AN animated film on Swindon Town Football Club is one of the highlights of a public exhibition of artwork created by young people with special education and learning needs.
Town fan Sam Sweeney created a short animated film based on the club’s promotion to the Premier League in 1993.
Sam, 25, lives in Covingham in Swindon, and is autistic.
He comes from a family of lifelong Town supporters, including his father Peter and grandfather.
His mother Marie Sweeney said: “Sam researched and made the animated film. He was really pleased with it and enjoyed the whole experience.”
Sam’s work was part of a DigiCreative Heritage art exhibition being staged at Chippenham Library until the end of February.
Organisers will tour the exhibition to five Wiltshire public libraries, including Salisbury and Warminster, before ending at Swindon Central Library.
The artwork has been put together by eight young people aged 17 to 28, with help from the local studies and archive team at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham and was funded by a grant from the National Lottery.
The work on display included a diorama of a First World War trench, an art project based on 17th century witches, a coat of arms created from research at Lacock, a project on Wiltshire Folklore, a fish art project called The Binding of Fenrir based on a Norse myth, and a project on Anne Talbot’s 18th century recipes at Lacock, and a project on the crime writer John Creasey, who died in Salisbury in 1973.
The DigiCreative Heritage artwork public exhibition was launched by Chippenham’s mayor, Cllr Liz Alstrom, at Chippenham Library on January 31.
During the project, the artists researched the archive materials at the History Centre and visited Chippenham Museum, where they were helped by staff to put their artwork together.
Project coordinator and local studies lead Julie Davis said: “The aim was to engage the group with archive material that they may have never had a chance to access before, learning new skills along the way, meeting new people and using archive items to inspire them to have a go at various creative techniques, leading to a touring exhibition.
“It was a privilege to work with the young people, they are so inspiring. We loved sharing our passion for history.”
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