A creative project pitched to an artistic group of secondary school pupils has resulted in a stunning visual display now installed at Atkins Global.
Twelve S2 Harlaw Academy pupils have officially unveiled a large mural of their own making at the design, engineering and project management consultancy’s office at Aberdeen’s
Upperkirkgate.
The art project came as the result of a collaboration between the company and the Aberdeen secondary school.
“I was approached by Alex Campbell, managing director of oil and gas at Atkins Global to create artwork for the reception area in Atkins new office in Aberdeen,” explained Helen Bruce, faculty head of expressive arts at Harlaw who oversaw the student project.
“Class 2H were already working on a mixed media unit using oil rigs as a theme which linked nicely with the Atkins project. We used the expressive development work already done in the classroom on structure, creating visual texture and mixed media as a basis for a large scale 3D relief mural.”
The students involved in the design and creation of the mural, which is 2.8m by 1.1m – were Innes Aitken, Owen Baird, Aiden Boylan, Michal Dec, Hannah Fenwick, Julia Gostrowska, Oliwia Kieszniewska, Natalia Maciejczyk, Verona Preston, Rachel Rothnie, Theo Stott and James Townsley.
The main challenge, Mrs Bruce explained, was in the planning stage as the final mural had to include work from each pupil, but be assembled as a single piece of artwork. The pupils decided on the final outline for the mural and chose the section they wanted to work on – this pupil centred approach reflecting the Curriculum for Excellence.
“This project means a great deal to the school and to the pupils,” said Mrs Bruce.
“As a school we have strong links with local companies in Aberdeen which allows us involvement in the wider community. This kind of project is also a very positive experience for the pupils who not only get a learning experience from creating the artwork but have the added pleasure of being able to see their mural on display in Atkins’ office.”
The art project is the latest collaboration between Harlaw Academy and Atkins, the consultancy having sponsored the school’s new rugby kit.
Alex Campbell explained that the consultancy has long worked with and helped promote projects within the community.
Commenting on the student’s mural, he said: “Everyone who has seen the artwork, including Lord Cullen who opened our office recently, has been very impressed with the work done by the Harlaw Academy pupils. Personally, I think it is a great piece of art that captures the oil / energy industry, which was the brief, and the pupils can be very proud of their work.
“We intend to ‘commission’ more pieces of art from Harlaw Academy and we will work with Helen Bruce to ensure that we choose art projects which are compatible with the school curriculum and help create a great office environment to work in.”
