Olympic truce inspires Bsix College students

Digital artwork created by young people and students from across London will be displayed on big screens in the capital’s parks during the Olympics.

BBC Live Site screens will show the works, which have been made to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of a project co-ordinated by arts organisation A New Direction.

Inspired by the concept of the Olympic Truce, where all competing countries agree to a period of truce during the Games, the project explores what truce might mean to individuals, cultures, communities and countries – whether it is shaking hands, putting down arms or ending a disagreement.

As Steve Moffitt, Chief Executive of A New Direction, explains, the aim of the project was to “engage young people in a process where they were contributing, working with artists or by themselves, but they were part of something bigger.”

“Giving young people the space to reflect through making something is an opportunity that young people don’t usually get,” he argues.

As part of the Truce project, students from Bsix Sixth Form College in Hackney have been working alongside professional artist Janette Parris to create short animated films exploring the concept of truce.

The storylines created by the students come to life through the use of Adobe Flash software, to conjure up imaginative and oftentimes humorous renderings of the theme of Truce.

As Janette explains, “Truce isn’t just about wars. It’s about agreeing, it’s about friendship, it’s about making arrangements. So I try to steer clear of war and make it more personal about the students I am working with.”

For the vast majority of students, working on the Truce project was their first experience of making animations. However, Steve Moffitt says that the project not only teaches young people animation skills, but also encourages them to develop their own work.

This has given the artwork a very personal touch, creating a wide variety of animations, with tales of amphibians in London Zoo, cockney pigeons and Brazilian mice.

Meanwhile the animation Going Home explores more immediate issues of conflict and resolution within family groups.

For more information on the Truce project, and the digital artworks that will be on display during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, visit Truce Arts.