Contemporary Art in the Classroom CPDL Programme

Inspired by ‘The more things change…’ exhibition.

The Blk Art Group was founded in 1982 in Wolverhampton, they are a group of artists of Caribbean migrant descent who sought to empower black artists as well as encouraging young white artists to be more socially relevant in their practice. To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the BLK Art group being formed the University of Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton Art Gallery hosted an exhibition of their artworks and publications called ‘The more things change…’. The exhibition provided exciting inspiration to build a CPD programme which informed and supported local art teachers to explore the themes of race and heritage within their curriculum and investigate the social and cultural themes that underpin the British Black Art Movement.

Teachers engaged in a curatorial tour of ‘The more things change…’ exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and took part in workshops led by Dr Andrew Yarnold, Dr Ian Sargeant and artists Exodus Crooks and Aarifa Amatul-Hayye. Students also visited the gallery, explored the exhibition and took part in practical artist led workshops.

Each teacher then designed and led projects with their students inspired by the content and context of the exhibition encouraging their students to discuss and explore themes of heritage and race within their idea forming and artwork. The programme culminated in public exhibitions of student’s artwork at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Wolverhampton School of Art.

Teachers involved in the programme shared that exploring‘The more things change..’ and the Blk Art Group built their confidence to approach race and identity in the classroom. Many had started to diversify their curriculum before the programme but having the exhibition to focus on gave them a clear purpose and impetus. All of the teachers involved said they would continue to explore issues of race, heritage and identity with their students using artists representing the global majority as inspiration.

Inspired by Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945.   

Breaking the Mould was a major touring exhibition challenging the male-dominated narratives of post-war British sculpture by presenting a diverse and significant range of ambitious work by women, which exhibited across the UK completing its journey at The New Art Gallery Walsall in October 2022. We saw this as an opportunity to work with local teachers to enhance their skills, knowledge and confidence around sculptural contemporary artwork and practical 3D art making practices using internationally renowned artists and artwork as their inspiration.

Teachers and students visited The New Art Gallery Walsall and worked with curators and artists who explored the context and themes of the artwork and demonstrated art making techniques used in the exhibition. Each teacher then used different aspects of the exhibition to design in-school projects and reshape their art curriculum enabling their students to explore 3D contemporary art, investigate new making techniques and research fresh art inspirations.

Projects varied from school to school dependent on the capacity and ambitions of teachers and the needs of their students. One teacher on the programme led a whole school CPD session for their colleagues which culminated in every student taking part in an Arts Week event inspired by Breaking the Mould and 3D contemporary art another teacher used the project as a platform to embed sculpture within their art curriculum and introduce a 3D design GCSE course. To showcase the learning and activity that took place during the CPD programme we hosted a public exhibition of student’s artwork at a local arts centre which was well attended by young people, families, and school communities.