Last term, Ms Wall’s Year 7 art students took part in a North East competition with Little Inventors to design an ‘Invention for Happiness‘. From the 1000 entries received, 12 inventions were shortlisted and the winning designs were turned into a reality to create the Joy Lab exhibition. This opened on Saturday at Sunderland’s new Culture House, as part of their grand opening.
Southmoor student Amelia was one of the chosen inventors, and her creation, Hug Chair was the star of the show. Her invention was designed to make people feel better by offering a cosy hug. Amelia was consulted on for the final design and had Zoom meetings with her maker, which gave her creative control and input on the outcome of her invention. She chose colour schemes, materials and size, asked for weighted arms and a soft feel. The opening was a huge success and there were queues of visitors waiting to sit on her chair, which has been used in all of the advertising and social media posts for the exhibition. Amelia was invited to attend the opening with her parents on Saturday and meet Dominic Wilcox, the artist behind Little Inventors.
This is a fantastic achievement, and we are all very proud that she has played a part in the long-awaited opening of Sunderland’s new cultural venue! Below you can find some pictures of the exhibition, including one of Amelia’s peers enjoying the chair on their visit to Culture House last week.
