Thomas Bewick School
Students working with artist Karen Rann during a workshop at the school, December 2009
Thomas Bewick School is a special needs school for children with autistic spectrum disorders in Newcastle. Contact with the school was developed by Newcastle University student Esra Oskay on behalf of VARC. She put together a programme of visits that included a trip for students to Highgreen to explore the area and make clay objects, a visit to an exhibition at the Hatton Gallery with a workshop and a guided tour of students’ studios in the University’s Fine Art Department. Esra and VARC liaised with the school’s Head of Art, Claire Gladstone to identify what VARC could do to complement the school’s art programme. As a result, VARC funded a project 2009-2010 which was led by artist and former VARC artist in residence, Karen Rann.
Karen delivered a series of ten sessions at the school using a mixture of man-made materials and natural materials gathered by the students during regular walks. The completed artwork was displayed as part of an exhibition by the school's students held at Customs House, South Shields January/February 2010 and then later back in the school.
