We are delighted to announce that the team behind the Multi-Sensory Art Project, our offer for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, have been awarded the Marsh Award for Excellence in Visual Arts Engagement.  The award celebrates those working within learning and engagement within the visual arts sector in the UK and abroad. Becky Churchill, Emma Kerr and Julieann Worrall Hood are the first team to be recognised in this way and are one of only 8 awardees from 21 nominations. 

The Multi-Sensory Art Project provides immersive and interactive experiences of art to local children and young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). The team draws inspiration from the artwork at Roche Court Sculpture Park to create props, handling objects and art installations which evoke all the senses and allow the artwork to be explored through non-verbal means. As one participating teacher states: “We really value the work that you do and the opportunities you provide for us to immerse our most complex students in creative arts activities”. (Olivia Moore, PMLD teacher, Exeter House School)

Becky Churchill set up the project, in partnership with the Educational Trust, in 2012 with the aim of providing high quality experiences of modern and contemporary for those who are least likely to access such opportunities. Throughout the years the project has blossomed and in 2022, the team worked with five different local special schools and organizations onsite at Roche Court, in the classroom and for the first time ever, facilitated an off-site sensory trip to the woods, in Partnership with the Woodland Trust. You can find a video documenting the trip here.  

The project rapidly pivoted online during lockdown and restrictions, beaming the multi-sensory art project into people’s homes and creating a legacy of multi-sensory films and activities, which can be accessed free on our website Julieann Worrall Hood has been instrumental in developing the project’s digital iterations. 

We offer a huge congratulations to Becky Churchill, Emma Kerr and Julieann Worrall Hood for their dedication and invaluable contribution towards making art accessible to all. We would also like to express its thanks to the Wiltshire Community Foundation, who have supported the project since 2018, to Friends of Silverwood School Trowbridge for their generous donations and finally to our partner schools and settings for their enthusiasm and contributions. 

If you would like more information, know a school or setting that may like to be involved, or are interested in supporting the project, please contact us on [email protected]

Bella Gorman, Education Officer