Year 5 students at Barton Primary School expressed their concerns about issues including racism, human rights and the environment, with a performance of protest poems and campaigning songs to an audience of family members and local decision-makers.
The performance at the Riverside Centre in Newport was the culmination of a 12-week project called ‘No Decisions About Us Without Us’.
Part of Artswork’s Young Cultural Changemakers programme, the children worked with local creatives Jess Ong and Adam Gaterell to learn about youth voice and explore different ways of getting their message across.
Responding to the children’s performance, Councillor Geoff Brodie said:
“It’s a long time since I was at school, and I have spent a lot of time with older people, and I wish now that I had spent more time with young people because we now live in their world on our planet, which I fear for sometimes. Some of the messages we heard today in both the poems and the songs are very important – I hope that councillors like me, and MPs across the country will listen to those things that have been said today.”
Peta Rainford, Placemaking Creative Producer at Artswork, said:
“We are very grateful for the councillors and other local decision-makers for coming along to the performance – it is very important that the children know that their voices have been heard.”
As well as writing their poems and songs, the children created protest T-shirts (which they wore for the performance) and campaigning cartoons, both which were exhibited at Quay Arts earlier this year.
Commenting on the impact of the project on the children, Jonathan Butt, year 5 teacher at Barton Primary School said:
“The project has given our children a voice to express themselves and to know that their opinions and thoughts are heard and listened to. It has given them the chance to explore the positive ways in which they can share their messages and allowed them to showcase what is important to them. It has also been brilliant for us as teachers to see their enthusiasm for the project grow and produce such fantastic outcomes.”
An important part of the Young Cultural Changemakers programme is giving children and young people the opportunity to work with professional creatives like Jess and Adam.
Nice one Gatz…sowing the seed for critical thinking, justice and future activism and resistance. Take it island-wide, get these kids with a social conscience to all join hands in this and maybe not only will they be heard, but acted on. Kids teaching the adults, as per usual.