Children from Needham Market assemble for the art project with manager Donna Grand and Mayor Dawn Spurling
An arts project at Needham Market Library provided a live link-up between local children and those at the library’s namesake in Massachusetts on Saturday 23 March.
Since the beginning of the year, 10-12 children aged 5-12 have been meeting on alternate Saturday afternoons in the library to work on art projects based on places of interest and historical buildings in their local area. The artworks included press printing, a 3D skyline picture of Needham Market at night, wire sculptures, felt birds, a collage of Needham Lake and a children’s version of stained glass windows. In Needham, Massachusetts, 15 children met on a weekly basis to create individual pieces of artwork based on seven landmarks.
On Saturday 23 March, children from both Needhams finally met face-to-face in a live link-up via Skype to share their artwork, discuss local history and talk about life in their respective towns. Photographs of the children and their artwork are to be incorporated into a book.
Library manager Donna Grand said: “This has been a wonderful opportunity for the children to make new friends, work together on various art projects and learn a little about local history as well as learning about Needham, Massachusetts. The Skype session went very well and lasted approximately 45 minutes.”
One parent who attended the event said: “I thought the library represented Needham Market brilliantly with their care and attention to setting up the Skype session. We may be a small town in comparison but the library made the group look very professional.”
Many thanks to Hughes Electrical for providing the equipment for the Skype session.