To coincide with the World of Wearable Art (WOW) a small group of Brightwater School students have engaged in making their own wearable pieces as part of the school STEAM programme.
“Last year during World of Wearable Art kids showed a real interest in the classroom, so I thought, based on the interest, we could develop it into a term programme and see where it took us,” teacher Kirsten Powick says.
Students were given criteria that their wearable garments had to achieve - it had to represent a local treasure, have a story behind it, be creative in using recycled materials, and be durable so it didn’t fall apart.
“We used Dame Suzie Moncrieff as our inspiration, we looked at the beginnings of WOW and watched the first show held in the Spring Grove cottage. We compared what it was like initially to what the show is like now.”
“It was great for the kids to see how small beginnings can turn into something that is now recognised all over the world. We were blown away by Suzie’s vision and aspirations for WOW, through determination and hard work it has been a huge success.”
The group watched a number of highlights from previous WOW shows to help develop their initial designs.
Over a 10-week term small teams of students slowly saw their creations emerge.
“There was so much creativity, it was pretty cool,” Kirsten adds.
Near the end of the project, the group received a visit from a child’s mother who had previously worked for WOW for several years.
She shared her knowledge and stories about different garments she had worked with during her time at WOW. She examined garments and gave students tips and advice for improvement which were enthusiastically absorbed.
“There was a lot of collaboration going on,” Kirsten explains. “Kids needed to think outside the square to problem solve. This project really encouraged students to push the boundaries and see what they were capable of by thinking about things in a different way.”
The completed pieces were paraded for the entire school. Pieces represented Snowden’s Bush, Wai-iti and Wairoa rivers, Mount Starveall, and one group found inspiration from Robert Ellis, creating a piece that reflected Brightwater's first electrical streetlights, which were operated by roosting chickens.
“What I really loved about this was that all the kids were given the same criteria and challenge, but every garment was completely different, it was amazing,” Kirsten says.
