Art for Animation Day (February 2006)

This project involved Glasgow primary schools Kelvin, Hampden and Broomlea, Broomhill Out of School Care Association and participants who attended our Art for Animation public workshops.

Participants were introduced to the design stage of animation and using a variety of art materials took part in designing backgrounds, models and pictures based around the themes of space, dinosaurs, under the sea and the jungle.

Some of the art work created went on to be developed into animations by Giant and included as part of our theatre and animation adventure The Puzzle which toured around Scotland in May/June 2006.

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Torch Trail (2005)

Inspired by the British Special Olympic Games being hosted in Glasgow , Giant programmed an event for 3-11 year olds and their families.  Influenced by previous summer events, Torch Trail was a combination of making, movement, music and story trails.

Based in the Lighthouse, everybody made their own Olympic torch which was then taken on a story trail.  The trail went outside onto Buchanan St and was accompanied by live music!  Afterwards, everybody arrived back for a workshop inspired by water.  There was movement and making with the sounds of the waves crashing in the background…

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Lights on the Bus (2004)

The bus was back!  This year the bus took its passengers on a light filled extravaganza to a different venue each day: a football stadium, churches, museums all played host to the bus and its passengers.  Following the bus tour which had decorated windows which the children could add to and a storyteller on board, the afternoon session was in two parts.  Firstly, there was an interactive storytrail of the building and then a light inspired workshop. 

The children (and adults!) got to use the lighting desk to create different lighting techniques as well as creating their own design which was projected in a specially constructed tented environment.  At the end of the day, everyone piled onto the bus with their art and sketchbooks and headed home to Partick.

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Changing Faces (2004)

This project was set-up using print making techniques and worked with three print galleries in Scotland .  The Peacock, Aberdeen ; Dundee Contemporary Arts and Glasgow Print Studios.

Giant worked with the three studios to facilitate a series of family workshops looking at self portraiture through the medium of print.  In addition, training was run at each of the venues looking at inclusive arts practice.  This meant there was a more tangiable outcome for the partnership venues and they were retaining skills within their own staff and freelance teams.

The project focused on self portraits and portraits through drawing and printmaking. The printing techniques used were mono printing, carbon printing and trace printing.

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Cre8 (2004/2005)

In June 2004, Giant began working in partnership with The Big Step and Glasgow City Council's Direct and Leaving Care Services to develop a programme of arts work for young parents, and their children, in and leaving care.

The arts activities formed part of a day which also included parenting skills workshops and lunch as well as crèche facilities in order to support the young parents.  The arts element was to give the parents the opportunity to engage in something different creatively and also to give them skills in creative interaction with their children.

Across the three blocks of workshops activities ranged from claywork, mosaics and storytelling to drama and drawing.  At the end of each block the participants all received an art pack containing different arts materials, storybooks etc that could be used at home.

Work from the year long programme was photographed and formed a series of postcards which have been used to promote the project.

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New Year (2004)

Working with children from the Communications Disorder Unit at Barlanark Primary School to celebrate the new year using visual arts to explore hopes, dreams and aspirations.

The children worked to create 2d and 3d images of themselves using drawing techniques and claywork. The children were introduced to blind drawing where they had to draw somebody else s face without looking at the paper they were drawing on (there was only a wee bit of cheating!). The claywork represented the children s heads and used different materials such as wool, string and buttons to add texture to their work. They also created a group piece called a visual poem outlining their hopes.

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Family Festival Days (2003/2004)

The Family Festival Days were programmed to celebrate a series of cultural events including Ramadan, Channukah, Christmas and Mardi Gras. For the different events, Giant took over the CCA, Glasgow with workshops in all sorts of places including a treasure trail round the building. The events were designed for children and their families to come together and take part in a variety of workshops in a festival atmosphere. Families could come and spend the day doing lots of different things or just come and try out one activity. 

Activities included Mehendi Hand Painting, Sweetie Decorating, Stories of Channukah, Carnival Foods, Wiggle and Giggle dancing and Carnival Costumes.

Lots of fun was had by all and the events were a sell out success!

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North Ayrshire Children's Festival (2002 - 2004)

For three years, Giant programmed a week of holiday events for children in partnership with the Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine as part of the Children's Festival. Each a year a loose theme was chosen for the week of workshops and live performances which included everything from jokes and games to Chinese drumming, story-telling and magic.

In 2004 the programme travelled around four different towns in North Ayrshire bringing Big Arts for Wee People right to their doorstep.

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Collins (2002/2003)

In 2002 and 2003, Giant ran a series of workshops in the Collins Gallery, Glasgow , linking in with the exhibitions. These were based on creative play  a combination of drama and visual arts.

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