PUPILS at a local school have worked on a project about identity and culture, written, composed and performed in a music video.
Pupils at Cantref Primary School, Abergavenny, have worked on a project about identity and culture, called the 'Cynefin Project', where they wrote, composed and performed in a music video, released to the public on Friday, July 5, and funded by the Arts Council Wales.
Class teacher, Claire Baulch, said the project has been "such a journey" and she wished she could "bottle the emotion I feel when I look at what the children have achieved."
She said: "I am incredibly proud of these wonderful children and their powerful message that we could all learn a thing or two from."
30 children took part in the project, all of whom were either 8- or 9-years-old, and worked on the project for around 8 weeks.
Neil Murphy, father of Alfie who was one of the children that took part in the project, said: "The children have been so passionate throughout their Cynefin Project.
"This topic holds so much relevance in today's society and they have completely owned it and made it their own.
"I am so proud of year 4, Miss B and Joe for what they have achieved.
"They certainly made all of the grown ups take notice and delivered something beyond their years.
"It fills me with pride & confidence that this class belongs to a generation that can eradicate discrimination & make the world a better place."
Ms Baulch, 34, added: "The Arts Council Wales funded this project that gave us our creative practitioner, Joe.
"We applied for the funding just before Christmas, being accepted in the new year."
Ms Baulch said creative practitioner at Arts Council Wales, Joseph Roberts, met with the pupils for introductory sessions after February 2024, where the team created an "enquiry question based around culture and identity.
She said: "We felt the children's understanding of this lacked depth.
"We deconstructed culture into some 'sub areas' after realising it's the things that humans do and enjoy, in different ways for different reasons, and hip hop allowed us to explore these sub areas authentically."
The school's budget allowed them to invite other artists to join the production team: Onyx - dancer; Tia - lyricist; Amelia - graffiti; Warren - videographer; and Joe - videographer and hip hop lover.
Ms Baulch said: "Every Friday for about 8 weeks, we spent the day working with artists and on our project but we spent much more classroom time taking our project further."
Joseph 'Joe' Roberts, creative practitioner at Arts Council Wales and director of 'The Hold Up' Arts Collective CYF, said: "Using Hip-Hop culture as the vehicle, we helped pupils to understand what 'culture' actually is and its impact on our personal and collective identities.
"True Hip-Hop based education is more than just learning how cool music or dances are made.
"Deeply rooted in tenets like 'knowledge of self,' the culture has been nurturing 'ambitious, capable learners' for over 50 years.
"This approach not only aligns seamlessly with the new Welsh curriculum, but can profoundly impact people of all ages who experience it."
During the project, the pupils created 'diverse productions' as their overarching brand to promote inclusivity and unity, but had the chance to explore and express their individuality along the way.
They designed T-shirts, created their own tracks which have been released on streaming platform, SoundCloud, and some of the families prepared meals from their own cultures for the pupils to try.
Ms Baulch said the pupils got to eat dahl with their hands, which proved to be "a hit!" with the group.
Sharing food and their individual experiences allowed the pupils to appreciate the similarities and differences between each other, using this to make connections to bigger concepts such as culture and identity.
The pupils put what they had learned in a song and music video, which they wrote, composed and performed themselves.
They were given the opportunity to present and perform to governors and parents. According to Ms Baulch, "their powerful and moving lyrics have had an impact on everyone that's had the opportunity to watch."
"I'm lucky enough to work with them again next year, and we hope to look even closer at where we live and how our identities and cultures belong to and in Wales."
Watch the music video written, composed and performed by pupils from Cantref Primary School, below.
As part of the Cynefin Project, a short documentary about the project was also created, which you will find below.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here