Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI) believes that curiosity and imagination matter. We think of them as important muscles we need to care for and strengthen.
Our work as an arts and wellbeing charity is driven by a vision of an inclusive, revitalised, accessible and creative society that embraces these qualities. Artists with environmental practices are at the core of our work. Together we devise projects with children, young people and communities that open up our local worlds in magical and memorable ways.
We call this practice of being creative in the outdoors Artscaping and everyone we work with as an Artscaper.
CCI’s values, developed from evidence rich practice and research, are:
●Working in local partnerships to ensure invitations to collaborate are rooted and relevant to the context
●Ensuring all opportunities are engaging – planning all experiences to be playful, authentic, and co-created with everyone contributing equally
●Starting with trust – trusting children to lead the way, in powerful imaginations, in the richness of the real world, in the power of creative engagement and in the creativity of everyone
●Reflective – documenting the learning in projects and reflecting together
●Planning for sustainability – exploring ways to ensure the impact is sustained.
CCI are a founding member of Fullscope, a consortium of leading organisations supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Fullscope’s mission, as a third sector consortia, is to effect a more accessible, relevant and equitable system to support CYPC with their mental wellbeing.
Fullscope works across sectors to:
- Listen to and learn with children, young people and their communities
- Identify gaps and innovate sustainable solutions
- Influence local policy and provision, using our collective voice
- To maximise quality and positive outcomes and share good practice local and national.
CCI is working closely with Fullscope and other partners to support schools to discover Artscaping. There are now free resources here that introduce you to the practice and describe its impact from many different perspectives: children, teachers, artists, headteachers and researchers.
This short film introduces you to the impact of Artscaping as evidenced in the Eco-capabilities research programme led by Professor Nicola Walshe from the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education at University College London:
https://www.cambridgecandi.org.uk/resource/eco-capabilities-2021
For more information about CCI and Artscaping
CCI website: www.cambridgecandi.org.uk/
or contact Ruth Sapsed:[email protected]