LONDON.- The Place2Be, a national children’s charity that provides counselling in schools, is partnering the National Gallery in a special project titled ‘Line of Vision’ in October and November 2008 thanks to the support of Credit Suisse.

The ‘Line of Vision’ project, funded by Credit Suisse, will see forty of the most vulnerable children from the London boroughs of Brent, Greenwich, Southwark and Enfield visit the National Gallery to take part in artistic activities which have been specially designed to help children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. The children will take part in two workshops, one in October and one in November, with their work being exhibited in spring 2009 in the National Gallery’s Education Centre.

The October workshop is called Explore Galore! and will involve the children looking at a range of paintings from across the National Gallery’s collection by artists who were explorers and discoverers and then creating their own journey of inspiration. In November, the workshop will be based on Crivelli’s Annunciation with Saint Emidius. The children will look at the messages that are received within the public and private spaces in the painting and create their own sculptures based on these ideas using craft materials.

The children have been given this opportunity due to Credit Suisse’s relationships with both The Place2Be and the National Gallery. The bank has chosen The Place2Be as its Charity of the Year for 2008 and 2009 and is also Partner of the National Gallery.

"We're delighted that Credit Suisse has been able to serve as a bridge between the National Gallery and The Place2Be," said James Leigh-Pemberton, CEO of Credit Suisse for the UK and Ireland.

"These children will benefit enormously from this unique opportunity, and we're grateful to the Gallery's staff for sharing their talents and expertise. We hope to sponsor similar programmes in the future as part of our philanthropic emphasis on youth education in the United Kingdom."

“The ‘Line of Vision’ project will be a fantastic experience for all the children taking part,” said David Meredith, Communications Manager at The Place2Be.

“Many of them will never have been inside an art gallery before, and to create their own works of art and have them displayed will not only be inspirational but it will help increase their self-esteem and confidence too. Through this unique partnership we can help promote good emotional wellbeing in our schools and in the community and make a lifetime’s difference to these children.”

National Gallery Outreach Officer, Emma Rehm, said, “Line of Vision aims to ensure inclusion for young people. Participants are encouraged to creatively engage with the National Gallery’s collection by sharing their thoughts about the paintings and using them as an inspiration for their own art work.

" Line of Vision also offers a unique opportunity for young people to see examples of a contemporary artist’s work, discuss these with them and gain an insight in to how they too are inspired by the National Gallery’s collection. We can learn so much from our younger visitors so it’s also a really rewarding experience for us.”