KIDS DRAW GAMES
GAMES is an exciting collaboration between 600 London primary school children
and British artist Ron Haselden that will culminate in the creation of a
sculpture trail along nine miles of London’s historic canals from
Paddington Basin in the West to the Olympic site in the East.
Timed to be in-situ from March to October 2012, the trail will be a celebration
of London’s hosting of the Olympic Games and will form part of the
Cultural Olympiad programme.
It is proposed there will be twelve 3m high animated light sculptures sited at
strategic points along the route. Two sites that have been identified in
Islington and Camden are Diespeker Wharf and Camden Road Bridge – just
behind Shirley House.
The sculptures are made from steel and flexible LED light-line and the
“animated” effect of the sculptures is created by lighting a series
of individual “stop-frame” movements of a particular sporting
action in sequence.
The sculptures will be based on drawings on the theme of sport and games,
created by children from ten primary schools in the Five Olympic Boroughs and
the London boroughs of Camden, Islington and Westminster, including children
from St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, Edward Wilson Primary School,
Hanover Primary School and St Aloysius Primary School.
A series of drawing workshops was conducted in May-June 2010 in the Olympic
Boroughs: over 400 children took part and one drawing by each child was
exhibited at Stratford Circus in July as part of the CREATE10 festival. Further
workshops will be conducted in the remaining boroughs in March 2011.
Following on from the drawing workshops, in autumn 2011 and spring 2012 the
children will be invited to participate in innovative art and science workshops
on the Floating Classroom, an electric barge that runs educational trips for
3,000 schoolchildren every year.
The project will be supported by a GAMES interactive website, developed with
the children that will act as an on-going record of the project and the
children’s engagement with it.
Art Lights London is working with the support of British Waterways, The Five
Boroughs; the Boroughs of Westminster, Camden and Islington; the Mayor of
London’s office; LOCOG; the participating schools and their relevant
local borough education departments including A New Direction as well as site
owners along the proposed route. We are sensitive to the requirements of these
organizations and those who we are meeting in realizing this artwork and
welcome any comments to be addressed to mail@artlightslondon.com.
Art Lights London believes GAMES will create a reason for people –
Londoners and visitors – to explore London’s canal-ways, thereby
helping in their regeneration and establishing their importance to the city;
and, through education and community-led programmes and initiatives, the
project will open up new experiences for children in the world of art and
sports. It is sure to be a major attraction for the Olympic Games that will
leave a lasting legacy.
Additional information can also be found at: www.artlightslondon.com
Artist’s impression – The Diver at Diespeker Wharf
