Making art and growing in confidence
Established through a generous gift from a Scottish based funder, the National Saturday Club at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is giving young people the freedom to experiment, take creative risks, and grow in confidence — all while inspiring the next generation of artists.
The Club is part of a wider tradition at ECA of connecting university students with schools that have limited access to specialist art provision. Since 2021, the Making Art in School project – also supported by our funder – has linked 16 third-year art students each year with pupils from West Barns Primary School in East Lothian. Over three years, more than 40 ECA students and 140 children have taken part, collaborating on ambitious workshops ranging from building life-sized surfboards from duct tape to creating papier-mâché monsters designed to combat climate change.
Clear impact
As part of the programme, pupils have worked with media including clay, printmaking, pastels, photography and sculpture. The annual project culminates in a public exhibition at West Barns Studios, and in recent years, pupils have also visited Edinburgh College of Art and the University’s Talbot Rice Gallery for curator-led tours and large-scale creative workshops with artists such as sculptor Kenny Hunter.
The funder’s support has been vital — covering transport, materials, and exhibition space hire, and enabling students to be more ambitious in their own work while giving schools resources to continue developing the skills they’ve learned.
For Bobby Sayers, Teaching Fellow in Art ,who co-initiated the first National Saturday Club in Scotland at ECA alongside Senior Lecturer Susan Mowatt, the impact is clear:
“What makes our club valuable is how we value the young people, and allow them to be more free to experiment with materials and ideas than they are likely allowed to in school. We encourage them to make mistakes, to make a mess, to try things differently and, most importantly, to enjoy creating. That all leads to them valuing themselves and what they produce more, growing their confidence and learning new skills to take into their futures.”
Personal changes
The Club’s format is collaborative from the start. Two third-year undergraduate students — this year, Bess and Inayah — co-created the programme alongside a team of student workshop assistants, ensuring projects were bold and amazing. Highlights have included giant double-sided cardboard self-portraits, ceramic storytelling dioramas, eight-metre movement-and-mark-making drawings, and lino-cut ‘shields of protection’.
Beyond the impressive final artworks, Bobby has seen profound personal changes in participants:
“I’ve had young club members tell me how the course has transformed their general confidence so much that it has changed other parts of their lives. One began creating again for the first time after experiencing the effects of war. Unfortunately, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have an upstream battle to not be pushed away from creative subjects, hobbies or careers – I feel our club helps reaffirm their talent and confidence to do what they’re passionate about.”
Connecting with people
The experience is equally valuable for ECA’s own students, who gain hands-on teaching experience in a supported environment while learning how to work with young people from diverse communities. Nina Ji, an Edinburgh student who volunteered with the Making Art in School project with pupils from West Barns Primary School in East Lothian, said of the experience:
Taking part in the MAIS project was a unique opportunity to share my practice with school children. Seeing how engaged they were was truly inspiring and deeply meaningful.
And Bobby has watched the positive effects spread into many other areas:
“There is nothing richer and more nourishing than connecting with people. I always learn so much from each person and feel lucky to witness their growth. Alongside this, it allows me to refine my own creative methods for future projects and deepen my understanding of the role of art education in building a healthier, happier society.”
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