Design competition for new Children’s Hospital
Calling all young patients, families, artists, budding architects and designers! Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is going to build a brand-new Leeds Children’s Hospital and we need your help to design it.

Draw a picture, paint, make a model, write a poem, make it in Minecraft or Lego, make a short video- anything you like, it’s up to you! For a chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher, take a picture of your creation in good lighting (you don’t have to do this for a video) and share it at: https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/daring-designers-competition.

Entries are open to anyone under 18 years old and the deadline is Friday 12 June 2020 – good luck!

Young People encouraged to share their Covid experiences
Across the city, the lives of children and young people have been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are having to come to terms with a whole new normal way of living and finding different and innovative ways to cope. The COVID Diaries project run by CEG (a national business) and Leeds City Council offers a way to capture their experience and will provide a valuable historical snapshot of Leeds for future generations.

People of all ages across Leeds are being invited to share their stories, experiences and thoughts about the coronavirus pandemic, but they are particularly keen to hear from children, young people and families.

You can submit your entry, absolutely anything you want, in any format! It can be hand-written, typed, drawn, painted, recorded etc. and can be a blog, video diary, song, piece of music, social media post, a photo, a poem, a piece of artwork … it doesn’t have to be a diary entry!

For more info & to submit entries, visit: www.coviddiaries.co.uk , Instagram,  , Twitter or Facebook

Storytelling and drama from Polka Theatre
Watch a story and have a go at some of the related activities: suitable for younger children.

Leeds Children’s Mayor 2020 – Schools invited to enter
Despite the Coronavirus outbreak, the city will still be holding elections for the next Leeds Children’s Mayor (LCM) this year. The LCM team have adapted and tailored the programme to enable year 5 children to participate even if they’re in a home learning setting. Primary schools in the city, who would like their year 5 cohort to participate, can now download a teacher information pack and home entry pack from the Leeds Children’s Mayor portal.

The deadline to submit entrants is Wednesday 17th June Here is a short video from Wania the current Children’s Mayor who explains what she likes about the programme.

Get outside!
• Thursday 21st May is Outdoor Classroom Day! Their website has lots of ideas on it, all based on being outside and using natural resources.

Get making!
• Artist Darrell Wakelam has shared around 50 different things to make – including step by step instructions- from materials you would find in your recycling bin (plates, plastic milk cartons, egg boxes etc) over the past few weeks. They really are fantastic! You can find them by visiting his twitter feed @DarrellWakelam 

Get inspired!
• Leeds based tutti frutti’s #TuesdayTakeover sees their creative practitioners take over the tutti frutti social media and share their brilliant ideas and activities! Coming up this week and next:
Tuesday 19 May – Catherine Chapman, regular designer of the lovely tutti frutti sets, costumes and props (including Ugly Duckling and Rapunzel), will be delivering brilliant craft activities.
Tuesday 26 May – Christella Litras, who created the beautiful sound for Yellow is the Colour of Sunshine, will be doing all things music and fun! Tune into Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to get involved!

• Leeds Libraries weekly newsletter #7 is out now to read. This week is the Hay Festival Programme for Schools . They are delivering it online and it’s free for anyone to watch. Events including performance, storytelling and workshops run from 8am every day.

Get involved!
• Tiny Revolutions: Since the start of the lockdown, Fun Palaces has been asking people to share ways they are enjoying their own creativity to connect with neighbours whilst safely social distancing. These Tiny Revolutions are easy steps anyone can take to connect a little more in their local community or pass time creatively in self-isolation. Fun Places are particularly keen on including the many people who have very limited or no internet access (around 12 million in the UK) and so many of the Tiny Revolutions are also available as a one-page download to print and share with care or food deliveries for the vulnerable or isolated.

The Henry Moore Institute have launched a competition  based on their new exhibition: Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body.   They have invited people across Leeds to have a go at drawing one of the art works, Bumpman (currently displayed outside the gallery in the city centre). The challenge is to create a drawing that looks as 3D as possible. There are some handy hints and tips and a video tutorial here to help you out. The deadline is the 20th May. There are three categories (under 10 years, 10 – 18 years, 18+) and Paloma Varga Weisz is the judge!

Leeds Libraries and Schools Library Service have a weekly newsletter with lots of ideas and things to do. Their ‘Top Picks’ select activities suitable for specific age groups (this week includes a ‘draw along’ with Nick Sharratt and listening to Saviour Pirotta read The Golden Bird of Swan Street.)

Annie Berrington, from Get Out More, one of our creative workshop practitioners, has shared Nature on Our Doorstep activities to do outside.

The Youtube Makers Club from Playful Leeds has a selection of online tutorials, some of them created by children and young people, of things to make and do.

Child Friendly Leeds have put together an Ultimate Guide of all things child friendly .  Please take a look and share with your families.

If you want to share any of your creative activities, please tag us on Twitter @ArtFormsLeeds

The National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) have compiled some Remote Learning Resources for teachers and families, signposting to different websites which can support art activities and learning at home.  They are categorised by age: Reception is here and Key Stage 1 and 2 is here.

The Tate Kids website is full of creative ideas .  Have a go at making a collage snail in the style of Matisse!

Get inspired by Spring and practise your D&T skills by making a pop up Spring Garden.

Try out Joseph Coehlo’s brilliant poetry prompts or go on a miniature adventure inspired by The Borrowers.

Please share your creations by tagging us on Twitter @ArtFormsLeeds