Wandsworth Arts Fringe - schools and young people
Since 2010, Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF) has brought together hundreds of young creatives and artists in a bold and boundary pushing annual line-up of cutting-edge theatre and comedy, exquisite music concerts, art exhibitions, experimental performance art, outdoor art extravaganzas, and everything in between, taking place across the borough.
Put on a WAF event
Wandsworth Arts Fringe is a proudly open access arts festival. Anyone can get involved and it’s a fabulous opportunity to showcase young people’s talent.
Past WAF school projects
Previous events include:
- Climate Rhymes (2022)
- Plant Power (2022)
- All Saints Primary School – Summer Departure (2021)
- Burntwood School and National Opera Studio (2019)
- Roche School exhibition at World Heart Beat Music Academy (2019)
Work with a WAF Artist
Artists from a wide range of creative areas take part in Wandsworth Arts Fringe and there are often opportunities to engage with them and their work during the festival or outside of it.
If you are interested in future opportunities or would like to be connected to our network of artists please get in touch.
WAF Schools Showcase
On 9 May 2019 in response to the manifesto commitment to providing young people with performance opportunities we delivered our first ever primary schools showcase event as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe, working with over 700 primary school children in the borough. Invited schools, selected in partnership with the school improvement team, took part in a range of creative projects with local arts partners including music, dance, visual art, animation and spoken word leading up the main event at the Civic Suite.
This valuable performance opportunity was for many of the young people their first public performance.
WAF Schools: LIVE!
In June 2022, the WAF Schools Showcase returned as WAF Schools: LIVE!
Primary Schools from across Wandsworth came together for a creative showcase featuring spoken word, theatre, visual arts, animation and music, working with local partners Group 64 Theatre, Chocolate Films, spoken word artist BREIS, Wandsworth Music and the Royal College of Art.
The programme included:
- Stop motion animations by Falconbrook Primary School and Westbridge Primary Academy
- Theatre by Hotham Primary School and West Hill Primary School
- Dance by Ravenstone Primary School
- The Wandsworth Music Schools Curriculum Choir featuring Beatrix Potter Primary School, Fircroft Primary School, St. Anselm’s Catholic Primary School and Trinity St. Mary’s Primary School
Visual Art by Chesterton Primary School, Christchurch Primary School, Goldfinch Primary School, John Burns Primary School, Mosaic Jewish Primary School, Ronald Ross Primary School and Southmead Primary School (Plant Power).
WAF Schools Showcase 2019
The schools that took part in 2019 were:
- Granard Primary School
- Ravenstone Primary School
- St Mary's Battersea RC Primary School
- Tooting Primary School
- Wandsworth Music Academy
- Westbridge Primary School and West Hill Primary School
- Falconbrook Primary School
- Nightingale Community Academy
- Paddock Primary School
- Roehampton CE Primary School
- Ronald Ross Primary School & Trinity St Mary’s CE Primary School
- Broadwater Primary School
- Chesterton Primary School
- Fircroft Primary School
- Griffin Primary School
Arts partners
Work & Play Scrapstore, Group 64 at Putney Arts Theatre, Chocolate Films, Wandsworth Music, Apples & Snakes, Royal College of Art, Pump House Gallery and Theatre 503.
Make your school a WAF venue
WAF presents events and activities in all sorts of venues, not only the usual places where arts activities take place. A WAF venue can be a high street business, a room in a pub, a community hall, sports hall and even a station platform.
If you are interested in hosting events and activities as part of WAF please get in touch with us to register your venue at arts@wandsworth.gov.uk.
WAF Young Reviewers
WAF Young Reviewers is a project that aims to develop arts writing skills and engage young people aged 14-19 with Wandsworth Arts Fringe.
The Young Reviewers attend an online workshop session to find out about the festival and explore how to write their own reviews with a professional critic, before choosing which WAF events they'd like to attend and review.
WAF Young Reporters
WAF Young Reporters is a new project launched as part of WAF 2023 and delivered in partnership with Riverside Radio. The programme gives young people aged 14 to 19 the opportunity to receive training from professional radio DJs on how to plan and record a radio interview. Each young reporter interviewed an artist performing in Wandsworth Arts Fringe and heard their interview played out over the radio throughout the festival.
To find out more about WAF Young Reporters and Reviewers email creativewandsworth@wandsworth.gov.uk.
