Exploring the Value of Art in Early Years Community Encounters

How I Wonder What You Are

In early 2022, Natalie Mason (Creative Lead at The Earlybird Project) and I started working together to explore the potential and evaluate the uptake of creative provision for children aged five and under in art settings. We received a small amount of funding from the Collaborative Ventures Fund at the University of Huddersfield. 

Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre provided the space to run a series of creative workshops for young children and their families. The workshops were inspired by arts concepts, current exhibitions at the museum and popular nursery rhymes. The set up at each workshop was intended to provoke curiosity and foster creativity through high-quality open-ended arts resources, and a sense of wonder about the museum environment and art on display. The workshop themes were: 
•    shape and form
•    light and dark
•    self and place 

Artists ArtbyLibs and Alison Forde supported two of the sessions by guiding children and their carers through the process of designing and making various creations of art, based on their own ideas. The focus was on process-based art although a final product was welcome. 

 

Workshop 1: Shape and form

The artwork that inspired the first workshop was ‘A Couplet', a pair of brightly coloured aluminium and stainless-steel sculptures that contrasted with the museum’s stone building. Inspired by it, we set up opportunities for children to imagine and create their own sculptures and models. 

 

Workshop 2: Light and dark

The inspiration for this workshop was a longstanding theme within early years practice, and the Reggio Emilia approach in particular, light and dark. We explored the contrast in light and dark that the bright airy open space of the hall and paintings provided. 

 

Workshop 3: Self and place

The final workshop focused on exploring a sense of self and place, a theme which emerged from observations from previous workshops and inspired by the new sense of belonging and enjoyment of child-friendly creative spaces inside the museum.

The workshops proved very popular and fully booked within a day of advertising with a waiting list for each session. Parents and carers from the local community welcomed the provision and commented on the perceived value of the workshops for their children.

 

Since coming here we have discovered pipe-cleaners, he’s really into building with them, and I love them too as I find they are a stress reliever

(mother of M3 who attended all three workshops)

 

Key findings

The main findings of the project relate to children’s engagement with creative loose-parts resources, early learning and development opportunities and the value of arts and creativity encounters in the early years. Children’s sense of curiosity and high levels of sustained engagement with the resources and activities were evident. Children engaged in meaning making with seemingly every-day objects to suit their play and interests. The set up meant that all children, regardless of their age, dis/ability, interests were able to find opportunities to explore. 

The workshops also supported parents and carers in a post-pandemic context where many had spent prolonged periods of isolation during lockdowns with no social play opportunities for their children. Parents and carers recognised the importance of this provision not only in relation to children’s learning, development and enjoyment. They emphasised the impact of play opportunities in museums and art settings for their own social and emotional wellbeing. 

Find out more about our project in the latest HudCRES Newsletter and project report.