Pic ‘n’ Mix is a primary school film education programme focused on developing visual literacy and film and media skills for local Tower Hamlets children.

This 12-month programme encouraged young people in the borough at 12 primary schools to be inspired by our artistic vision of ‘Culture for a Changing City’. Based on the feedback and ideas of pupils and teachers, we asked them to explore environmental issues and the natural world of their neighbourhoods.

Working with the brief of Green Tower Hamlets, they worked in class groups or collaboratively across schools and year groups to create films celebrating its green spaces and animal life, as well as drawing attention to its environmental issues in new and original ways.

Watch the Green Tower Hamlets film of their work below:

Participating schools: Ben Jonson Primary; Cayley Primary; Chisenhale Primary; Cyril Jackson Primary; John Scurr Primary; Lansbury Lawrence Primary; Marner Primary; Olga Primary The Aldgate School; Thomas Buxton Primary; Wellington Primary; William Davis Primary; Stepney All Saints Sixth Form.

The project offered a range of components for participants, including

Only the final stages of the programme have been impacted by coronavirus, and we’d like to thank all schools and partners for working so hard on all the elements that have been completed – see below for some fantastic feedback from teachers and students.

 

Most of the children have had no prior experience of filmmaking, so in this sense one of the most important aspects of learning was to begin to show the children the types of thinking that goes into making a film,’ Teacher

‘Seeing the potential for cross curricular film making opportunities,’ Teacher

‘It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside you and THAMES and the entire team at Rich Mix,’ Facilitator

‘Thank you very much for allowing our children to experience taking over Rich Mix! They really enjoyed it,’ Teacher

‘I just wanted to say a big thank you. The results have been amazing so far. Thank you to all staff and students for committing to this exciting project’ Partner

‘As the children are doing paper cutout stop motion, with the need for many frames per second, they are learning to take care with lighting and steadiness of hand. The children also learning about taking their time with things and making sure they repeat something until they get it right,’ Teacher

Keep an eye out for Pic ‘n’ Mix 20/21 ‘My Story, Our Story’.

 

With thanks to Chocolate Films, Into Film, Little People Big Noise, Three Stones Media and Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Service (THAMES).

Supported through funding from Derwent London, Sir John Cass’s Foundation and Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service (THAMES).

Find out more about the 2019-2020 Pic ‘n’ Mix project here.

For further information about this programme, please contact tracy.barbe@richmix.org.uk