We are delighted to have finished another successful year of Look/Make/Talk, a Clore Duffield Foundation funded programme which offers eligible primary schools across Cambridgeshire a FREE facilitated visit, workshop and transport to Kettle’s Yard. The funding was developed in response to the cost-of-living crisis and significant impacts felt in schools and communities following the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in additional pressures on school budgets. This has in turn meant less pupils were able to visit cultural organisations such as Kettle’s Yard.
What happens during a Look/Make/Talk visit?
During a Look/Make/Talk visit, pupils are guided through the Kettle’s Yard house and galleries by our Learning team. During their visit students are encouraged to explore through open discussion, drawing activities and deep looking games which promote their own critical and creative thinking skills to observe, make connections and explore ideas. Schools then participate in a creative workshop in the Clore Learning Studio, discovering how to transfer drawings into mono-prints. The sessions finishes with a reflection and review of each other’s work and experiences.
Celebrating 2024/25
Following the success of our 2023/24 pilot programme, we were fortunate to be able to grow our offer, inviting back 10 pilot schools and reaching out to 3 new schools. During 2024/25 Kettle’s Yard welcomed 501 primary school pupils from Reception – Year 6 to engage and create art with us. Of these, 87 pupils visited Kettle’s Yard for the first time (and for many of them it was their first trip to an art gallery or Cambridge). The Fenland District schools travelled the furthest, taking over 50 minutes to get to Kettle’s Yard. Moving forward we will continue to welcome more schools from further afield due to their limited access to art galleries or significant cultural spaces.
A great opportunity and experience for our children. This is the first time for many of our children visiting an art gallery – I will be returning.
– Teacher from Guyhirn Primary School
Alongside the children, we welcomed 66 adults from the participating schools. Feedback from teachers and schools leaders who joined a Look/Make/Talk session shows the significant value and unique opportunity this supported programme provided their pupils and the wider school community:
I feel this is such an enriching experience for the children, helps provided staff with CPD, and gives the children opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.
As a curriculum lead, I will be sharing the activities with my staff
We loved coming in and it’s such a great springboard for further work back at school.
Photos: Charlie Bryan
Pupil’s feedback showed that their experience at Kettle’s Yard gave them the freedom to make choices, and the ability to share what they had done, and understand that mistakes are not failures:
What really made me happy was painting, it made me feel like myself
I loved drawing anything we wanted to
The art could be whatever you wanted
Thank you so much to the schools, staff, pupils and parents who participated in the Look/Make/Talk programme this year! We loved forging new relationships, and hope to see these new connections flourish into the future.
Learning and Community
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