Arts Award Students Find Their Marbles!

Exciting developments as the National Horseracing Museum engage in Arts Awards….

The National Horseracing Museum has embarked on a wonderful way to engage young people in the arts and museum culture by running a “Museum Club”. Created for young people to benefit from a nationally recognised scheme called Arts Award, Accredited by Trinity College, London. Within this scheme young people from the age of 5 to 25 can work towards a structured series of awards that cover all the arts. This term students from Newmarket Academy are working towards their “Explore” Award, as an extra-curricular offer. This has meant getting involved in all sorts of things including a Marbled Paper Workshop held by yours truly.

The students and I initially met at the Horseracing Museum where they interviewed me as Artist in Residence, to contribute towards their Arts Award.

The following week, I met them on their ‘turf’ at Newmarket Academy, for a marbled paper workshop. I showed examples of marbled papers, explained how popular it had once been to line books and showed other gift ideas. Then we got down to the practical demonstration and hands on. It is surprisingly easy and rewarding to get vibrant, striking results from what appears to be a magic process (though not always successful). They were a lovely keen group, who listened well and produced some striking marbled paper. Well done Museum Club!

If you would like to learn more about Arts Awards go to http://www.artsaward.org.uk