SGGS Art, Drama, and Music Collaboration with New College, Worcester.
Students from Year 12 at SGGS and across all year groups at New College, Worcester worked together to create a reciprocal exhibition and performance. This was a new collaboration and working with a school for students with visual impairment provided an extra level of challenge to our creative process. Using Little Red Riding Hood as our stimulus, both schools created a response to the story that we could share. Our students created an immersive experience that students from New College could walk through, listen to, and touch. On our visit to New College, we were welcomed to a puppet show, drama performance and art exhibition. We also spent time learning about how students learn with a visual impairment and the different methods that the school use to support this process. It was an inspiring experience for all staff and students involved.
Year 12 recount what they gained from this experience and how they rose to the challenge.
‘This collaboration was really inspiring. As well as providing us with a new perspective on how people experience theatre, it also broadened our world view on how people with visual impairment navigate through the everyday experience of school. Creating a piece of art that was accessible to all was challenging but extremely rewarding.’
‘On our visit to New College, we enjoyed learning about how visually impaired students navigate the world. Looking at the high standard of artwork through tactile mediums impressed us all. The school was a nurturing and supportive environment. We were able to wear different pairs of glasses that distorted and obscured our vision so that we could have an insight into the student’s world.’
‘It has inspired me to learn Braille. It was so impressive to see how the students navigated around the stage space and the precise preparation that they had to do for this’
‘It allowed us to consider a wider range of sensory elements and we had the opportunity to portray a story in a new way. It was interesting to look at theatre from a different perspective as we are so used to relying on our sight. It was great to see our audience from New College interact and enjoy our performance.’
‘It was fascinating to learn about how visually impaired students navigate subjects like art and drama. From how they manoeuvre around a stage space to drawing with raised images. It was inspiring to see that how the student from New College didn’t let their visual impairments get in the way of their creativity. Everybody was so lovely, and really encouraged us to understand their world. It was rewarding to be able to create a performance piece for the group, especially since their needs are rarely catered for in the theatre industry.’
