An installation of over 2,000 rainbow-coloured clay hearts handmade by children is currently on display at Marshfield Primary School near Chippenham in Wiltshire.
Every child at Marshfield and four other schools within the Ignite hub of South Gloucestershire schools sculpted and painted their own small heart, following their return to school after the summer holidays and first national lockdown.
Each of the seven year groups painted their creations a different colour of the rainbow in appreciation of the NHS’s commitment to their work through the pandemic.
Marshfield is the final stop for the miniature sculptures which have already been exhibited at schools in Kingswood, Downend, Mangotsfield and Pucklechurch.
With some children having been absent from school since March, Ignite’s art leaders wanted to initiate a cross-school project to celebrate togetherness whilst championing the importance of art within the curriculum.
Tomi Looker-Jones, creative arts coordinator at Marshfield, said, “Ignite schools are passionate about providing exciting and innovative creative and cultural opportunities for all our learners. The children had a fantastic time working on such a unique and large-scale project and each school has demonstrated immense creativity in the way they have presented the clay hearts in their own settings.”
It is hoped a public space may now be found in which the project can be temporarily installed for the wider community to enjoy.
The Ignite hub consists of Marshfield CE VC Primary School (Marshfield), Pucklechurch CE VC Primary School, Barley Close Primary School (Mangotsfield), Christ Church Infants School and Christ Church Junior School (Downend) and Beacon Rise Primary School (Kingswood).