East End Life 24 – 30 April, 2006 Page 21Page 20 East End Life 24 – 30 April, 2006

London’s painters and wordsmiths take heed –Tower Hamlets children are sending shockwavesacross the capital’s art circuit with their view oftheir city through paintings and poetry, and theresults are impressive as LLoouuiissee HHaallee reports.

London through

children’s eyesARMED with canvas, pen-

cils, paints and palettesmore than 100 children

have sketched away over thepast eight months to produce acollection of pictures and poemsthat offer a vivid and uniqueinterpretation of Londonthrough a child’s eye.

An exhibition last year, entitled AChild’s View of London in Paintingand Poetry, drew hundreds to StMary le Bow Church. Sixteen paint-ings and two poems were sold, witheight commissions made as a resultof the show.

Some paintings fetched as muchas £50, with poems pulling in £20 atime. All the money raised went tothe children.

Creative charity Arts For All,based in Hackney Road, Shoreditch,is the brains behind the project.Partners Caroline Barlow and resi-dent artist Richard Tait work tire-lessly just to help children in eastLondon better their life chancesthrough art.

“Some of these kids come frombroken homes or may have unem-ployed parents who might not havethe equipment to be creative at theirdisposal,” Caroline told East EndLife.

“We work to make them confidentand aware that they can do some-

thing positive with their lives,” The paintings and poems for this

show were created at workshops,where nine children a day each pro-duced a poem, a large and small can-vas and a biography.

Within just four days “the mostmagnificent and powerful exhibitionof work was made,” Caroline said.

“We encourage them to developcreative hobbies and interests in anatmosphere of fun and laughter,while offering a colourful andvibrant place to call their own.”

Student Charlie Bennett, 14, fromBethnal Green, said: “I feel moreconfident since I got involved withArts For All. I sold paintings and Ifeel very proud of myself.”

The centre, set up in 2002,believes its workshops boost confi-dence and creative achievement bygetting children to use their sur-roundings to express themselves.

Within a matter of months oneweekly session consisting of six peo-ple grew to eight a week, and nowthe centre boasts a membership ofsome 100 children and 60 adults.

Since the success of the child’sview exhibition, the charity has leada show on the Lord Mayor’s show,displayed at London Guildhall andthe House of Commons and a pro-ject on city churches at St Stephen’sWalbrook in Bank.

The group is currently working ona project called Hidden Gardens -tracking the unseen green spaces inthe city in conjunction with City ofLondon Festival, which opens onJune 27.

Eight-year-old Belal Miah adoresthe club: “I love Arts For All,” he

said, “because we have lots of differ-ent, fun things to do and everyone isvery kind.”

Caroline, who lives in ColumbiaRoad, Bethnal Green said she andpartner Richard relished the chance

of unleashing the creative side inchildren.

She said: “It’s fantastic and veryrewarding to see a child progressthrough art.

“If they gain confidence in thisthey can be confident in anythingthey do. Our club has a real person-al touch and the kids feel that too.They end up bringing their friendsalong and parents find out about usthrough word of mouth.”

While portrayed as an after-schoolclub, it diverts from traditional lines,with creativity at its core.

“With junior art and craft clubsand youth work as a priority, ArtsFor All is enriching lives. We believestrongly in inclusion and peoplefrom many different social and cul-tural backgrounds unite in friend-ship and creative exploration. Myselfand Richard have such a laugh withthe children, I guess we are just verylucky.”

The charity relies on individualdonations and grants. While the ses-sions are free, children put cash intoa moneybox and at the end of theyear are taken on an excursion withthe cash raised.

Sessions run Monday to Thursday,during the day for adults and afterschool for children.

Tower Bridge, by Shipa BegumThe Canary Wharf skyline under moonlight, by Rifa Begum A military march, by Steven Tao

The youngsters get down to some serious painting

� For more details e-mail admin@artsforall.co.uk, call 7729 7111 or

visit www.artsforall.co.uk