Every October children at Senior House look forward to taking part in the World’s Biggest Drawing Festival and this year was no exception with another opportunity to celebrate the transformative effect of drawing for Forms 3 and 4.The theme: ‘Climate of Change’ seemed particularly apt when sustainability is very much an on-going focus at St John’s. 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of The Big Draw and the campaign that shines a light on the need for drawing and its role as a tool for expression, creativity, learning and sharing ideas.
An arts education charity, The Big Draw "aims to promote the social, economic and health benefits that drawing can bring and provides opportunities for everyone to draw. The Big Green Draw Festival ‘Climate of Change’ focused on the relationship between people and our living environments and ecosystems; highlighting how we live today and the ways in which we do and do not harmonise with nature. The Big Green Draw is eager to help showcase mindsets and actions that proactively support positive symbiosis between people and the Earth." (The Big Draw)
The session started with the children discussing what climate change means to them and what message their drawings might convey about saving the environment. They thought about programmes about extinction and climate change as well as new and current affairs programmes on this topical subject. In the latter part the children ventured outside to the Senior House garden to used mixed media to draw their poster on A2 paper. The aim was to fill the whole piece and to consider what mood was reflected in their artwork and whether cold or warm colours could emphasise this. One Form 4 pupil commented, ‘The Big Green Draw was an amazing way to bring together our community for one common goal, to raise awareness of the crisis of Climate Change through the images we drew.’
For more information about this year's Big Draw Festival: https://thebigdraw.org/the-big-green-draw-a-climate-of-change-2020
