertaken our online photography workshop before they worked with Joanne in person. The lead teacher said:
“The children have not been on any school trips this year and were so excited to be out as part of their school day. The children couldn’t wait to work with Jo and one class, because they recognised her from the online workshops, gave a huge cheer as she walked into their classroom”.
The week ended in a large celebratory assembly on the school field. “We were still in our separate ‘bubbles’ but had regained some of our sense of community” said the lead teacher for the project.