Exhibition was held 14th to 24th May 2009

“Growing Our Future”

With news of the catastrophic effects of global warming engulfing the media in recent months, delivering a timely reminder of the climatic danger the Earth is in, the push to reduce the planet’s carbon footprint has never been higher on the political agenda of world leaders.

This need for change has become something of an ethos for the children and staff at Avenue House School in Ealing, West London, who, by taking simple steps such as recycling and energy conservation, have demonstrated their commitment to change emphatically. Deservedly then, the local school has been recognised and registered as an eco friendly school, a goal that they have been striving to achieve for some time. But it is their pioneering project, aptly named “Growing Our Future”, that has proven the proactive and creative attitude both pupils and staff have adopted towards conserving our world.

The aim of the project, along with raising awareness of the importance of ‘going eco’, is to show that recyclable yet rather mundane household products can be used to produce something utterly striking for all to enjoy. The recycled rainforest, part of the school’s groundbreaking exhibition at Pitshanger Manor Gallery in Ealing, is certainly something to behold and is a celebration of the tremendous artistic contribution that each of the 120 children at Avenue House made to the project, a feat that the school is collectively very proud of.

The inspiration behind the style of the art work on display derived from a visit by the present Year Six class to an exhibition of the work of Peter Doig; each child made a collage using recyclable materials such as wrapping paper and food packaging while drawing on the Scottish painter’s method. These collages were, uniquely, stitched together to create more substantial pieces and then painted using a inventive mixture of art materials; ink, acrylic paint and oil pastels were used in conjunction with an array of techniques such as splashing and dry brushing, to accomplish a layered and distressed effect. These works were then arranged to form the recycled rainforest.

The idea behind the breakthrough project derived in part from the exciting development of a ‘Children’s Garden’, in which children throughout the school will be able to grow flowers, vegetables and herbs while learning new skills in gardening.

The children, staff and governors of Avenue House School are very proud of the artistic flair and creative talent demonstrated in the exhibition and hope that you too enjoy it.
Avenue House is a co-educational school for girls and boys aged three to eleven years.

Some Quotes from the Visitor Book

'Excellent! Great idea.'
'Enjoyable / Serene'
'A real pleasure to see such wonderful work of art! Well done' - Mayor of Ealing
'Better than most exhibits in the Tate Modern!'
'The best exhibition here since Howard Hodgkin.'
'Most uplifting and encouraging.'
'Lovely use of materials, great effect.'