INTRODUCTION
In March 2001, the Whitechapel Art Gallery ran a drawing project in two primary schools with artist Simon Faithfull who uses the Palm Pilot in his work.

The children in two Year 5 classes, Gallion School in the London borough of Newham and Ben Johnson School in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, used the palm pilot to make drawings of their school environment. During the four week project they produced drawings on the Palm Pilots and then emailed their drawings to the other 'mystery' school. Each class assembled a wall of images of their own school and of the unknown school.

This site provides guidelines to enable Key Stage 2 teachers to develop links with another school and carry out a version of the project. This is the first of a series of online initiatives which are intended as a starting point for teachers to develop their own ideas and build on the Whitechapel's programme of artists working in schools.

 

'It's the perfect combination of IT and Art. Because you can create the simplest diagram and it can really look good. It's a perfect link, because it's not like colouring in shapes, or getting the computer to draw different lines. It's done by your own hand.' (P.J.)
'Looking at things closely the way they've had to for this project links up with looking at yourself from the outside. The children are seeing themselves, in school, in a global way. They're finding a place for themselves in the world, because they have something to judge their school experience against.' (Diana)
I want to remove the mystique of authenticity, the artist's hand, etc. through using the computer, but it's a paradox because the artist's hand is still very much there.' Simon Faithfull
There is also a section with guidelines for parents of children aged about 8 to11 who have access to a Palm Pilot and who want to carry out a similar project at home. In Palm Pilot Penpals, the children exchange drawings with other children by email.

The project was led by Simon Faithfull and Karen Raney. The teachers we worked with were: Gallion School: class teacher P.J. Prince, art co-ordinator Becky Plumber. Ben Johnson School: class teacher Diana Ingrey, coordinator Debbie Kurup. Project coordinators at the Whitechapel Art Gallery were Alistair Raphael and Russell Martin. Website text and project notes were written by Karen Raney. Website designed by Carl Stevenson.
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