Talented Hill West Primary School pupils are brushing up on their artistic skills this summer.

Budding artists will be able to view their creations in a virtual gallery as part of a national initiative to get more children and young people into art.

Children’s Art Week will see thousands of children, their teachers and their families taking part in fun, creative activities at home and in schools across three weeks from 29 June to 19 July.

Venues of all types and sizes—from libraries to community halls, heritage venues and country parks, schools and of course museums and galleries across the UK—are hosting online and remote activities that will help children and young people to be inspired, engaged and entertained by art.

Children’s Art Week is run by Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education and supported in 2020 by Engage Scotland, Engage Cymru and The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.

This year for Children’s Art Week, Hill West Primary school will be using its online virtual gallery to show children’s artwork. Pupils will be encouraged and inspired by relevant web and artist links to create a variety of works. They will receive virtual support, or support respecting social distancing, and they will work from home or in school if they can. Each week will focus on a dedicated theme.

• Week 1 (from 29 June): The Natural World
• Week 2 (from 6 July): Connecting across generations
• Week 3 (from 13 July): Literacy and creative writing

All work will be shown on the virtual gallery or/and on Twitter. Hill West Primary School have sent out a ‘call for young artists’. They are looking for children at their school who show a passion for art and innovative thinking and ideas. There will be incentives such as ‘artist of the week’ which will be shown on the school’s virtual gallery - view here.

There will be a close eye on quality and creativity and this will lead to an actual art exhibition, which will take place at a future date. The art related themes will be explored by children between the ages of 4 to 11.

Over the past months, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how essential creativity and the visual arts are for learning, connecting and wellbeing.

Year 3 class teacher and art coordinator at Hill West, Clare Whelan, said: "Children will have the opportunity to showcase their work in our online virtual gallery and we are looking forward to seeing the completed pieces as we know our pupils are talented and enjoy learning through art."