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Aberdeen Youth Festival putting children in the picture

Children were encouraged to get in touch with their creative sides
Children were encouraged to get in touch with their creative sides

Organisers of this year’s Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) are turning the spotlight on the artistic skills of local children.

The first in a series of free workshops was held at the Seventeen arts centre on the city’s Belmont Street yesterday.

Sponsored by the Belvidere Gallery on Rosemount Place and supported by local artists, the sessions will encourage youngsters to express themselves through drawings and paintings.

Chris Wells, 27, showed children from Airyhall Primary School the tricks of his trade yesterday.

Mr Wells said: “We’ve got plenty of activities here to let the kids let their imaginations loose a little bit and get them creative, like taking a drawing and passing it on in a circle, designing t-shirts, and just encouraging them to draw whatever they like really.

“I think it’s very important, visual art is something that’s losing focus in current education.”

Over the weeks building up to the workshops the children were also given the chance to enter a competition, judged by Mr Wells.

The winning artworks have now been professionally framed by the Belvidere Gallery, and are hanging at the Belmont street centre.

Kathy Watt, Belvidere co-owner, said: “I think this workshop is tremendously beneficial.

“Once we framed the winners, we exhibited them at our gallery itself, and now they’re up on the walls at Seventeen. The children are loving it.”

Alan Watt, Mrs Watt’s husband and co-owner, added: “When the children see their pictures up there, framed and displayed, to them it’s like they’re scoring the winning goal in a cup final.

“A lot of the children might not be very academic or sporty, so to let them know that their work is being recognised as prize-winning can give them a lot of life-changing confidence.”

Free workshops will also be held from 1.30pm to 3.30pm on Saturday July 26, Wednesday, July 29, and Saturday, August 1.

This year’s AIYF will run from July 24 to August 1.

For more information email info@aiyf.orgcall or call01224 213 800.