A group of young adults dancing on a red lit stage against a brick wall back drop

Welcome to Artsmark Celebration Week 2021

Congratulations to all of this year’s awarded settings and welcome to the Artsmark Celebration Week Online Hub!

We will be spotlighting different awarded settings and sharing some of the fantastic work that these schools have undertaken on their Artsmark journey. We will also hear from some of our Artsmark Partners and learn about the different ways they support our schools.

There will be new content every day, as well as updates on the Arts Connect social media channels, so check back daily to make sure you don’t miss a moment!

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #CelebrateArtsmark or #Artsmark20 if you share anything on social media, so we can see what you are doing to celebrate.

Feeling inspired? Head to our Artsmark page for more information on how to begin your journey.

A message from Artsmark Senior Programme Manager, Helen Frost

A message from Helen Frost

Headshot of Helen Frost
Welcome to Artsmark Celebration Week!

Welcome to Artsmark Celebration Week 2021 – and congratulations to all 25 schools that have been awarded this year. To have adapted your plans due to Covid, and to still ensure that your students get to experience great arts and culture is an incredible achievement.

This also marks a special time for all of us here at Artsmark, as we are entering the twentieth year of the Award, look out for celebrations and exciting opportunities for you and your school to get involved in over the next year.

So to every teacher, student, member of school staff, governor and parent across the West Midlands I hope you take the time to celebrate the joy that the arts and creativity bring – and have some fun!

Spotlight Schools and Artsmark Partners

Monday 8th

Spotlight School: Race Leys Junior School, Gold

Race Leys Junior School were awarded in July 2021.

Congratulations to all staff and students on achieving Gold.

Race Leys’ town is one of the few that still holds a a remembrance ceremony on the 11th November rather than the nearest Sunday. This large, historical town event involved the children from Race Leys Junior School creating a window display for the local theatre. The children made a variety of art relating to remembrance and poppies.

Every year, one year group takes part in a programme called Chance to Dance. This is run by the Royal Opera House who regularly come in to run a variety of workshops for staff and students. The end result is a small number being selected by The Royal Opera House to perform a dance together, and two of the children being awarded a ballet scholarship with a local ballet dance club.

A primary aged boy and girl stand in ballet pose in front of a giant book of the Wizard of Oz with images from the film

Tuesday 9th

Artsmark Partner: Highly Sprung

A huge part of a schools’ Artsmark journey will be the partners they work with. We are lucky to have a wide variety of arts organisations who specialise in a diverse range of disciplines in the West Midlands.

Today we are featuring physical theatre company Highly Sprung. Highly Sprung make work for and with children and young people and this year were able to successfully create work online and in person.

Coventry Young Producers Collective and Climate Change Festival

The Changing Climates project was first conceived in response to the developing climate crisis. Using physical theatre to engage, build capacity for action and provide opportunities to develop and galvanise young voices, the project worked in tandem with the Coventry Young Producers Collective, which established a group of 25 young people, aged 14-15, from areas of low cultural engagement, as young producers.

Find out what it was like to be a Young Producer

This work culminated in the creation of their own self-produced environmentally inspired festival for and by more than 300 young people at the Belgrade Theatre in June 2021.

Find out what it was like to be a Festival Participant

Ready Boxset Go!

Created in response to lockdown in 2021, Highly Sprung developed a programme that could support teachers to continue to make the arts part of classroom delivery within the exceptionally challenging time of the pandemic.
Ready Boxset Go created five rich resources for teachers accompanied by CPD sessions to ‘box up’ the Highly Sprung methodology for teacher’s to deliver in their classrooms.
These resources are still available, bringing Highly Sprung into your setting wherever you are based.

Wednesday 10th

Spotlight School: Ellesmere College, Platinum

Ellesmere College were awarded in October 2020.

Congratulations to all staff and students on achieving Platinum!

Ellesmere College is one of our long-standing schools having first completed the Artsmark in 2015 and achieving Platinum. The emphasis placed on the arts in their setting is far reaching and cross-curricular and these videos are a fantastic insight into the arts activities that have taken place across the whole school during their Artsmark journey.

Thursday 11th

Spotlight School: Eastern Green Junior School, Silver

Eastern Green Junior School were awarded in June 2021.

Congratulations to all staff and students for achieving Silver.

Based in Coventry, Eastern Green Junior School completed their Artsmark during City of Culture 2021 and this created a wealth of opportunity for new and varied creative exploration from cultures around the world.

Check out the videos below which showcase their visual arts, music, theatre and City of Culture activities and hear from students, teachers and governors about how the arts has impacted the entire school community.

Visual Arts
Music
Theatre
City of Culture

Friday 12th

Artsmark 20

Launching back in 2001, Artsmark has seen thousands of schools complete their journey, putting art at the centre of what they do.

If you’re an Artsmark School there are many opportunities to get involved with marking this moment.

How has your Artsmark journey changed your school’s arts provision for the better?

What has been the biggest impact of Artsmark on your pupils?

What aspect of your Artsmark journey are you most proud of?

Has Artsmark had a positive impact on your career progression, or that of your school leavers?

Do you have any famous Artsmark alumni?

You can share your #Artsmark20 story and it will be presented as a blog, a case study or a testimonial on Artsmark’s social media.

Share your #Artsmark20 story

There are also classroom resources and activities for you to use in your settings and social media resources to share, so the celebrations can continue long after Celebration Week.

Artsmark20 Resources

Artsmark is 20 logo

Artsmark20 Spotlight School: Adderley Primary School, 2020

Celebrating twenty years of Artsmark has given us a fantastic opportunity to look back on some of the brilliant projects that schools have been involved in whilst on their Artsmark journey. We are celebrating all settings that put the arts at the heart of their provision and who champion the transformative power of a varied arts education across their whole school community.

Check out this video from Adderley Primary School, who were awarded last year and have just re-registered!

Arts Connect Artsmark Case Studies 

We have a number of case studies from a variety of Artsmark settings, showcasing just how flexible the Artsmark framework is and how different each settings journey can be.

Artsmark Case Studies

More Information

Useful Links:

ARTSMARK20

This year marks twenty years of the Artsmark Award and to celebrate Artsmark have created a variety of activities to take into the classroom and explore with your students.  There are also GIFs and social media resources for you to share across your channels as part of the celebrations.

Artsmark Activities

Small human shaped clay figures holding banners with inspirational art quotes the main quote being 'the world without art would be boring.'

ARTS CONNECT CASE STUDIES

Check out the Artsmark case studies and blogs on our website for an insight into the Artsmark journey.

A hand holding a dropper full of paint, drops paint into a bright blue tray containing water, oil and red and green paint shapes

#MyArtsmark20 Story

Are you a long-standing Artsmark school or has the your Artsmark journey had a long-lasting impact on your school/setting?

Share how the Artsmark has left a mark on your school by sharing your #Artsmark20 Story. These will be shared on social media as a blog, a case study or a testimonial.

Share your story

Teenage boy standing in front of a blue banner singing into a microphone