Educational Role

Topolski Memoir Ltd engages actively with Feliks Topolski’s legacy and its continuing relevance to today, promoting learning and practical engagement with the artist’s work for the inspiration and enjoyment of all. Through its education programme, the organisation aims to respond to local learning needs and provide a range of educational opportunities through access to the work and techniques of Feliks Topolski.

The programme is designed to broaden the experiences and enhance the lives of people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.  Its aims are to:

• Enhance awareness of Feliks Topolski’s multi disciplinary art activities and encourage wider appreciation and cross pollination in creative practices.
• Facilitate reflection and creative expression through the exploration of individuals’ experiences of the twentieth century and beyond.

Some examples of our previous work include:

Schools programme 2009-11
Over 600 primary and secondary school students, many from some of London’s most deprived communities, have participated in Topolski Memoir Ltd’s exciting range of activity based sessions and art workshops. Developed in conjunction with teachers, evaluation of the programme has shown that it promotes students’ chronological understanding, their appreciation of cultural, ethnic and religious diversity and ability to think critically about democracy and human rights, as well as helping to develop students’ creativity and competency in expressing their own perceptions and experiences through art.

Minding the gap 2009-10
This participatory art and drama project culminating in a performance and exhibition, delivered in partnership with the Tricycle Theatre, reached 400 young people aged 12-16. A vast majority were unaccompanied minors living in the UK and not in mainstream education. Evaluation of the project showed that the young people had improved language, art and drama skills, self-confidence and social and group work skills. The project was the first time many had accessed the arts within education.

Portfolio preparation 2010-11
Eleven young people wishing to access further or higher education in the arts undertook ten weeks of professional training aimed at helping them develop portfolios to support their applications. All of the young people rated the course as being geared towards their needs well designed with clear goals, helpful feedback and motivating activities, and in the words of one student, with “lots of attention to personal needs.”

50+ Art Club 2010-12
A weekly community art workshop facilitated by an artist and attended regularly by local older people. The club has been proven to increase participants’ social interaction and emotional wellbeing as well as helping them to develop new skills. Regular practice led to a group exhibition of participants’ work in August 2011 attended by over 100 people.