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- By Times’ Junior Journalist Jianna Kapoor
When I walked into Uxbridge Arts and Culture in Howick during their recent school holiday programme, I didn’t know what to expect.
Every school holidays they run creative workshops that go for a few hours, giving kids a chance to explore different art forms.
Even though I was only there for an hour or two, the whole place was vibing with creativity.
I saw kids of all ages, from about five to 14 years old, busy painting, sewing and making all kinds of colourful projects.
With over 100,000 people visiting Uxbridge annually, this is a place where your imagination can run wild, and everyone can try something new.
I saw kids running around and drawing all over a giant, overfilled mural.
I could smell the scent of paint and clay in the air.
Each and every person was mostly doing their own thing – the place didn’t feel chaotic at all.
I got to observe the painting and sewing school holiday classes. In the sewing room, the space was filled with sewing machines.
The kids were carefully working on their pieces, stitching bright, colourful patterns.
Even when they tripped up and things got tricky, they kept going.
In the painting room, I saw the kids’ colourful canvases.
They made a painting called Light Up Your Canvas.
They painted an aurora in the starry sky with a set of mountains behind a river, and the final touch was fairy lights – it was an unexpected addition making it even cooler.
There were bright pieces of artwork surrounding the room like a hurricane, with each artwork telling its own story.
Some paintings were super detailed, and others were covered in bright splotches of paint.
Either way, they looked awesome. What I learned from the canvas painting class is that your art doesn’t have to be realistic to be cool – abstract can be just as meaningful and fun.
Even though I didn’t get to try everything, I still felt very inspired. It made me want to go home and try everything for myself.
Uxbridge is such a cool, creative place where people of all ages can have fun.
Whether it’s a parent chatting with friends in the café or kids getting messy in the art classes, everybody can enjoy themselves.
I’d love to go there again and stay longer – maybe even join an art class.
- Jianna Kapoor is in year 7 at Somerville Intermediate School.
