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When a simple drawing can truly lead to great things! Little Inventors started life in late 2015 under the project name INVENTORS! when artist and designer Dominic Wilcox went back to his hometown of Sunderland and challenged 450 school children to think up invention ideas. Out of these funny, practical, bonkers or ingenious ideas, 23 were made into real objects by local makers.
The project in Sunderland caught the attention of curators at London's famous Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A collects a broad range of visual arts and was drawn to the innovative nature of the project, bringing together the imagination and creativity of children with the skills and expertise of makers, under Dominic's inspirational leadership.
"We are delighted to acquire a selection of five of the inventions made as part of the first Little Inventors project in Sunderland. Dominic’s work and the selected pieces show the great potential of design to change the world and the importance of inspiration and imagination. The War Avoider and Family Scooter, as well as the three others, will join the Design, Architecture and Digital department’s collection of objects that tell stories about design and public life today." Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator of Design and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Dominic Wilcox will be in conversation with Corinna at the V&A on the 21st September, 2017 during the London Design Festival. For tickets please visit here.
""This is such a great honour for everyone involved in the project, it was a fantastic collaborative effort between the brilliant children and the enthusiastic and skilful adult makers of Sunderland. Importantly it sends a powerful message to all children that their amazing imaginations can lead to great things. This great honour will inspire us to take Little Inventors to even more children around the world." Dominic Wilcox: artist, designer and Founder of Little Inventors