AN AMBITIOUS arts project which promises to bring cultural and creative opportunities to hundreds of children in Liskeard has received £2500 funding from the Town Council.

“Be More Moana!” will involve local primary school children watching a live performance of Disney’s Moana Junior, staged by the Early Energy Centre. Afterwards they’ll take part in workshops, led by industry professionals in art, creative writing and dance, and create an art installation for the town to see, with a strong message on ocean sustainability.

The initiative is being run by the newly-formed “Project Potential CIC”, an offshoot of the Early Energy Centre, and will take place in July.

Founder Kate Rogers, who pitched the idea to Council members, said: “The biggest thing for me is this will bring creativity and culture into the heart of the community. We are really lucky in Liskeard to be surrounded by a lot of arts, such as the Sterts Theatre, but it’s always just a little bit out of reach for some. This is about bringing live theatre and live art right into the hands of the children in the lowest demographic, and about the confidence they’ll find when they see work that they’ve done curated by a professional.”

Big primary schools don’t always get the same opportunities as the smaller village schools in terms of arts, Kate continued.

“More than 30% of the children at Liskeard Hillfort are pupil premium or receive free school meals, and they don’t have the same access to these enriching sorts of activities.”

This was a theme picked up by Councillor Julian Smith, who said that he was in favour of this kind of activity which would not normally be accessible for children under the curriculum.

Cllr Tony Powell agreed, saying that it was children that had really missed out during the lockdowns.

After discussion and negotiation on the detail of the costs, and various questions put to Kate by members, Cllr Powell proposed that the Council support the project with a reduced award of £2500 (from an original application for £3129).

It was very early in the civic year to award such a large chunk of the grants budget, which currently stands at £10,000, he said.

The proposal was supported by Cllr Smith and agreed by Council members.

“I’m absolutely delighted that the Town Council have been as generous as they have, especially this early in their budget,” said Kate.

“It demonstrates a real commitment to help the creative arts come back to life.”