Art exhibition created by eight-year-old girl

YorKAOS Four children from York Kids Art Open Studios line up wearing animal masks - there are two boys, Seth and HS, and two girls, Ada and Mabel.YorKAOS
Ada (second from right) and her friends are behind YorKAOS

An eight-year-old girl has set up an art exhibition to showcase the work of primary school age children.

Ada, from York, came up with the idea after visiting the York Open Studios arts festival last year - and swiftly recruited three friends to help her organise her own version for children.

The result is YorKAOS, which stands for York Kids Art Open Studios, an exhibition which will be held at community space Spark next February half term.

Ada, who hopes the event will also raise money for charity, said: "I love art a lot, it makes me happy and I just like doing it"

YorKAOS Two Spark staff - Gemma Spivey and Matthew Kirk - meet Ada and Mabel from YorKAOS - all are pictured standing by a chipboard wall, the children wearing bright coloured masks.YorKAOS
Matthew Kirk and Gemma Spivey from Spark are looking forward to hosting the event

Ada, who formed a committee with friends HS, Seth and Mabel, is being helped by her dad John, who has been given the role of secretary.

She said: "The idea came from when I went to go around looking at people's artwork at the arts open studios day, when I came home I was thinking we could have an exhibition for kids like this.

"The next day I told my friend, HS, who is now on the committee as well and he helped me set it up a bit, and so did Mabel and Seth."

They are now asking children who live within the York ring road to submit their artwork to be featured - and hopefully sold - to raise money for local charities St Leonard's Hospice, York Explore Libraries and Archives and also BBC Children In Need.

Ada added: "You can do digital art, photographic art, or just drawing, painting and colouring and lots of other craft.

"You can do 3D models and make really cool sculptures and things like that".

YorKAOAS The four children from the art project are stood in a library with their masks on, and with a member of library staff who is a woman in a navy blue, red and white striped dress and glasses.YorKAOAS
The team behind YorKAOS are raising money for York Explore Libraries and Archives

John added: "It is amazing what young people can do, and their energy and enthusiasm for all this."

He said information packs would be sent to all the primary schools and they were "hoping a couple of thousand [pupils]" would get involved.

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