During South Asian Heritage week at Sandringham Primary school, Year Six reflected upon identities through animation, with artist educator Reza Ben Gajra.

A group of year six pupils collaborated with Reza Ben Gajra to create an animated film. The stop motion film is based on a poem that was written by one of the pupils earlier in the year.  

The poem, titled ‘Forgotten identity’, tells the story of a young girl battling with ideas of identity. Making it, the group explored what individual and cultural identity means to them in different ways. The finished animated film has the same title and uses a voiceover with the poem to narrate the story. 

The student group worked together to develop the project at every stage. Taking the poem as a starting point, they held a group discussion and created a storyboard. Their characters and backgrounds were created collaboratively before adding movement to the story. 

The Sandringham students used paper cutting techniques to create the background for each scene. These colourful backdrops depict central London streets, a park and the main character’s home. The protagonist of the story is a paper doll who moves through each scene followed by three dragon-like creatures. The students used close ups of her face to show the emotions of the story.    

The project saw the students develop skills in writing and storytelling, informed by their personal stories and research into South Asian poetry. The film was shared with the school community in a celebratory exhibition for South Asian Heritage week.  

Watch the ‘Forgotten Identity’, the finished animation by Reza and the students here.

Through our skills development projects, our artists work with your students to develop skills, techniques and understanding of a specific artform. 

“The children have followed a process from start to finish using techniques they would not normally encounter.”

– Sandringham Primary Art Coordinator 

Are you looking to celebrate community and heritage in your school?  

If you’re inspired by projects like this and would like something similar in your school, contact our learning team to find out what’s possible together.