Artworks research: Issues Facing Art & Design Education
Research into issues facing art & design education was a key aspect of the Artworks programme, raising awareness of the challenges facing schools and galleries and sparking lively debate. This programme of year-on-year research was used to lobby for better support and provision for art & design in schools, galleries and museums. The published reports provide a valuable legacy of information about visual arts education between the years 2000 to 2006.
Published in 2001, the first Artworks research report £2.68 was based on a major survey commissioned by the Clore Duffield Foundation and supported by the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD), and the Association of Advisors and Inspectors in Art & Design (AAIAD). £2.68 highlighted the significant decrease seen in spending on art resources in schools in England and Wales over the 6 years leading up to the report; dropping to an average of just £1.18 each year per pupil for 5-7 year olds and £2.68 for 11-18 year olds. The report also highlighted significant gaps in ICT provision for art & design, barriers preventing pupils from selecting the subject at GCSE and the low numbers of primary schools working with galleries and museums.
Click here to read £2.68
In 2002, the Clore Duffield Foundation published the results of a small scale investigation into the spaces used for creative, visual arts work in schools, museums and galleries. This arose from a concern about the lack of advice for those planning and building new spaces for young people to explore and make art in. The Big Sink brought together the views of teachers, gallery education officers and children about the shortcomings of their existing spaces and how an ideal ‘creative space' might be characterised.
Click here to read The Big Sink
The Big Sink fuelled the publication of Space for Art in 2003; a handbook of ideas and advice about creating environments for learning and teaching in art and design. This was the result of a two-year conversation with the users of creative spaces as well as those funding and designing them including architects, designers, the (then) Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Arts Councils, Creative Partnerships, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Click here to read Space for Art
As an adjunct to the Artworks research programme, in 2004 the Clore Duffield Foundation published Space for Learning: a handbook for education spaces in museums, heritage sites and discovery centres, resulting from a collaboration with nine other key organisations in the arts, cultural, environmental and heritage sectors.
Click here to read Space for Learning
In 2004, the Clore Duffield Foundation revisited some of the issues explored in the earlier research report £2.68. Based on findings from questionnaires, debate and interviews; State of the Art provided an overview and critique of art & design education in schools in the UK following five years of intensive change in policies and programmes relating to education and creativity. The report described how funding had improved, in some areas of the country at least, highlighting a growing divide between culturally rich schools and those that remained impoverished. Running though the report was a key message about better support for teachers; the need for greater confidence, new ideas and fresh inspiration.
Click here to read State of the Art
How Old Do You Have To Be To Be An Artist? was an Artworks event and the launch of a national debate in association with NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), Tate and Demos. The event addressed issues about the status of children's art; how it is taught, how it is both influenced by and influences the work of artists and why it is so rarely exhibited outside of schools. Speakers included Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate Director, David Lammy MP, then Minister for Culture, Antony Gormley, artist and Camila Batmanghelidjh, Director of Kids Company. The event findings were published by the Clore Duffield Foundation in 2005.
Click here to read How Old Do You Have To Be To Be An Artist?