BLOG: Becky Thompson, Education Producer, Arts Connect 

When it was confirmed that nationally renowned contemporary art exhibition British Art Show 9 (BAS9) was coming to Wolverhampton in 2020, we knew that there would be a brilliant opportunity for us to work with local partners to develop a learning programme that would engage and inspire teachers and young people. When I first saw the artwork in the exhibition, it was obvious that it was very different to the kind of artwork and themes many art teachers were approaching in the classroom, the artists used unfamiliar making processes, tackled real world issues and used language to talk about their work which excluded many and would need a process of translation for the classroom. From the start it was clear that it was going to be a challenge to create an accessible learning programme that made sense to teachers, but the two things that the exhibition did extremely well was to provoke the question ‘what is art?’ and also removed barriers for pupils who felt they can’t ‘do’ art, as the artwork in the exhibition focused more on process, communication and ideas rather than highly developed technical art skills.

Our first challenge was to demystify the exhibition by familiarising teachers with the artwork and context of the work and then to confront and break down the uncertainty of how to approach this ‘unusual’ artwork in the classroom. We worked with a group of teachers from EYFS to HE to do this, each teacher exploring a different aspect of the exhibition in ways that were suitable for the age range they taught. It was inspiring to see how brave teachers were in working in ways that prioritised exploration and risk taking and how they embraced opening up conversations with pupils about the Covid 19 pandemic and its impact on them and the world. Teachers willingly allowed pupils more freedom to explore materials, ideas and emotions while removing the barriers of a set outcome. I was blown away to see the outcomes of what teachers had achieved in their classrooms, from early years pupils collaboratively making dens and using photography in their work to pupils with SEND using found objects to explore new futures and secondary students creating artworks to inspire hope in others. Teachers shared with us that the programme had provided them with much needed connection to fellow teachers and had given them an exciting and challenging focus for their work, others enjoyed being able to give their pupils more choice and voice and remove the pressure of outcome focused projects, some had even reconnected with their creativity and artistic practices.

It was a no brainer that we should build on this moment in partnership with teachers and local art organisations, so we developed the Contemporary Art in the Classroom CPDL programme. Through this we’ve worked with the New Art Gallery Walsall, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Ikon Gallery using their venues and exhibitions as inspiration for teachers in school enquiries and projects. Together, we’ve explored artworks that have opened up discussions in classrooms about race, identity, conflict, relationships and importantly continued to question ‘what is art, and why make it?’

We’ve held 7 exhibitions of students’ artwork which have been attended by parents and communities, we’ve created 3 digital showcases of teachers work and learning and commissioned a report to capture the experiences and learning of teachers. In total, 230 teachers have been involved in the programme (many have joined multiple times) and over 4000 young people have explored local contemporary art exhibitions and had new art experiences including working with artists and growing their understanding of possible creative careers.

The Classroom as Studio teacher development and learning programme has been a fantastic opportunity to see what teachers can achieve when they are shown interest, trust and care; with very little resource or directed outcomes teachers have managed to inspire their students and show them new ways of thinking, making and learning. My hope is that the teachers we’ve worked with continue to connect, engage with local contemporary art, and be brave and curious in their classrooms.

A huge thank you to the teachers who have been involved over the last 6 years, it’s been a pleasure to work with you and massive appreciation to the learning teams at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, the New Art Gallery Walsall and Ikon Gallery for their support.