Year 10 students at Ron Dearing UTC have been getting creative with colour as they experimented with spray paints as part of a major art project.
The workshops with Hull visual artist Maniuko saw 40 students learn spray painting tips, tricks and techniques as part of the wider 18-month Shorelines Project, which is raising awareness of climate change and flooding, and the impact it could have on Hull and its young people in the future.
The students are preparing to work with world renowned digital street artist Erin Ko to create a mural highlighting the issue and will share their designs with her to help form part of the final piece at a location to be confirmed in Hull city centre.
The project will combine New York-based Erin’s specialisms of art and technology to breathe life into the piece and the spray painting workshops are helping to inspire the students’ creativity and ideas as they work on their own designs.
Maniuko said: “Spray painting is another medium in the art world and I’m showing the students how to use it. If you’re eager to learn, like they are, you can achieve a lot.
“I’ve explained the basics and what is required for health and safety, and they’ve really enjoyed it so far. There are no mistakes, it’s a learning curve, and they’ve got some great ideas.”
Year 10 students also took part in a workshop with artist John Keen, who taught them how to use Adobe Photoshop to develop their painting style as part of the Shorelines Project.
Lynn Garland-Collins, Creative Director at Ron Dearing UTC, said the workshops are a great way to expand the students’ artistic knowledge as they progress with the project.
She said: “They’ve had a few workshops with artist Andy Pea and now Maniuko, who specialises in spray painting, and they’ve really enjoyed it.
“They’ve designed their own ideas of what they would like to include in the mural and will pitch them to Erin, who will hopefully use some of those elements in her piece.
“The intention of the project is to raise awareness of rising sea levels in Hull and how it will affect us in the future, which is an incredibly important issue and something we all need to be aware of. This is a great opportunity for our students to get involved in a fantastic project.”
Year 10 student Bo Butler said: “The Shorelines project is great because it spreads awareness and makes people listen. This is the first time I’ve used spray paint and I really like it. It’s much easier than I thought it would be.”