Room 13 opened in West Rise Junior School, Eastbourne, in 2007 after students were inspired by a visit to Room 13 Lochyside.
With their first Artist in Residence, Abbie Norris, Room 13 West Rise worked on numerous projects, many involving film making and animation. A collection of short films by Room 13 West Rise can be viewed on the studios own YouTube channel.
Students have been invited to speak at conferences and to take part in various events around the South East of England. They have also been involved in projects in the local community, including nursing homes and lunchtime clubs.
The studio has also run summer schools for animation, film making and sculpture, involving children from West Rise and other local schools.
The current Room 13 management team consists of six children who are fully responsible for running Room 13. It is their job to fundraise, keep the studio fully stocked with materials, make decisions about what happens in the space and liaise directly with their Head Teacher about anything that might need to involve the school. They also interviewed and employed their new Artist in Residence, Ed Boxall.
Ed is an artist, illustrator and author of children’s books. For his first project with Room 13 he worked with Year 6 children to produce work for an exhibition entitled ‘A Sense of Place’ at the Towner Art Gallery.
Young artists at the school are given an opportunity to work in Room 13 on a Thursday with Ed or on a Friday afternoon with Karen Stephens, who has been involved with Room 13 since it opened.