Cartoon Network Helps Bring Arts to Kids

Taking its cue from the Prince of Wales’ vision that every child in the U.K. should have the opportunity to engage directly with the arts, the Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation has hooked up with Cartoon Network to launch CARToon NetWORK ARTWORK. This new project endeavors to break cartoons down into their component parts–movement, music, acting and writing, exploring how these elements bring animation to life.

The first workshop will have Quentin Blake and the Royal Academy of Arts guiding sixth-year children from Lewisham School in their drawing of movement provided by Siobhan Davies and her dancers. Future workshops will be created and led by such artists as Richard E. Grant and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Arts & Business, which recently spawned the Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation, has received core funding from the Millennium Commission. By the end of November, Arts & Business anticipates that 25,000 people will have taken part in the Arts & Kids Visits Program, by which children experience live performance thanks to the co-sponsorship of more than 70 businesses and 100 arts organizations. Over the past six months Arts & Kids has leveraged more than ’2,000,000 from businesses in support of the arts for young people, reaching around 40,000 children who might not otherwise have access to the arts.