An installation inspiring school communities with the words of children
November 2023
The words of children have taken over their school!
For the third year running, Zest Theatre has ran workshops for 150 children at three primary schools in Darlington. Our aim? To create space for children to reflect on their experience of the last few years and release the voice of a generation. Workshops were facilitated by a team of Zest’s Creatives and young people from Future Proof who live in Tees Valley.
Year 6 pupils at Corporation Road Community Primary School, Firthmoor Primary School, and Northwood Primary School were given space to reflect on their experiences and talk about any and everything – from daily life to the big questions of the universe.
Their words have now been turned into vibrant artworks found on banners and posters, both inside and outside their school!
Refresh Darlington places the voices of children at the heart of their community, bringing colour and conversation to the place they call home!
#RefreshDarlo
Locations
60 quotes from Year 6 pupils across Darlington have now been unleashed to inspire their schools!
School corridors are now filled with thought-provoking ideas to empower pupils of all ages.
Whilst outside, artworks on fences and railings bring messages of unity, hope, and happiness to their local community.
2023 Gallery
2023 Credits
Creative & Production
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / LEAD FACILITATOR
Toby Ealden
DESIGN
Fabric.
PRODUCER
Adam Pownall
ASSISTANT PRODUCER
Katie Miller
PARTICIPATION COORDINATOR
Georgina Weller
PHOTOGRAPHER
Dave Charnley
Research & Development
SUPPORTING FACILITATOR & ARCHIVIST
Dan Morgan
WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
Elly Adam
Participating Schools
Corporation Road Community Primary School
Firthmoor Primary School
Northwood Primary School
With thanks to
Kate James
Environmental Responsibility
Young people are incredibly concerned about the environment and urgently want the world to prioritise this issue. However, touring, theatre, and public art can be extremely wasteful and have a negative impact on the planet. Zest is therefore working to reduce our work's environmental impact. We want to keep learning and adapting our practice and processes - we’ll therefore be updating the sections below to be transparent about our choices, share our learning, and be accountable for the elements that negatively impact the environment.
-
All posters are recyclable.
For Refresh Darlington 2022, we switched to a new, more environmentally-friendly, banner product.
However, in 2023 the cost of this product had risen by over 50%, making it too expensive for us to use. We have therefore resorted back to PVC banners for the 2023 installation. This is incredibly disappointing. We have tracked the additional emissions created by manufacturing the PVC materials. Whilst this doesn’t reduce the plastic waste created at the end of this project, the wild flowering we support will go some way to offset the emmissions. -
This is an area for improvement.
We are currently using BlueTac and various tapes to install Refresh posters - both of which are not environmentally friendly. We are looking for alternatives that are more eco, easy to remove and can remain unseen once the artwork is installed.
We also use strong cable ties to secure our banners to the school fences. Again, cable ties are not environmentally friendly. Our Refresh banners are large and will stay up for the remainder of the academic year. Whilst biodegradable cable ties do exist, there isn’t currently a suitable product to ensure the artworks can safely remain in place in all weather over the coming months without deteriorating in the rain. -
Zest tracks the emissions created from our mileage and hotel stays and then offsets this through the wild flowering of protected meadows.
