FALMOUTH Art Gallery welcomed a group of year nine boys from Penryn College to help launch a book of their artwork and writing.

The Road to Automata book is the outcome of a six month project staged with funding from the Max Reinhardt Literacy Award. The gallery was one of only three organisations in the country to receive the 2014-15 awards.

The project consisted of a series of writing and art workshops inspired by Falmouth Art Gallery’s automata collection and the theme of dystopian future in literature. Author Mac Dunlop, Penryn College teachers Beth Sullivan and Linda Herring, and Charlotte Davis and Tony Johns of Falmouth Art Gallery worked with the students both at the college and at the gallery exploring different techniques. The resulting sculptures, artwork and writing were then re-worked and edited by the boys to create the book.

Mac Dunlop said: "I hope this book illustrates the great potential in the boys’ creative writing and in their unique visual concepts. I am very proud to have worked with these students, and I’ve learnt a great deal from the exchange."

Tony Johns, workshop facilitator with the gallery, added: "The students turned what was essentially landfill material into some amazing robot sculptures and automata. The materials and making process then sparked their stories. They were a fantastically creative group who were a pleasure to work with."

Penryn College's Linda Henry, said: "The boys enjoyed the practical aspect of making automata and their visit to Falmouth Art Gallery. The follow-up sessions allowed their imagination to have free rein, with the result that some very creative writing and interesting artwork has been achieved. Thank you to everyone involved."

The Max Reinhardt Literacy Awards is a new initiative that ran as a pilot in 2014-15. Galleries, art museums and visual arts venues across England were invited to submit a proposal to host an award, to support a creative writer to work with a school and a gallery/art museum/visual art venue. Three awards were made to Falmouth Art Gallery, Kettle’s Yard and Manchester Museum.