PRIMARY school pupils have contributed to an art project set to be displayed in a top London gallery.
Youngsters at Colne Engaine Primary have helped to create scenes as part of a Giant Dolls’ House installation at the V&A Museum of Childhood as part of Refugee Week.
The Giant Dolls’ House has more than 100 rooms made by pupils covering a wall of the museum, to go alongside those designed by Syrian refugees, charity shop volunteers and members of the public.
Darcey Jeggo, aged nine, created a dream-like scene of an underwater bedroom in a shoebox.
She said: “Every child worldwide should be able to sleep safely, so they can dream big dreams.”
The installation supports Oxfam’s Stand As One campaign which aims to make sure the Government provides help to refugees to keep their families together, escape poverty and rebuild their lives in safety.
Headteacher Julie Sarti said: “This was a fabulous opportunity for our children to think about what makes a home special to them – and to reflect on the plight of refugees.
“It also gave us the chance to stand alongside refugees, engaged in exploring the same question, working towards the same creative outcome.
“How wonderful to then have the chance to contribute to an exhibition at the V&A Museum.”
The installation came following a number of workshops led by architect Catja de Haas in schools in the UK and a refugee camp in Jordan.
The rooms created by refugees include a garden left behind in Syria, the memory of a traumatic experience, and the dream home or business of the future.
Giant Dolls’ House creator Catja said: “The children who participated were very inventive and fully engrossed in the project.
“One of the girls in the refugee camp came back the next day with an even bigger box to fill and one boy managed to make a battery-driven fan for in his room.
“The installation shows that in order to be part of a community one needs to have a home in it.”
Visitors to the V&A Museum of Childhood can attend a drop-in workshop where they can make their own room to add to the dolls’ house.
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