In 2008 Children & the Arts ran a pilot project called ArchitectureQuest. The pilot aimed to introduce children from one London primary school to the built environment around them, increasing their understanding of and pride in the area whilst teaching them architectural terms and encouraging them to illustrate what they saw.
StoryQuest was a national festival of storytelling which aimed to teach children about the joys of narrative and to encourage families and communities to share stories. Throughout November 2007 StoryQuest events took place in cultural venues around the UK. Every StoryQuest event aimed to create the magical moment when a story fires the imagination.
TheatreQuest, sponsored by Land Securities, gave 1,300 UK children the chance to engage with their local theatre and study a brand new play (”A Singer from the Desert Came”), specially commissioned by Children & the Arts, and written by award-winning author Jamila Gavin. Children involved in the project saw performances at their local theatre, got to know the people behind the scenes and worked on set design and costume making, working with recycled materials, as well as developing their own productions of the play which were performed in front of TRH The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
In 2008 Create-a-Quest, sponsored by Land Securities, gave thousands of children the chance to get to know a local arts venue (ranging from historic houses and museums to art galleries and theatres). The project launched with teacher training days held at the Geffrye Museum in July 2008 and was supported by a specially produced book for teachers full of inspiring ideas to use in the classroom. After experiencing professional artists’ work at their partner arts venue, the children created their own performances and display pieces which were featured in the celebratory grand finale held at St Mary’s Church, London in Februiary 2009.
Catalyst 2008-2009
The pilot of Catalyst, designed and run by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, was a series of professional development days for Key Stage 2 teachers held across the UK.
On each day, teachers worked with leading arts professionals to gain practical skills in using the arts in their classrooms, with a particular focus on storytelling and literacy and had the chance to meet guest speakers including award winning authors, storytellers and directors of national arts organisations.