News

The Whitehaven Wave

Primary school pupils and University students have joined together for a Cumbria based community arts project.

International student volunteers from the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) medical programme and Year Three children from St. Begh’s Primary School let their creative minds flow to create an eye-catching design for an art piece called the Whitehaven Wave.

The theme of the project, organised by the Centre for Volunteering and Community Leadership and Connected Communities West Cumbria at UCLan, was diversity and it enabled the 20 seven and eight-year-olds to ask many questions to the students who have moved from Africa, Asia and America to study medicine in England.

The project celebrates Whitehaven’s rich cultural history with the creation of the Whitehaven Wave art piece, which shows the town’s connection with the wider world and the people that have visited from so many different countries over the years.

UCLan students and St Begh’s Primary School pupils with their community art project

Bob Walley, from UCLan’s Centre for Volunteering and Community Leadership, said: “Whitehaven has a long-running connection with the rest of the world by being an important port and many people and products have passed through the town. The UCLan students involved in this project are currently based at our Westlakes Campus but have come from different cultures, so it was a great opportunity for the two groups to join together and make a piece of art which represented diversity. The energy and enthusiasm from all involved was wonderful.”

The event took place at Whitehaven’s Beacon Museum and the artwork will be on display in the museum before it is auctioned off for a local mental health charity.