Act up and get arty with

Classic FM Arts & Kids Week

25th October - 2nd November 2008

Over 1000 events for children to be held in cultural venues across the UK this Autumn Half Term as part of Classic Fm Arts & Kids Week, created by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts.

Running from the 25th October to 2nd November, Classic FM Arts & Kids Week is the perfect opportunity to involve your children in the full spectrum of the arts right on your doorstep. By visiting www.childrenandarts.org.uk/events and entering your postcode into our search engine you can discover the variety of arts events taking place in your local area, from plays to painting, storytelling and music workshops to film making and animation.  

Supporters of Children & the Arts include; Jeremy Irons, Jude Law, Quentin Blake, Julian Lloyd Webber, Baz Luhrmann and Pauline Collins some of who will be participating in Arts & Kids Week and special Art & Kids Week programmes will be broadcast on Classic FM throughout half term.  

As part of Children & the Arts’ wider mission to provide children with a high quality and sustained experience of the arts, Arts & Kids Week aims to encourage children & their families to visit their local cultural venues in the hope that the arts become part of children’s everyday lives. 

The arts have the power to transform children’s lives and have a proven positive impact on their development; improving their self esteem and confidence, attainment across the curriculum and most importantly they encourage creativity, experimentation and fun. 

Rebecca Eastmond, Director The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, said “Arts & Kids week is a great way for mums and dads to give their children the chance to experience all that the creative arts have to offer. Getting involved is not only fun it can also open up a young person’s eyes to new ideas and wider horizons.”

Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM said, “Children & the Arts lead the way in bringing all art forms to youngsters who otherwise wouldn’t encounter them in their everyday lives. Classic FM Arts & Kids Week is a brilliant opportunity to introduce children to the arts and show them how they can be part of everyday life.”

The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts is an educational charity committed to helping children experience the arts in a high quality and sustained way.

Children & the Arts provide access for young people who would otherwise grow up having had no or very limited opportunity to engage with the arts. Children who take part are drawn from both urban and rural areas of deprivation and come from a variety of backgrounds. Many have behavioural and learning difficulties.

Children & the Arts will work with 32,000 children in 2008/09 from across all of the UK.

Children & the Arts is one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President; 17 of the 19 Charities were founded personally by The Prince.  The group is the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the United Kingdom raising over £120 million annually.

The organisations are active across a broad range of areas including opportunity and enterprise, the built environment, responsible business, education and health. Additionally six social enterprises have a combined annual turnover of 90 million; all their profits are donated to charity. The charities reflect The Prince of Wales's long-term and innovative perspective, and seek to address areas of previously unmet need.