Our Ethos…

Make+Paint began in 2012 in West London, with a class of 10 eager, primary school aged makers and painters. Tanya Saunders, a parent at our local Chiswick primary school felt that the national curriculum failed to sufficiently nurture the creative and imaginative side of the young child. With the encouragement and enthusiasm of an understanding Head Teacher, who acknowledged how stretched the system was in terms of offering creative subjects, Make+Paint was quickly up and running as an after school club.

Since 2012, Make and Paint has taught over 1,500 children across 5 West London Primary Schools. Children age 5 - 11 have been introduced to an endless variety of visual arts. Ceramics, sculpture, textiles, painting, collage, assemblage, printmaking, drawing, and so much more.

All our projects are linked to the natural world, its flora and fauna and our human history through the ages. Our materials are collected termly from the ‘Scrapstore’ a charity organisation promoting the principles of ‘re-use’ through arts, education, and play. We avoid as much as possible the purchase of new materials to actively encourage rethinking waste and avoid completely new plastics, in particular polystyrene.

With the help of wonderful UAL art school graduates, practising artists and like minded supportive parents, Make+Paint has been able to thrive during every academic term since we began. The success of our clubs has however been built almost entirely on the creative curiosity of our young children. In our fast paced, ever progressive digital age, it has never been more important for our children to explore their imaginations. Learning to use their hands as powerful tools, exploring new materials and being able to bring to life all manner of ideas using disciplines that have been with us for centuries, are essential, fundamental skills that should be accessible to every child.

Tanya Saunders is now Head of Art at Kensington Prep School in Fulham, a GDST school. Make+Paint still runs in local primary schools.