Foreward by Vine Haugh of Southern Education and Library Board
Thanks to everyone involved in the project over the three years: teachers, children, artists, support staff and supporters and thanks to Orla, Heather and Richard at Kids' Own, Belinda, Rhonda, Pearse, Damien, Vine and Arnie, Anthony and Jennifer at Co-operation Ireland, Joe at the National Lottery at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
FOREWORD
In schools, educational change is often brought about at a pace that causes us to by-pass innovation. This project, Multimedia Maps, presented practitioners with a time to pause and embark upon a period of exploration and discovery in their learning. As educators were challenged to re-examine familiar curriculum content from new perspectives and artists were asked to make inventive links between their own work and classroom practice, creativity became core to the practice that was to emerge throughout the work.
The combination of visual artists working in classrooms and the utilisation of technology as an art media and a communication tool, provided the children with a whole new range of learning experiences. Children encountered new art forms, they learned to work with a wide range of media and use them to communicate in diverse ways. As the work progressed, their sense of audience grew through linking with their partner schools. Ultimately their unique creativity was acknowledged when the work was exhibited in public spaces. These are experiences in education that contribute to a child's knowledge of the world they live in and their personal feelings of self worth within it.
The outcome of the work, which is illustrated in this book, captures and celebrates the success of the project. The content is a tribute to all involved and serves to illustrate how the arts and education can benefit from creative partnerships that push the boundaries of education to encompass learning which is both meaningful and memorable for children and adults alike.
Vine Haugh
Adviser for Creative and Expressive Studies
Southern Education and Library Board
Northern Ireland