Paintings to share with children

Acrylic paint and mediums, PVA, aluminium foil

PLAY – The Movie! was the vision of artist Rachael Clerke, commissioned by Tŷ Pawb and working in partnership with playworker Penny Wilson of Assemble Play.

I was one of the artists commissioned to make new work for the children to play with, as Tŷ Pawb’s gallery transformed into an evolving play space film set for eight weeks incorporating school summer holidays. During this time, children worked alongside artists Ella Jones, Harold Offeh, Noemi Santos, Jamila Walker, Rhi Moxon, and myself, with local playworkers and 73 Degrees films to collaboratively create an epic feature length film that exploring play in Wrexham. How & where do we play now, how and where do we want to play in the future?

This was a very special project for me, as I am a strong advocator for the importance of play and the vital role it has in the development of children's brains, minds, and bodies.

In our capitalist system of constant growth, it is of great concern to me that opportunities for children to experience frequent, open-ended, non-directed play are not valued and are rapidly depleting. Children are having their natural development thwarted for the benefit of the few elites in corporate power, and to the detriment of society.

This project was very popular with the local communities in Wrexham and it was an honour to chat with people of all ages about play. There was a collective appreciation and understanding of how important this project was, as all the adults witnessed with pride how beautiful it was to see the children relish in free, wild play.

PLAY – The Movie! has links to the Welsh Play Sufficiency Assessment, and research being carried out in relation to Wrexham’s forthcoming campaign to become UK City of Culture 2029.