One of The Arts Society's aims is to promote an interest in cultural heritage and the arts among children and young people. The Arts Society Wrekin plays its part by allocating a significant proportion of its financial resources to funding activities designed to foster enthusiasm, develop skills and broaden horizons. Our guiding principles are outlined below.
We try to:
- support a range of different types of artistic endeavour and age ranges;
- collaborate with other organisations;
- keep a balance between support for 'elite' talented young artists and others;
- spread our support fairly across different types of locality in our area;
- where possible make links with one of the topics in the year's programme for adult members;
- reflect the context and needs of our locality.
ARTS VOLUNTEERING PROJECTS
Here you can find out about some of our Arts Volunteering projects.
Photographs of most of these events are posted in our gallery. (The Arts Society Wrekin Award for emerging artists is covered separately)
HALLS YOUNG ARTIST
Now in its 11th year we are pleased to be involved once again with the Halls Young Artist competition at Weston Park. Prizes are awarded for schools and individual artists in the junior (age 5 to 11) and senior (12 to 18) catagories. More information is available on the Weston Park website https://weston-park.com/wp-content/uploads/HALLS-YOUNG-ARTIST-2026-INFORMATION-SHEET.pdf
In 2026, the Weston Park Foundation is celebrating 40 years of caring for Weston Park and so the competition theme for this year will be: Weston Park: 40 Years of Care – Ruby Anniversary
TELFORD COLLEGE END-OF-YEAR EXHIBITION - June 2026
This is the twelfth year that The Arts Society Wrekin has been involved in judging the end-of-year exhibition at Telford College. Students on the Level 2 Art and Design course were asked to create a piece of artwork inspired by a visit to Sunnycroft, a National Trust Victorian villa in Wellington. Monetary prizes were awarded for the first, second and third winning entries and also for two highly commended pieces. Photos of the winning artworks and artists can be seen in our gallery.
EDUCATING KIDS OUTDOORS (EKO) at WESTON PARK
EKO work with local schools to inspire children, teachers and families to explore the outdoors in order to learn from, connect with and understand the need to protect the wonders of our natural world.
Creativity is an important factor in engaging with the outdoor environment and nature lends many opportunities for this.
2026 is the 5th year of funding from The Arts Society Wrekin enabling children from six schools in the Telford & Wrekin area to explore the natural world using a variety of creative techniques. These have included:
- Cyanotypes
- Plaster relief
- Print making
- Weaving
- Observational drawing
- Collage
The full report is available in Documents https://theartssocietywrekin.org.uk/documents
ART BYTES
Art Bytes is a national art programme for year 5 and year 9 students in all educational settings, combining an inter-school art competition judged by artists and arts professionals with a bespoke virtual gallery, augmented reality (AR) tools and in-person Celebration Events in cultural venues across England.
For the last two years The Arts Society Wrekin have sponsored three schools in our area to participate. In 2025 a pupil from Lamledge School was thrilled to win the national senior prize.
SCHOOLS PROJECTS SPONSORED BY THE ARTS SOCIETY WREKIN
THE HIGHLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL TILE PROJECT
The Highley Primary School tile project funded by The Arts Society Wrekin has now been unveiled by Selina Graham, Deputy Lieutenant of Shropshire, at the School Sports Day.
Funds were raised at the 2025 Wrekin picnic held at Stanley Hall. A tubelining workshop was held at Craven Dunnill with Jen Kelleher at Jackfield last autumn. The designs produced by the children used the themes of nature, mining heritage, the river and local buildings. The children also visited Jackfield Tile Museum to learn about the history of the Gorge.
Selina said “I loved the variety of the tiles, and they are all still clearly delighted with them too. What a success story!
MASTERCLASS IN SCULPTURE WITH MICHAEL POTTER
A three hour clay modelling workshop was held at Telford College. Students from different classes with an interest in incorporating three dimensionality of the figure into their work were taught by sculptor Michael Potter (Arts Award winner 2022). They studied transparent anatomy to gain an understanding of how the human body is built up of multiple layers, with each stage having an effect on subsequent layers above. In 2025 they started by modelling the hand. The resulting pieces were part of the display at the presentation event for The Kings Award for Voluntary Service at The Ironbridge Gorge Museum in January.
This was the third Art Masterclass for A level students to be funded by The Arts Society Wrekin.
HABERDASHERS ABRAHAM DARBY
Thirty Year 10 students visited the Kinki Glass Studio at Jackfield.
The students developed their own designs which they drew onto a glass tile. Under the expert guidance of glass artist, Nikki Williams, they selected from the special-coloured pens and variety of glass chips provided to create their design. When completed, the loose glass pieces were glued in place. The final stage involved firing the glass at 732°C in a kiln to fuse the elements and create the brightly coloured unique pieces of art - see Gallery. We hope the young artists were inspired by this opportunity to express their creativity. www.kinki-glass.co.uk
ERCALL WOOD ACADEMY
Thirty-two Year 9 students took part in a glass fusion class at school with artist Jemma Finch. The students first created an outline of their design on paper. They then laid a clear glass tile over their paper design and coloured it with glass chips, rods, pens and beads under the tutelage of Jemma. She showed them how to shade their colours and bend glass rods to create curves. It took a lot of concentration and fine motor skills to create their glass designs. Jemma took the tiles back to her studio at The Arty Place in Bridgnorth for firing. Both the students and their teacher were excited to see the finished tiles and how the firing process had affected the colours and designs.
Art teacher Gemma Hayman thanked The Arts Society Wrekin for sponsoring the class and helping to give the students (most of whom were going on to study art as one of their options), a fantastic creative experience and chance to work with a new medium.
Jemma Finch is a talented glass artist who was runner up in the Arts Award 2022. She has a creative art studio where she runs workshops for children and adults in Bridgnorth www.theartyspace.co.uk
WROCKWARDINE WOOD INFANTS AND NURSERY
Thirty-two Year 2 children visited the Craven Dunnill classroom for a session of tubelining on tiles. This decorating technique was very popular in the Art Nouveau period.
The children first prepared their designs on paper. They were shown how to transfer them onto the tiles by expert tutor Jen Kelleher. Jen demonstrated how to use a squeezy rubber bag with a fine nozzle to trace out a thin tube of clay slip. Following a practice session, the children traced out their design to provide separate compartments for the liquid glaze. The colours were all rather dull when they were applied – the young artists must have been delighted to see the bright colours revealed by firing in a hot kiln (1030 deg). We are delighted to know that these tiles will be displayed on the wall at their school.
The children also enjoyed a guided tour around the Jackfield Tile Museum to learn more about the heritage of the area and the importance of tile making in the Ironbridge Gorge.
The workshop and museum visit were sponsored by The Arts Society Wrekin.
WREKIN STORIES – MADELEY ACADEMY
Katherine Soutar, an artist working with the after school art club at Madeley Academy, proposed a collaborative art project which the Arts Society Wrekin agreed to sponsor. Seventy children in Year 7 (12 year olds) worked on the project in their after school art club. Each child painted a canvas square and all the squares were joined to produce the finished picture of the Wrekin. Katherine was able to inspire them to think about the geography, geology, legends, nature, wildlife and their own experiences of The Wrekin.
The finished work measures 2 X 1.7 meters. It is most colourful and impressive. There is a complete picture of the hill but each square is of interest in its own right. Click on the link below to watch a YouTube video showing the creation of the art work.
https://youtu.be/9QB26369BjE
The work was on public display in summer/autumn 2023 but is now exhibited at Madeley Academy. There is a photograph of the work in our Gallery.
HALLS YOUNG ARTIST 2025
The theme for 2025 was ‘Dreams’. Children in primary, secondary education and further education were invited to create artworks on the theme to be in with the opportunity of winning a cash prize for their school funds as well as book tokens and Weston Park family passes for themselves. All mediums were welcomed such as paintings, photography, woodwork, printmaking, drawing and sculpture.
Shortlisted entries were exhibited in The Rose Paterson Gallery during December 2025 and January 2026.
The competition was generously supported by Shrewsbury based auction house, Halls. www.hallsgb.com and also by The Arts Society Wrekin
OTHER ACTIVITIES
THE ALBRIGHTON TRUST - MOAT and GARDENS
The Albrighton Trust provides a range of educational and recreational activities tailored specifically for individuals with physical and learning disabilities, ill-health, or any other challenges. Their ethos is one of inclusivity and support, ensuring that everyone, irrespective of their capabilities, is welcomed with open arms.
The Arts Society Wrekin has supported ‘Woodcrafts’ at the Moat with donations to purchase specialist equipment and to encourage creativity and audition of new skills. An example of one of the items our donations have helped to purchase is a CO2 Laser in conjunction with Light Burn Design software this technique enables the creation of laser cut images into wood.
Handicrafts produced by young people at The Trust are sold to raise funds for the charity.
50TH ANNIVERSARY ART EXHIBITION
During October half term week, The Arts Society Wrekin held a very special 50th Anniversary art exhibition at the Footprint Gallery, Jackfield.
The exhibition, open to the public, displayed work covering three strands.
1. We were able to showcase some of the projects that we have supported with schools and community groups some of whom came along to see their work. The impressive results on display reminded us how life-affirming and vital it is to give children access to creative experiences.
2. The Society is very proud of organising a biennial Arts Award worth several thousand pounds. The aim is to help further the development of up-and-coming local artists. The Society was delighted that the 2020 and 2022 winners of the Award accepted an invitation to exhibit their work.
3. Although the Society's name might seem to suggest that it is an art club, this is far from the truth. Most of its members simply enjoy learning about the arts rather than 'doing' art. It was exciting to recognise and celebrate the talent of those among the membership who also flex their creative muscles.