Children of all ages are being invited to contribute to an art exhibition being presented at Portsmouth Cathedral during September. This exhibition is called Art Action : Turning The Tide On Climate Change. It will involve both 2D and 3D work from people of all ages, professional and non-professional alike. As part of this exhibition there is a children's project called Footprints For A Future.

Children are invited to make their own footprints through whatever medium they wish and designed/painted/decorated to illustrate their visions of the world of the future which they want to live in, the things most important to their lives, their feelings about the environmental challenges we face as a result of climate change, ideas for a sustainable world and lifestyle... This can contain words as well as visual images. We would particularly like contributions which demonstrate originality, understanding and creative self-expression.

We would like 2D contributions to be on A4 size paper/card and any 3D contributions to be life-size of their actual footprint. Selected contributions will be displayed on exhibition walls and the remaining accepted contributions will be on display within the exhibition in a presentation folder. We ask all contributors to write their name, age and educational / youth group name on the bottom of their artwork. The closing date for contributions is 6th August 2007.

    • Group discussion of what climate change is and what a carbon footprint is (please see attached information).

    • The children make a big group footprint filled with a brainstorm of factors in their own lives and society which contribute to their carbon footprints (this could include such things as how they travel, use of TV, computers, electronic games, mobile phones, heating in their houses, holidays, how many new things they buy etc) together with ideas of alternatives. A suggestion is that they could do this as a collage using pictures from recycled magazines / advertisements.as well as by their own hand.

    • Each child then creates their individual footprints which will be used in the exhibition by drawing round their bare feet and presenting within them their visions / solutions / ideas / feelings, using paints, pencils, printing techniques, collage (eg. old newspapers/magazines), and whatever their imagination requires, keeping in mind that the principles of the exhibition are on environmental care. This could include visual suggestions such as wind turbines, solar power, bicycles, public transport, playing with friends, or more personal hopes and values. What words come to their minds when thinking of what they most care about, of the environment and of the future they wish for? What is vital for their lives and their planet?