Children's poetry contributes to town art trail

Children at Victoria Junior School in Workington created poetry for the art trail

Children have written poetry to be displayed as part of a town's art trail.

Cumberland Council commissioned three visual artists to produce work and deliver workshops for Workington Art Trail, which will run from 29 November until the end of February 2025.

Poet Melissa Davies led children from Victoria Junior School in a sensory walk and helped them create poetry inspired by what they found.

Their poems will be displayed in a town centre cafe, with one teacher saying pupils get "a real sense of pride" seeing their work displayed.

The other Cumbria-based artists chosen alongside Ms Davies were Alison Critchlow and Rosie Galloway-Smith.

Cumbria Deaf Association and Moorclose Community Centre will also be involved in workshops and create art for the trail.

Melissa Davies said she was "absolutely thrilled" to be part of a project

Ms Davies took eight students on a walk around their school playground to find "sensory inspiration" for their poetry.

Daisy, 9, said: "We have been describing things like how the playground is a wild place.

"For example, the potatoes, or the leaves, or the insects or the wildflowers."

"I noticed that the rocks felt really bumpy and the weeds felt really crispy," Hayden, also 9, added.

The poems will be displayed at the Muffin Break in Workington Town Centre and Nkem, 10, said: "I'm kind of nervous, because what if people don't like it? But also, I'm really excited about it."

Owain, 10, said he would take his family along to look, adding: "I feel a little bit nervous because everyone's going to see our work."

Teacher Mark Stilwell said the work helps build pupils' confidence.

He said: "It gives them a real sense of pride for their work.

"They are being inspired by whoever visits us, like Melissa has, and thinking 'yeah, I can be part of that too, I can do that'."

After the session, Ms Davies said she asked the children how they found it.

"The words that were coming out. 'It was calming', 'it was exhilarating', 'it was peaceful', 'it was exciting', all positive things," she said.

Cumberland Council is aiming to launch the Workington Art Trail in late November, on the same weekend as the Light and Sound Show.