Generation Green

26 Dec

Showcasing our Young Green Maker Initiative

This exhibition showcases a series of workshops here at MAKE SW, in local schools and colleges. This was delivered as part of the launch of our Young Green Maker Initiative (Young GMI).

Our highly regarded Green Maker Initiative (GMI), established in 2021, supports makers on their journey to become more sustainable in their creative practice.

This year, we are excited to have launched our Young GMI, increasing the scope of our support to young creatives and advocating for the benefits of materials and practical skills-based learning in schools - something that has virtually disappeared from the schools curriculum.

For this programme, we asked our pledged Green Makers to run workshops in a local secondary schools, teaching the students about their sustainable craft. Our workshop aims are always for participants, both young and old, to learn practical skills and materials-based knowledge, and for these we also wanted to encourage dialogue and thinking about sustainability and choice of materials and techniques.

Workshops were held at Ivybridge Community College; Glendinning Academy, Newton Abbot; South Dartmoor Community College, Ashburton, Callington Community College and Heathfield Youth Club. The work you see here is the result of these workshops, alongside work by the tutors. We are grateful to The Arts Society and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their support.

12 November - 23 November 2024
Riverside Gallery

“This was such a fantastic opportunity for the students to experience something outside of the curriculum and I have never seen them so focused.....it resulted in one of the best days I have had in my teacher career so far!” - class teacher

“...the imagination and thought they put into their creatures was lovely, for example one student designed a rhinoceros to represent the last rhinoceros left in the wild” - workshop leader

“I enjoyed doing the art day as I had a great day and loved learning Karen's style of art. I learnt how to print with plastic that you can collect on the beach daily and create a large piece of artwork for the school , which made me think more about the quote 'there is more plastic than fish in the sea' and I thought more about the environmental issues and impact on animals. But most importantly I had fun! ” - Scarlett a student from Ivybridge Community College

Inside the gallery

These fab photos were taken for us by work experience student Molly, who spent the day with us helping our exhibitions team!

The Newspaper Dress

This incredible dress is the creation of Flo Ayres (15), who took part in our Young Green Maker Initiative pilot project: run your own sustainable fashion accessory brand, in April/May 2024.

Flo says:

“I spend all of my time making, sewing and crafting and love fashion. I love to come home from school, grab my sketch book, create a design then making the sketch come to life.

I particularly enjoy making garments from charity shop finds and recycled materials or every-day objects to create something unique. I also like to use my sewing machine to create more traditional garments adding a twist to them to make them stand out. I am inspired by the bold statement pieces of Lady Gaga and Disney’s Cruella.

My newspaper dress creation with bodice and skirt, which was inspired by the Disney character Cruella garbage dress. I really enjoy incorporating aspects from the environment into my garments and making use of waste materials. The environment is important to me and both highlighting the need to look after it and minimising our impact is important.”

This dress is a masterclass in how to create something beautiful out of reclaimed / waste materials. Both the technical and design skill to create this garment is outstanding and we are incredibly lucky to be able to display it as part of this exhibition.

The dress is on loan to us for the duration of the exhibition.

Do you know a young person who is involved with creative sustainable projects and might benefit from our support or guidance? We would love to hear from you or them. Please email Hannah Mills-Brown: hannah@makesouthwest.org.uk.

This exhibition, and the workshops that fed into it, has been made possible by generous funding from:

Part of the Green Maker Initiative Season

Throughout November, December and January we’ll be celebrating our Green Maker Initiative (GMI) Season; hosting events, workshops and exhibitions themed around the natural world and championing sustainable craft.

Find out more HERE.