| Facts about arc | ArC is a three year initiative by Colchester based contemporary art organisation firstsite, CSN Consultancy and the Colchester Consortium of schools. ArC stands for Art reflecting Citizenship. The project won an £81,000 Arts Council England grant to promote children’s understand of their society through creative art activity. The funding allowed firstsite to place professional artists into each of the 15 Consortium schools for a ten day residency. |
Fifteen Colchester primary schools are taking part in a project to raise awareness of citizenship. Children from the north Essex town are working with artists to explore the issue of 'citizenship': What it means to pupils at this point in their lives. The project seeks to be innovative and creative for the artists, teachers and pupils. Fifteen artists have been chosen to work with the 15 primary schools that make up Colchester Consortium. Each artist is based in one class in their paired primary school for a 10 day residency over the summer term. Balloons release celebrates year twoThe project, now in its second year, was launched at Old Heath Primary School where 200 balloons were launched. The pupils wrote questions about citizenship on postcards which they attached to 200 balloons and released on Monday, 21, May. Anyone finding a balloon is asked to write their reply to the question and post it back. The responses will be used in a final artwork created by the pupils along with their ArC resident artist, Ronald Suffield. | 
