Fakenham High School

As usual, the starting point for our work with Year 10 pupils at Fakenham High School, was study of a range of different artefacts from different parts of Papua New Guinea. The pupils identified the purpose and meaning of each artefact, and looked for equivalents in their own culture and immediate environment.  This led to foraging in the school grounds, and the creation of extraordinary sculptural assemblages. The artists also initiated drama exercises with the pupils, and the making of costumes and props. This culminated in outdoor performances, which at one level were fictional but which also related to pupils' personal and social experiences.Our work with pupils at Fakenham High School looked closely at the idea of equivalents. Understanding that objects from Papua New Guinea were not only art objects, but also functioned as food hooks, devices for telling stories, furniture and so on, meant that a whole range of equivalents could be identified in pupils' homes or as aspects of local rural culture. Discussions extended to what it was like to live in Fakenham and its surrounds more generally from a teenager's perspective, including how different generations related to one another, and how local transport affected opportunities for socialising.