Creative arts-based learning project River of Hope, spearheaded by the Thames Festival Trust, will partner with further festivals and organisations this year to allow more young people to express their feelings about the climate crisis. River of Hope provides an amazing opportunity to connect with the local environment; young people take part in an out-of-school river visit and then create artworks under the guidance of inspirational professional artists. The project also benefits teachers by providing them with artist professional development and access to online resources to encourage them to include climate change topics within their curriculum teaching.
In 2024, the project will directly engage over 3,500 young people nationally and internationally. The magnificent artwork and poetry created by the young people can be viewed online as part of an interactive gallery as well as in person at various festivals and events. From 2023 to 2025, River of Hope will work in 7 UK regions: Leeds, Newham (London), Tees Valley, Norfolk, Norwich, Dorset and Plymouth, and also in France (Rouen) and Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Arba Minch).
The output this year is:
- From 2nd – 4th August 2024, an exhibition will be displayed in partnership with Stockton International Riverside Festival in the Tees Valley displaying installations created with artists BloomInArt.
- An exhibition on 21st September at Cody Dock and 22nd September as part of Thames Day will display the output from Newham, created as part of Thames Festival Trust and the Totally Thames Festival, with participation from ten primary schools and Cody Dock along with artist Fiona Grady.
- On 26th October, at Tamar Festival in Calstock, the works created by eight primary schools, five secondary schools, the Environment Agency, Tamar Community Trust and
the National Trust, in partnership with the Tamara Landscape Partnership and artists Ione Rojas, Shona Watt, Emmie Readman and Fotonow, will be displayed.
- And the year will culminate with a project in Ethiopia in partnership with the British Council with participation from thirty primary schools aided by artists Martha Hardy and Zeny Zerfu.
Marina Gautier, Global Programme Lead Schools at British Council, comments: Through Schools Connect, the British Council’s international programme for schools, we are delighted to support the work of the Thames Festival Trust. Together, we are working with schools to bring an international perspective to learning, supporting young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to global challenges, now and in the future.
Kate Forde, Head of Education and Engagement at Thames Festival Trust, comments, River of Hope has given teachers and young people the opportunity to embark on a creative journey where they have been immersed in nature and have been able to express themselves through new artistic processes. It has pushed teachers out of their comfort zone and as result provided some lovely surprises! We hope that this project has given them a glimpse of how powerful the arts can be at connecting us to other cultures and delivering important messages about climate change and the future of our planet.
A 2021 survey of over 4,000 young people by environmental organisation Hubbub suggests that a significant percentage of young people are neither knowledgeable about, nor engaged with climate change. The survey suggests that 30% feel that climate change is not a problem relevant to them. River of Hope focuses on raising awareness of environmental issues amongst these young people and giving them voice and agency in navigating the climate crisis through art and creativity.
