The Fringe Society is looking for a Scotland-based artist and an artist assistant to deliver a co-creative project with an ASN (Additional Support Needs) school in North Edinburgh as a part of our Fringe ASN project.
This year we are working with Oaklands School, which provides a significantly adapted and supportive learning environment for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities and often associated health care needs, aged 3 to 18 years old.
Students at Oakland have a range of complex disabilities. Many, but not all, of the students use wheelchairs and the majority are non-verbal. In offering this funding, we hope to offer an opportunity to an artist to engage with wider demographics, develop their practice and engage meaningfully with a local community in Edinburgh.
We have specifically chosen to work with ASN schools on this project as a direct result of feedback from ASN teachers who find the Fringe challenging to navigate with a group of their students and are looking for ways to remove some of the barriers.
With this in mind, we arrange for Fringe work to be taken to them so that they can experience performances and workshops in their own environments.
The Scottish artist will spend an hour a week for 12 weeks in the school, creating a creative project with the students and teachers.
Last year we worked with Woodlands School, and two teachers gave the following quotes:
‘The learners engaged well with the activities from the very start, and the whole theme soon captured everyone’s imaginations. I feel that the real strength of the session lay in the involvement of the participants at every stage; their creative ideas were taken seriously and skilfully guided into creating a performance at the end of the class.
The young people (and staff!) learned some simple but effective techniques for mime. The whole experience was entertaining, thought-provoking and unforgettable.’ – Martin O’Gorman, Drama and English teacher at Woodlands College
‘The artist was creative, well-prepared and adaptive during each performance, which created an inclusive and enjoyable performance experience for all. The visual set of the magic show was brilliant and it set the scene for a wonderful performance.
The staff team who also enjoyed the performances highlighted how engaged the young people were.’ – Teacher, Woodlands College