By KLTV Newsdesk –
The Piazza Shopping Centre in Huddersfield town centre is set to be taken over by sculptures, music, sound walks, dance, artwork, films, and photographs displayed throughout empty shopping units.
This collection of exhibitions is the work that children and young people in Kirklees have created over the past year while juggling school, lockdowns, and isolations.
The artworks have been created as part of ‘Our Biennale’, a festival of arts and culture made with children and young people in Kirklees.
Partners from the Kirklees Local Cultural Education Partnership, EvoKe, collaborated with young people, artists, arts organisations, and teachers in Kirklees to create the festival, which started in September 2020.
Entitled ‘Our Biennale Finale’, the exhibitions will take place in person on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June as well as online.
The lead up to the exhibition has seen musicians, artists, theatre-makers, and choreographers working with schools, colleges, and communities to enable children and young people to make their very own pieces of music, art, poetry, drama, and dance.
The ‘Moulding Memories’ exhibition will be of particular importance as it focuses on the experiences of the younger generation living through a pandemic.
‘Celebratory Feel’
Chloe Williams, Director of ‘Our Biennale, said: “Nearly 2,000 children have shared their feelings about the past year in hundreds of drawings and poetry pieces.
“These have then been pulped and created into blocks using moulds. A large sculpture has been created encompassing blocks from every participating school, each one a personal captured moment of this time whilst also reflecting the universal experience of children throughout the last year.”
The Finale exhibitions are also part of the WOVEN festival and will give children and young people the chance to make their own mark on these public spaces.
Chloe added: “Our aim is to teach children that they can change their world.
“By encouraging them to create and exhibit large scale artworks, we are showing them they have the right to affect the environment around them. They have also drawn on the pavement and on shop windows to create that celebratory feel.”
The exhibitions will all follow social distance guidelines and can all be experienced online at the ‘Our Biennale’ website.