Hidden Treasures 

On Saturday 28th April families from Albemarle Barracks and Stamfordham Village will be gathering to celebrate the launch of Hidden Treasures – an online trail that takes you around the village to find secret boxes. Each box contains art-work created by children and developed in workshops with artist Sheryl Jenkins in response to themes that were identified by the children about army life – jobs, hobbies and interests, friendship, housing and moving on. 

The art trail will be open for families to access for up to a year in the village, and it is hoped will bring visitors to explore and enjoy the local area. There are two characters designed and voiced by local children – Rainbow Unicorn (who likes cake) and Gumball the Goat (loves to dig) – to guide families along the trail, using an ‘interactive app’ developed by artist Nikki Pugh who works with technology, landscape and place. 

Helix Arts have worked in partnership with Albemarle Barracks and Stamfordham Primary – with funding from The Armed Forces Covenant – to co-produce the trail. Senior Project Manager Amy Mitchell says “We are delighted to open the trail and share the amazing art-work created by local children, around universal themes that reflect life both in the army and outside. It has been wonderful working with exciting artists like Nikki and Sheryl to create this digital art trail which is unique, a bit like choose your own adventure – it changes in response to your choices - and a bit like geo-caching. It offers a personal look into the lives of children and families in Stamfordham, gets you outside and is a free fun activity for families!”