The Burton’s Learning and Engagement Manager Carole Evans demonstrates the camera obscura in The Burton Art Box
Following the success of The Burton’s Big Give campaign, which raised £10,000 to invest in our schools programme, we are now opening applications for two types of bursaries for schools.
We know that the cost of travel is one of the main barriers that makes it hard for schools to visit The Burton. These bursaries will finance coach hire and artist-led workshops for classes visiting the gallery, or support The Burton Art Box to visit schools with artist-led sessions.
Bursary 1:
The Burton Art Box
The Burton Art Box is a converted horse box which has been turned into a camera obscura, a dark room which projects the world outside upside down and back to front. This phenomenon walks the fine line between art and science; mimicking how the eye works, but also acting as a large camera. It has been the inspiration for artists for decades, used for centuries to help them depict accurate, detailed sketches of scenes.
We would like to share this with ten schools this academic year. Due to the nature of the activity, it works best in the summer months as it needs the maximum amount of light.
The Burton Art Box can come to your school and park up in the playground or nearby. A qualified artist facilitator will show the children around the Art Box, while another artist can facilitate workshops in the classroom. The exact structure of the Day will be discussed with the school to ensure it works for you.
What you get:
- The Burton Art Box: we can cater for about six children in at a time, and the experience takes around 10-15 minutes. So, depending on efficiency of getting children from class to the Art Box, we can work with one class in an hour.
- Photography Workshop: we can cater for two classes of up to 30 children, for an hour each. The workshop can include building your own camera obscura/pinhole camera, cyanotypes, or photography treasure hunts for younger children. The exact content can be tailored to various age groups and class sizes, and can run at the same time as The Burton Art Box visits.
- Two professional artist facilitators, fully DBS checked.
- Materials for a bespoke photography workshop.
What we need from your school:
- A place to park which isn’t too far away from the school.
- Support of teachers/TAs to bring children from the classroom to The Burton Art Box.
- Ability to liaise efficiently with The Burton prior to the workshop to agree timings etc.
How to apply
Please fill out the following Google Form before 5pm, Friday 16 May. The form asks for general information such as who in your school will benefit from the bursary and why you are interested in visiting The Burton.
Application form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPw3WvH4DR4lBu1SbfZwfHfE1V-p-AbWI-008XkIjUasNTVQ/viewform?usp=header
Bursary 2:
Travel bursaries
We know that the cost of travel is one of the main barriers that makes it hard for schools to visit The Burton. These bursaries will finance coach hire and artist-led workshops for classes visiting the gallery.
There are two options:
- Self-led visit: You bring the pupils and show them round the gallery without any input from us.
- Artist-led Visit: We will work with you to provide a workshop that is feasible for us to deliver, and fits into the reason for your visit. There may be limitations regarding how many children we can cater for and what we can deliver, but don’t hold back! Ask us for your dream scenario, and we’ll see what we can do.
We have a limited budget for bursaries so if you do have any financial resources you can contribute this will help us to support as many schools as possible. An average visit including transport and an artist workshop costs approximately £500.
How to apply
Please fill out the following Google Form before 5pm, Friday 16 May. The form asks for general information such as who in your school will benefit from the bursary and why you are interested in visiting The Burton.
Application form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3H_GzjIJ_ZYBKYykyjR5aslRexy015EPJzcFycmrFcG7qLQ/viewform?usp=header
The application process
Applications are open to all schools in Torridge and North Devon. If we have more applications than we can award bursaries for this term we will prioritise applications based on the following criteria:
- Location of school: we will prioritise schools in Torridge, and rural schools
- Type of school: we will prioritise smaller schools who have less financial resource and SEND schools
- How often you visit The Burton: we will prioritise schools who don’t regularly visit The Burton
Please note The Burton Art Box is only available on Thursdays in the summer term.
We have a limited amount of bursaries available, and hope to be able to offer another round of applications in the autumn term. Depending on the number of applications, we expect to award five bursaries this term, and the same amount next term.
If you have any questions about the bursaries or the application process please email our Learning and Engagement Manager Carole Evans at carole@theburton.org or call 01237 471455.
