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How the art project came about...

Once upon a time the Child Development Centre had books, toys and colourful pictures on the walls. Then the COVID pandemic came along and all that had to go. As we got back to a new normal, we started to get feedback from our visitors that our building was lacking colour and it felt too clinical to be a child friendly space. So we teamed up with the University of Plymouth Art students to embark on an exciting journey. Read our news story and watch our video about the art project.

A number of students were interested in the project and with their tutors came for a visit. We gave them a difficult brief as we wanted art work that would be suitable for all ages of children and young people and designs that would be colourful and engaging without being overstimulating for some of our visitors. We also wanted to compliment the waiting room mural which has been with us for a very long time.

They came up with an underwater theme, which when we asked our visitors and staff they felt would be a lovely idea. Driven by feedback from children and young people about what they wanted, the students went about creating some designs, which they later pitched to us. We were also able to share the final designs again with children and young people who were visiting us, who helped us pick out their favourites.

Then came the time to paint, it was a big job and we had help from students and staff who came to help out on the weekends and in their evenings.

                        ^{Original design}  

 

     

We love the finished designs and hope you do too, they even got festive at Chrismas! Look out for the QR codes to find the interactive elements. We have more exciting plans in development to make our spaces more welcoming again but would appreciate your feedback if you have ideas too. You can do that using our Friends and Family feedback form.