You & I – Community Clay Project

Please refer back to this page as it will be updated as the project moves forward!

The Big Idea

With the redevelopment of Stockton Waterfront urban park taking place, we would like at least 1000 children from the borough to make a clay figure based on themselves to display in a temporary art installation in 2026, bringing together the children of Stockton-on-Tees.

Inspired by Middlesbrough-born artist Mackenzie Thorpe, each figure will hold a heart or an object that is important to the child who made it.

The final installation will see the clay figures temporarily installed in the development in a special event. The vision will be a wonderful representation and celebration of the children in Stockton, making the connection between the new urban park and the next generation who will use the space.

Workshops

Children from Year 4 & 5 throughout the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council catchment area are creating the figures during clay workshops in their Primary Schools. The individual figures will be fired and retain their natural colour, which will differ according to the clay used. As creative skills are being reduced in timetables due to time and economic constraints, these workshops are a valuable way of encouraging creativity and skills based learning. By taking part in the project, the children will create a clay figure representation of themselves, which would then form a part of the temporary installation.

Timeline

October 2024 Idea comes together and first schools sign up

May 2025 Official Project Launch at Oxbridge Primary School

By Start of June 2026 Expected models total: 870-900 (29-30 schools)

Summer 2026 Final special event

Clay models

• Size of models – Models will be approximately 15-30cm in height.

• Colour – No colours will be used; the colour will come from the different types of clay used for the project.

• Storage prior to the event – We will store the figures, schools are not required to keep them.

Final event

The working title of the project is ‘You and I’. This is reflective of the fact that Year 4 children will see this project through and will be preparing to transition to Secondary School and the changes experienced in that period will be vast and character forming. This also reflects the universal themes of ‘connection’, ‘growing up’, ‘being together/ stronger together’ and to support PSHE learning that everyone is individual and embracing difference and togetherness.

It was also a way of connecting to the text that has overlooked Stockton-on-Tees’ iconic riverside for years: “All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full,” and “We are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.”

The proposal for the delivery of the event is a one day event, with the art works sited with support from a curator and events production team.  Photographing the sculptures at all stages is crucial as, because we are working outdoors, we won’t be able to guarantee that each sculpture is in one piece without slight damage.

The core of the event will focus on ‘play, create, explore’, focusing on the experience of the children who have participated, their teachers, families and our loyal family audiences. The focal point will be the exhibition of the sculptures, hopefully with the addition of some participatory activities and a space to celebrate the children’s/teachers achievements and learning, including a place to showcase the images of the digital gallery.

Digital Gallery

The idea of a digital gallery has been suggested as a way of recording the project in a permanent manner, as well as ensuring each child who participates gets a record of their figure/representation (just in case there are any breakages).