Easton CE Academy
Olivia Plender

Commissioned by Foreground as part of Bristol City Council’s Primary/Bristol series of artist commissions for Primary schools, Olivia Plender will be making a new work for Easton CE Academy.

Plender’s work will respond to elements of play and learning that span the many ethnic cultures present in the school community. The work will use string figures, such as well-known Cat’s Cradle, which appear in most cultures around the world as an activity for both adults and children, to create a unifying structure that would be accessible to all the pupils and that could express difference and the dynamic composition of the school.

The final art work, inspired by workshops with the school pupils, will take the form of a series of new string figures, a large-scale fabric banner and a booklet, both of which will give instruction on how to play the ‘Easton string games’.

This project has been made possible through funding from Bristol City Council as part of the Primary Capital Education Programme, with additional funding from Arts Council England, Henry Moore Foundation and University of the West of England. The work will be permanently housed at Easton CE Academy, Bristol.