Drawing Breath Schools Commission for Lewisham Borough of Culture

An extraordinary animation co-created by over 130 Lewisham Secondary pupils

Premiering 30th November – Projected on the side of the Old Town Hall Catford!

For Lewisham Borough of Culture 2022, artist Dryden Goodwin and Invisible Dust are working with more than 130 pupils from five Lewisham secondary schools in the creation of an ambitious animation raising awareness on air pollution and celebrating the power of collective action.

In Early September 2022, art teachers from Addey + Stanhope, St. Matthew Academy, Hatcham College, Deptford Green and Forest Hill School attended a special twilight session led by Goodwin, Invisible Dust and science lead Dr Ian Mudway of Imperial College, kindly hosted at Addey + Stanhope School with the support of LEAN.

Following resources and guidance from the artist and their teachers, each of the 130+ participating pupils will create a set of frames to be collated by Goodwin into a final animation to be projected large-scale on the side of the Old Town Hall in Catford, on the 30th November, as part of a major finale event for the Breathe:2022 programme and alongside Goodwin’s major final animated work.

What are our aims for this project?

Co-created with Imperial College air pollution scientist Dr Ian Mudway, ‘Drawing Breath’ is grounded in the realities of air pollution, its impact on our health and our communities, but filled with hope

Lucy Wood, Invisible Dust “The final animation will be an exciting piece of work, cohesive yet vibrant with each student’s unique hand and style. Above all, this co-created animation will celebrate the power of the collective, and how we are greater than the sum of our parts. It will give pupils the chance to learn from an acclaimed artist, and have ownership of a piece of major public art that is an urgent cry for a clean air future.”

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