8th June 2022

Back to Arbeia again, but across the road at Hadrian’s Primary School, South Shields. Mrs Giles and Year 5 were really welcoming and we discussed the project in relation to UNESCO values, how the area had changed over time and that this fits really well with one of the topics the class are doing, where they are building a big timeline of changes in their area. It is great when one project dovetails so well in with other work, enriching the curriculum in such a meaningful way. We were asked if our headpots could be used in a drama production the class are doing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. This would be a great way for Y5 to share their fantastic designs with a wider audience and promote our project more widely. So watch this space!
Meanwhile the creative activities were underway and everyone learned how to dry felt or needlefelt using very sharp barbed needles to tangle the wool fibres to make 3D forms. These will be felted onto their headpots, emphasising their identity which is shown through headphones, amazing hairstyles, headwear, as well as other features. They quickly learned how to use the needles safely and had a lot of fun!

​Returned to Cumbria via The Sill. This is the Northumberland National Park’s building set in the landscape of the Whin Sill near Vindolanda. I am here to see and discuss the spaces and sites for the end-of-project exhibition in December and January. Here we will  showcase all the amazing creative work that everyone has done on the project Frontier Voices May - December - celebrating 1900 years since the Wall was built. The exhibition is going to be using all the building weaving our work through the permanent exhibition and in locations round the building culminating in a super installation in gold and red in the cafe - inspired by ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’, our installation at the Great North Museum.