he London duo who make up Arts for All had no idea that they would be spending spring in Bermuda when they met Masterworks Foundation director Tom Butterfield.

Caroline Barlow and Richard Tait met Mr. Butterfield and Masterworks curator Elise Outerbridge at the Bermudiana Exhibition at London?s Guildhall Art Gallery last November.

?It was their (Mr. Butterfield and Mrs. Outerbridge?s) enthusiasm that initially inspired us to come here,? said Mr. Tait.

?We were invited to an opening in the Guildhall and Tom gave a speech and I was quite moved by it. He was a very good speaker and it was very well balanced. I was impressed with him and I just kind of wanted to meet him and I had to say something to him.

?It stemmed from that fact that we are here, we weren?t angling for anything, we weren?t looking for anything it just happened. ?When we started talking with them they said, ?hey, wait a minute, we at Masterworks are creating something and we want to do something. We are going to have this building and we know that we want something to be in it and we are not sure what that thing is, but now that we have met you, we know what that thing is?.?

From there the Arts for All team and Masterworks began talking said Ms Barlow.

?They said: ?It would be really great if you could sort of show us the way of how to do it?,? she said, ?And we thought how can we do it, you?re in Bermuda and we are in London ? we are a whole world apart and they just said, ?come?.?

Mr. Tait added that coming to Bermuda has really inspired them and they admire the Masterworks team even more.

?We were totally inspired by our original encounter that we had with Tom and Elise and then all the correspondence that we had with them,? he said.

?We really admire them and felt strongly that what they were doing was really special and we wanted to get some partnership going between Arts for All and Masterworks.

?So the fact that it has come to fruition and we are now here ? it will now be a long lasting relationship.?

When they started the Arts for All programme in East London, about four years ago they had no idea that they would be taking their style of art classes across the Atlantic.

Ms Barlow said: ?It?s always been 100 percent community based, and a down to earth grassroots thing.

?Nothing fancy, just grassroots and really getting to the heart of the local community.

?It?s about getting personal with people and not just running a class, where they come along, do the class and then go home, and you can?t remember their name when they?ve left.

?We really get involved with people.?

Arts for All is based in Shoreditch, East London, an area which runs alongside the City or the banking and business centre.

?There are people we work with, who for two or three generations there has been unemployment in their family,? said Ms Barlow. ?And you give them hope and creativity. And we always say, ?if you get creative it will improve every other area in your life?.?

Mr. Tait added that the young East Londoners had the energy, but it was often misguided.

?This area has some rundown areas, but the money is being spent on the wrong things,? he said, ?And the children will spend their energy on one thing or another. It has got to be spent and it is often the case that they spend their energy on negative things.

?We know kids who have stolen cars, gone out joy riding, who have smashed windows, fight and get into gangs and things like that. We just channel their energy in a more beneficial direction. So, the energy still gets spent ? it is just creative energy and that just moulds them into better people.

?We?ve seen real results that are directly related to the things that we have done.?

During the Masterworks London Exhibition Mr. Tait and Ms Barlow took their students to the Guildhall to paint their impressions of the Bermudiana Collection.

?The London kids loved painting the Bermudiana Collection in the Guildhall,? said Ms Barlow.

?It was a kind of a new thing that we started to do, but it is something that we plan to continue.?

The pair have loved their time on the Island and are looking forward to returning.

?We have found that the Bermudian children are so polite,? said Mr. Tait. ?So good-natured and so sweet. They have a really good energy.

?Everybody that we have met and everybody that has helped us they have all been absolutely magical.

?We are hoping it is something that we can do next year and maybe for a couple of weeks, as people are saying ?one week isn?t long enough?. And really we could do it for two weeks at Easter because we can do it during our holiday in London.?

Ms Barlow added: ?There is a real mix, a mix of abilities, and ages and everything. It has been very interesting and we have two whole days left to work here and we have loved every minute of it.

?I mean, how stressed out do we look??

Mr. Butterfield said when he saw something like this he was reassured that Masterworks was moving in the right direction.

?Obviously there are bumps along the road, but invariably in my mind every bump becomes one of those things you get over and it becomes a mini obstacle,? he said. ?When I see in the course of a week 200 children and adults mixed altogether, I think wow this is pretty special. So, is the use of the property with people scattered out on the lawn.

?Seeing the moose being drawn up and painted, the boards being painted up and (people) using their creative energies for something like that ? fantastic.

?The more things like this that we can do ? the better the payback, as these kids mature and become adults.

?We?ve had good weather and good luck and it looks like Caroline and Richard are leaving us with a vast experience and some of the people who were working with them learned some teaching skills in keeping kids stimulated.

?The kids have been turned on.?

Before arriving in Bermuda the Arts for All team went to New York where they will be doing a project of regeneration near and for neighbours of the World Trade Center.

?We are doing some workshops there (in New York) in September time, which is a similar thing for ten days to two weeks,? said Mr. Tait.

?It will be right in Wall Street, are of Manhattan.?

Ms Barlow said: ?It is working with the community that lives right around where the World Trade Towers were. To help to come to terms with the rebirth of that area. It is really a historical thing to do.

?That is an incredible opportunity for us.?

Last Wednesday when visited Masterworks for the Arts for All event we found an excited group of adults and children.

They were taking part in a Kaleidoscope Day, which was for children aged between eight to 16. ?It is multi-media,? said Ms Barlow, ?Basically you come in and do what you like and there are all sorts of fun things for them to do.?

Mr. Tait said: ?It has a creative twist to it all ? they come in and play, but they also make stuff and there is always something to take home.

?In London we always do it on Mondays and Wednesdays.?

With the web of Spiderman painted on his face, a design of Sponge Bob Square pants, a half boat and half shark in his hand, a very excited T.J. Oswald, 10, from Victor Scott School said he chose Spiderman because it was his favourite superhero.

Two West Pembroke students were making hearts and shapes at the Arts for All Kaleidoscope day.

Summer McGlynn and Shantina Cumberbatch, both 11, also had bouncy Playdough Telly Tubbies and Shantina made little white aliens with pointed heads. Natwuan Scott and Shei-Anne David created two snow men, a snow girl penguin, a friend and a house and a dog.

A nurse who has a penchant for all artwork was taking part in the classes and helping the younger people.

CedarBridge Academy student Keshun Burrows said he drew a lot, but stated that he was not an art student.

?I am enjoying the programme here,? said the Masterworks volunteer.

Marilyn Sannenalm said: ?I would love to be an art teacher, but I love handicrafts, sewing, needlepoint, and quilting.

?I came for the live model demonstration yesterday and I did very well and I stayed for the afternoon to help the kids out.

?I took vacation time to do this and I?ll come everyday to help out. I think I am having more fun than the kids.?

Ms Barlow said it was not for them to say Arts for All was a wonderful and a fantastic thing.

?It is the community ? like these people are the people who make it,? she said.

??The kids are buzzing and not just the kids. We did a life drawing class yesterday and the adults were all seriously buzzing as well.?

Mr. Tait said: ?Sometimes we kind of sit and watch it happen and just become amazed.?