Arun’s Lavinia Norfolk Centre public art commission
As part of the Young Cultural Changemkers programme, students at the Lavinia Norfolk Centre – a Specialist Support Facility for students with a physical or sensory impairment – at The Angmering School commissioned Mark & Rebecca Ford from Two Circles Design to work with them on the creation of public art pieces to transform their community in and around the school.
Over the course of three months at weekly workshops, 11 students explored what was important to them and what they cared about using music, drawing and painting.
What emerged was a powerful need to be included in decision making, the environment, and ensuring that other people were treated kindly and also experienced being included. When the students explored what they cared about it ranged from ice cream to football, space travel to the environment, as well as each other.
Working with Two Circles Design, the young people have created three new permanent artworks, in and around their school:
Dragons Egg: A 3m high giant woven egg to express potential, accessed by a new wheelchair navigable meandering path.
‘Come Fly with Me’: 250 brightly painted swallow cut-outs, flying across the front of the school, painted by over 100 students (some with messages written on the back) and representing the individual in community, the uniqueness and similarities of us all and that we are all stronger together.
‘Bloom’ a 2.5m diameter circular painted mural, depicting things the students care about and they enjoy, and their school community. This piece can be best viewed from one window at the Lavinia Norfolk Centre. The students created the intentional element of the art work being partially out of view, representing how much more there is to all of us than what can be initially seen. The mural has a gold background to represent the value in us all.
These three art pieces are the culmination of a collaboration between the students, their ideas and the vehicle of art to express themselves. It was a privilege to be on this creative journey with them.
On 28 March, 2025, over 100 students at the school gathered to celebrate the launch of these artworks, in a student-designed event featuring NASA-countdown, confetti cannons, ice-cream truck, live music and balloon animals.
You can see photos from the event here:
Three short films of the creation of each artwork will be available here soon, accompanied by sound and music created by the students in experimental sound workshops with musician Mike Fry.