LEICESTER school children have been exploring their heritage while learning about King Richard lll, ancestry and heraldry as part of the city’s Light Up Leicester festival.
King Richard III founded the Heralds’ College, also known as The College of Arms, in 1484 to maintain official registers and the registration of family trees. Responsible for granting coats of arms, it’s now one of the few official heraldic authorities left in the world.
During workshops led by local arts organisation Inspirate, the children have created artworks that represent their own family history, which will feature in a glowing tree-like installation next to the King Richard lll Visitor Centre.
More than 300 children have taken part in the ‘Roots of our Tree’ project, including classes from Mellor, Sparkenhoe and Spinney Hill primary schools, and Queensmead Academy. The Inspirate team has also worked with users at Belgrave Library, Highfields Centre and Pedestrian Arts.
The children will open the Light Up Leicester festival when they parade through the city centre, carrying their oak leaf-shaped artworks, from 11am on Wednesday 12 March. They will start at Leicester Cathedral and make their way to the Clock Tower, before returning to the Cathedral.
Jiten Anand from Inspirate said: “We’ve loved working with the children on this project and helping them to discover more about King Richard lll and his role in Leicester’s history, while also exploring their own heritage and identity through creative expression.
“The personal symbols they’ve created will feature on more than 300 leaves, all representing Leicester’s diverse communities and the connections between our past and present.”
Light Up Leicester – the biggest light festival in the Midlands – runs from Wednesday 12 to Saturday 15 March.
Full details of the festival, including information about all the installations, the opening day parades, free performances and a Gallowtree Gate night market, are available on the festival website at www.lightupleicester.com