On a bleak, concrete playground, a group of 12-year-old boys are playing. They move in and out of shot, first in their ordinary clothes, then in costumes – Elvis, and various superheroes.
The short video, What’s Your Dream?, won the Schools’ Turner Prize at Tate Liverpool in January 2008. Judges said they were moved by the theme of living out different identities as young people negotiate the trials of the playground.
Tate Liverpool Schools’ Turner Prize was the gallery’s fifth annual exhibition of work produced in schools. The project encouraged school pupils around Liverpool and the North West to visit the Turner Prize exhibition and create works inspired by their visit. Eight schools entered the competition, with a range that included painting, photography, sculpture and video. One submission, Stadium, was constructed from Lego bricks and could be seen to be a comment on football as an alternative religion.
The project successfully engaged new audiences with contemporary art and with Tate Liverpool in general. The winning school, Alt Bridge Secondary Support Centre in Knowsley, spent its £100 prize on art supplies.
