This winter StART (St Albans Rainbow Trail) are shining a light in the community through a special collaborative display with St Albans Museums & Gallery. Selected artworks will be displayed on the museum railings from November - February through the darkest months of the year through the theme of ‘Shine A Light’.
This collaborative community display aims to celebrate all the different things that keep us positive and connected during the dark winter months.
A special thank you to all the creatives, groups, families, schools and teachers within our community who have taken part in this initiative. You can see the full selection of works created below.
St Albans Rainbow Trail Community Star
Created by the community at the Christmas Cracker 2022 as a StART community initiative.
16th St Albans Beaver Scouts Shine A Light on Marine Life
The lodge theme for the Beaver this year is ‘marine life’. The three lodges are Water, Orca and Great White and this is what inspired a shiny marine scene. The Beavers worked in their lodges to select fabrics, paper and toys to make marine collages on their tables. They had fun experimenting with different textures and seeing what happened to the shimmery materials when light was shone upon them.
Aditri - Oakwood Primary School - Fourteen Candles
Alisha - Sunflowers and Fireflies
I thought the sunflowers caught the light in this painting and shone for all to see.
Amna Rehan - Golden Haze
Anne Marie Whitton
During 2022 and 2023 I took part in a year long art course at Newlyn School of Art, Cornwall. It was there that I was inspired to draw and paint the light. We went on many walks to collect drawings and photographs of the area. I love to work spontaneously with inks, brushes, sticks and black India ink. The light has been captured with mark making using wax that’s rubbed over the surface of the paper.
Belle - Aboyne Lodge - Lets sleep under the glistening twilight stars
Cary Khan - Flip
Davinder Youngs
Debbie Paul - Spread the warmth
When I was growing up in India, the arrival of Diwali meant that the usual warm weather was changing in that autumnal, chill, the warmth of a Diya or a candle signified a lot of love in the greyness of the UK. The memories and warmth that it brings hasn’t changed a bit, here is to childhood memories
Deepa - Shine a light on the problems we share
Diana Sandetskaya - Parkside and Mill Hill
Diana Sandetskaya is inspired by everchanging colour, light anddramatic scenery, presented by nature as well as nocturnalsettings, often in the context of a suburban landscape. She isinterested in a change of the emotive response of the viewer tothe same places depending on the time of day, weather, season,as well as one's mood, imagination, narrative and personalexperience. Sandetskaya records what she has seen andexperienced, capturing local scenes that evoked in her a sense ofawe, either visually and/or emotionally.
DSAchieve 'Little Achievers Group'
DS Achieve is a charity working to support and empower young people with Down Syndrome. These artworks were made by three under 5's from DS Achieve's Little Achiever's group.
Gabriella - Shine a Light, find a rainbow
Hannah Sessions - Light of the World
Holly Foster
Kieran - Shine a Light
Marie Sprakes
Matt Mosa - Shine a Light
Meena - Sunlit Savannah
Light Through Flowers - the Hassan family
'We kept the theme as Shining through flowers and we all got involved in making an artwork each that involved flowers. This was inspired by one of the things that we all did together during lockdown – gardening and growing beautiful flowers in our garden during that time. This is a reminder of how we all found a light within during that dark time' The Hassan Family
Natasha - St Albans High School for Girls - Seven mandelas for positivity
“ I create mandala’s as a means to be calm, relaxed and to assure myself of being me and what I want to be.”
Preet Cox - Snowy Fern in Moonlight
Sangita Patel
As someone who has always loved taking photos, I am fascinated and entranced by the relationship between light, shadows, reflections and colour, and am a firm believer that ''Light turns the ordinary into the magical''.
Shiam - Snowy Night
I did this as part of an art zoom group with many members of my family.We had participants from all over the world .This reminded us of many Christmas nights we have had as a family.
Stephanie Belton
Suman Gujral
The poem was inspired by an upsetting interaction and I wanted to state how a sense of community and our self worth can help
The Lacy Heart was inspired by my mum’s house - she used to sew all my clothes and trim them with lace
Jodie Smart - Sunny Kids Shine
This is created around the Sunny Kids Shine ethos and quote, "For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it." ― Amanda Gorman
The Williams family
Zoey Chu - Pause and take a break
Having work from day to night, It is time to get yourself to feel bright. Take a break and capture sunset light,tomorrow will be another day to fight
Zoe Mossenton-Stone - Herts Chalk Walk
This artwork came to mind as I am struggling myself with making time for self care whist trying to be a
good Mother (of 3), Wife, Friend, and run 2 small business.
St Albans High School for Girls - Year 7 & 8
Bernards Heath Junior School
Created by the children at Bernards Heath Junior School (hover over the pictures for the children's names)
Skyswood Primary and Nursery
'Florence Nightingale is our current History topic so this was an ideal opportunity for some cross curricular work! Florence was known as ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ because she used to walk the halls of Scutari hospital at night tending and reading to the wounded soldiers.' Ms Harvey and Mrs Reynolds, Y2 Skyswood Primary and Nursery School.
Hover over the pictures to see the children's names.
