ANGELSOF GUILDHALL GUILDHALL
AngelsofGuildhall:theward’sprioritieswere turnedintoMangaillustrationsofangelswith aspirationalspeechbubblesandGuildhallward friendlyslogansonfeatherstofitintoa communalcollaborativeworkofartbasedon Angels’WingsasaresponsetofellowUNESCOCity ofMediaArtsmemberViborg’sbrief:‘Whoraises YOUup?WhoisyourAngelofHope’? Weranart activitiesatHaxbyRoadPrimaryandatafter schoolStWilfridssessions,withsomefocuson combattinganti-socialbehaviourbywatching outforeachotherandtakingwalksratherthan relyingoncars WeemployedGuildhallbased childrenaspaidartadvocatesforouraward winningArtCampsessionsacrossthecity.
Director’s Note
AswellasforthcominglocalexhibitionsinGuildhallvenuesincludingYorkSt John and York Elim Pentecostal Church, all work was digitally displayed in Denmark’s Viborg, who provided the initial brief to fellow UNESCO Cities of Media Arts, ‘Angels of Hope.’ It will also be exhibited in York city centre’s heritagehotspot,BarConvent. WeweredelightedforGuildhallwardtotakeitsrightfulplaceasaleaderin this conversation AND give families a break whilst their young artists were getting creative with an award winning, fully DBS’d team in a venue within walkingdistance.
BENEFITS: Childcare respite for parents and carers and extra after school sessions at both Spark:York and St Wilfrid’s was provided. Guildhall ward’s wider public will soon experience a well curated art exhibition in local venues and took pride in wider exhibitions, not only in the city centre’s SPARK but also in other UNESCO Cities of Media Arts (Viborg, Cali, and Tbilisi to name a few, thereby getting the creativity of the ward’s young artists well and truly out there) We also featured all Guildhall creativity on our According to McGee online store,reachingover8000clients.
"The first thing we did was let the young people create whatever they wanted. We showed them how to make sketchbooks and use watercolour and inks and pretty much unleashed them. They didn't stop until the end." Niall, art advocate, aged 17
“I really enjoyed making the little art books. I even took mine home so I could keep drawing in it after the session ” – Emily, St Wilfrid’s RC School, aged 10
“Using watercolours turned out to be my favourite part At first I wasn’t sure about it, but once I started painting, I loved how creative it felt.” – Isla, Haxby Road Primary School
“Designing my name in a bright and artistic style was so much fun I liked making it look unique and colourful ” – Sophie, aged 9, Guildhall ward
“I spend lots of time exploring the park near my house, so I decided to create artwork inspired by animals and nature ” – Tommy, aged 9, Guildhall ward
YORK
'Who or What Lifts YOU up?'
GUILDHALL DRAWS WITH DENMARK
We aimed to address the specific outcome of ‘Providing support to families and young people aged 0 to 25’ by giving families who may have been under pressure a much needed break for 2 Fridays over the Easter holidays and 4 after school sessions in term time
With ‘Improving our Local Environment’' set as a priority for our artwork, we continued to build a peer to peer system looking at cleaning up, not dropping litter, recycling, where art skills were shared by ward based art advocates from our previous projects with younger children from the ward We hoped this led to new friendships and creative outlets.
* ‘Improving Community Safety’’: We, with the young people of the ward and young learners with learning differences who attended SPARK, designed angel avatars in Animation and Illustration activities that were based on improving equality and accessibility. We designed characters who expressed gratitude to others, who volunteered with an organisation, who got involved in the wider community and kept an eye out for those who may have felt isolated. Our art focused on supporting and strengthening parks, green spaces, and community spaces ('improving local environment’)
INSPIRE THROUGH PAINT
“ “Keeping Guildhall Keeping Guildhall safe for wildlife is so safe for wildlife is so iimportant.” mportant.”
“I think every garden should have little spaces for hedgehogs to move between safely It would help them travel around much easier ” – Chloe, aged 7
“It would be nice if more people added flowers and plants outside their houses because it makes everything look more colourful and welcoming ” – Ben, aged 12 “This project has made me want to help look after the environment more When I go to the park now, I want to pick up rubbish if I see any ” – Lucas, aged 9
There was some attention paid to creating comic strips based on green spaces (we were led by our young participants on this) with avatars and characters playing games, joining sports clubs, walking dogs, recognising flowers, and disposing of litter We focused on the attraction of community spaces as viable options to staying inside on digital devices during the February Half Term or Easter holidays, with characters starting their adventures at well known locations, either in Guildhall ward by the river, or as a gentle stroll through the streets into town Comic books and posters appeared online and were printed at the end of the project as well as being exhibited internationally Our teenage advocates were well versed in cutting edge animation apps including Adobe character animator, iStopMotion, SideFXHoudini, Blender They looked forward to bringing the latest in creative innovation to the ward’s young people
“We often spot foxes near our home in the evenings and I really enjoy watching them Drawing them in these workshops has been really exciting for me ” – Amelia, aged 14
VISITING HAXBY ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL
The Viborg Angels of Hope project is a communityfocused initiative designed to inspire resilience, compassion, and creativity among children and families. Through art, storytelling, and shared experiences, the project celebrates hope, wellbeing, and togetherness. It aims to strengthen community connections, encourage positive aspirations, and create meaningful opportunities for learning, reflection, and cultural engagement, leaving a lasting impact on future generations.
HAXBY ROAD PRIMARY’S ANGELS OF HOPE
“We loved working with the young people of St Wilfrid’s and Haxby Road Primary with after school clubs and school visits. We’re looking forward to visiting Park Grove Primary Academy soon, and taking all art to exhibitions to locations around Guildhall ward, including York Explore, York St John, and York Elim on Goodramgate Thank you, Councillors of the ward.” Greg McGee, New Visuality
