00:00Businesses walking into South Shields Museum and Art Gallery will soon be greeted by a painting
00:05that usually lives in one of the world's most famous art collections. Claude Monet's The Petit
00:11Brat at the Seine of Argentoy, painted in 1872, is arriving in South Tyneside as part of the
00:17National Gallery Masterpiece Tour, giving local audiences rare access to an iconic Impressionist
00:22work. Okay, this is a painting by Claude Monet, who's one of the world's most famous artists,
00:27a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, and it's a painting that's on loan from the National
00:34Gallery. It's only left that gallery once in the last 20 years, and this is a unique opportunity to
00:41see this masterpiece in the flesh, so to speak, and it's free admission to the museum. We built the
00:48idea for this exhibition around engaging with the community, with children and their families,
00:55children who are struggling with emotional barriers to school attendance, and we'd done
01:00some pilot work around that, which was really successful, using art as a kind of a tool to help
01:09the young people explore their anxieties and their issues and concerns, and create their own works of
01:16art. And so what we wanted to do was build a programme around a great work of art like this amazing Monet,
01:23and use that as a springboard to help develop that project and help people struggling in our
01:31community. According to Northeast Museums, the Monet will sit at the heart of a creative programme
01:37supporting young people in South Tyneside experiencing emotional-based school avoidance,
01:42known as EBSA. The condition affects young people who face significant anxiety and emotional barriers
01:49to attending school. The programme builds on a recent EBSA pilot project at the museum, which used art
01:55as a tool for expression and emotional well-being. I think it's, you know, amazing. I think Monet would
02:00have been delighted that we're using this, using his work in this way to help people. So it's not just
02:06about admiring a great work of art, but it's seeing those benefits that it can bring. I'm sure, and I really hope,
02:14that it will help a lot of people, a lot of young people and their parents and families, to work
02:22through the issues that they've got. And it will help them to express those emotions and those concerns
02:27and those anxieties. And I think it's great that we're showcasing their work alongside a masterpiece
02:37from one of the world's greatest artists, you know, all within one exhibition. So I think it's a
02:44fantastic opportunity to be part of that programme. The National Gallery says its touring work is about
02:49ensuring the collection belongs to everyone, wherever they live. With millions already engaging with these
02:54exhibitions across the UK, South Shields now becomes part of that growing national story.
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