Pupils are ‘potty’ about art after prestigious V&A project

The borough’s ‘artists of tomorrow’ are set to showcase their works in a brand new exhibition at the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery after being inspired by art from the V&A in London.

The pupils from four different schools across Lancashire were chosen to take part in the V&A’s prestigious ‘DeisgnLab Nation’ project after the museum secured one of only five places offered right across the country.

Over the past year, they’ve had the chance to work alongside staff at the museum and Manchester-based artist/designer, David Boultbee to learn more about Architectural Ceramics.

They also got the chance to visit world-renowned Darwen Terracotta – where one of the iconic pieces of art loaned as part of the project was actually produced – and enjoyed a special trip to the capital to visit the V&A itself.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Mohammed Khan, said:

This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for the pupils of four schools in our area.

They’ve had the chance to study different types of structures in ceramics as part of this project with the V&A – which has offered them a unique insight into art and design technology.

It’s fantastic to now see their own artwork on display and I hope they’re all really proud of what they’ve achieved and feel inspired by what they’ve learnt.

The DesignLab project brings schools together with museum educators, practising artists and designers with the V&A’s collections to work on projects.

It aims to inspire a new generation of artists as well as broaden young people’s understanding of the designed world around them – looking at how it is made, its impact on society and the environment.

The four schools involved were St Wilfred’s (Blackburn), Turton High School, Accrington Academy and Sir John Thursby (Burnley).

Rebecca Johnson, Arts and Heritage Manager for the council, added:

This is a really prestigious scheme and it has been a wonderful experience to work with the schoolchildren and see their excitement and enthusiasm for art and design technology.

The ceramics they’ve created as a result of this project are really impressive and it’s a pleasure to be able to showcase them at the museum as part of this new exhibition.

Throughout the scheme, we’ve been lucky to have a lot of support from Darwen Terracotta, which is world renowned for the ceramics it produces, and they even kindly glazed the students tiles ready for the exhibition.

We also had the opportunity to borrow pieces from the V&A, which we would never have been able to do otherwise, including the tile by Turner prize-winner, Grayson Perry which was produced right here in our borough as is from his ‘A House of Essex’ works.

The exhibition was officially opened on Thursday (June 27) and there is free entry to the museum throughout the year. It is open Wednesdays to Saturdays 12 – 4.45pm.

For more information, visit: blackburnmuseum.org.uk