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I am a Head of Art at Blue Coat School in Coventry with over 25 years of experience and lead a large team of art teachers. As a team we were keen to develop the use of contemporary art in our practice and to expand its exposure to our students after reading the ‘School art: where is it’ (1) report which made us question our curriculum content, and ask ourselves: are we restricting the knowledge and experiences of our students by only introducing them to the study of artists whose practical application of materials is of primary concern? We originally designed our programmes of study to analyse these types of artists craft, as by applying this knowledge to practical tasks, we find it propels students’ own skills forward. The report found that our pedagogy is in line with the majority, with schools favouring ‘a distinct bias towards artworks easily associated to practical acquisition’. (2)
However, wanting to offer students a fuller experience of art, craft and design, with less prescription and pre-specified outcomes, we needed a vehicle to extend our curriculum to artists who would challenge this way of making art, and that was concerned primarily with ideas. We wanted the students to be presented with contemporary art so that they would feel comfortable with art and design practices that juxtapose those generally introduced to them in the classroom setting. I therefore decided to sign up for the Arts Connect Contemporary Art in the Classroom CPDL programme for art teachers.
After spending a day at the IKON and visiting the ‘Friends in Love and War’ exhibition, I was able to formulate new tasks for students to work in different materials and learn about contemporary artists featured in the exhibition. Our first response to the exhibition was with a group of Year 7 (ages 11 – 12) students. I decided to offer a day in the art department for them to work with a teacher and respond to the work of Luke Routledge. We started by making them think about literature and describing words before moving onto the AI programme Craiyon, inputting descriptions then getting options of monsters based on their words. This is the first time we had used AI as a tool in this way, the students really enjoyed and engaged with this way of working and were impressed with how it propelled their ideas forward. After creating colourful creatures using AI as a designing tool, we used modelling clay to realise the designs. This is the first time we had used modelling clay as a material. All the designs were individual and showed the creativity and imagination of the student and we have since rolled out this practice to the whole department.
Our second response concerned all Key Stage 3 (ages 11 – 14) students who designed and made salt dough sculptures in response to the Czech artist, Tereza Buskova. We collaborated with product design Year 12 students who made the wooden tree structures which the work was hung on , and displayed in the school reception. These responses took just one lesson but the engagement and enjoyment factor was high. We asked them to consider symbolism related to their faith and ideas of peace. They had used salt dough before for a homework task but this was the first time making it and using it in school. Seeing an artist work with the same material made the pieces relatable and rooted in contemporary art, rather than as a craft exercise. We also enjoyed the swiftness of the process from dough to outcomes.
Our last set of responses came from a Year 12 visit to the exhibition where we asked them to chose an artist to engage with. Visiting exhibitions is a very important part of our Art A’ Levels, visits provide a physical experience, a hinge, that motivates and stimulates the imagination and encourages engagement with artefacts and works of art so that students can discover meanings for themselves and is essential to the experience of art. One student, Connie, decided to respond to the video work of Hetain Patel. Connie was inspired by the performance and the costumes and decided to make a textile piece, which was her first in this medium. Although Hetain Patel’s medium was film, Connie responded to the textile pieces within the film and designed costumes for Portia and Antonio from the Merchant of Venice.
We have learnt many things as a team. As teachers, we are stepping back during these learning experiences, allowing for divergent thinking and responses to emerge, freeing the students to explore and create without teacher intervention or prescription. This is leading to organic, progressive learning experiences.
By using contemporary art as a stimulus, the outcome is that the curriculum is much improved, students have gained a wider, rich, engaging diet of artists, experiences and handling of materials and teachers are now delivering a mixture of teacher led and student led art and design activities which satisfy divergent goals.
I personally have enjoyed rethinking areas of the curriculum and having time to talk and meet with other art teachers from across the region who are also wanting to learn from and are open to new experiences, share ideas and have some creative time to reflect and be inventive. I would recommend this course to all.
Jane Flanagan, Head of Art, Blue Coat School, Coventry
- Joanna Fursman, Will Grant and Carol Wild, School Art: Where is it? (Re) exploring Visual Art in Secondary Schools, (NSEAD, 2024)
- Joanna Fursman, Will Grant and Carol Wild, School Art: Where is it? (Re) exploring Visual Art in Secondary Schools, (NSEAD, 2024) p.22