Here I have included my Module Four Presentation. This presentation gives insight into what I do as an artist, the project I am currently working on, the research I am undertaking to underpin both my project and personal understanding and plans for the future in this project.
BELOW IS MY SCRIPT / ROUGH DOCUMENT
PRACTICE
I am a visual artist who develops educational workshops based on my specialism of drawing and painting. My practice focuses on exploring personal human connection to memories and place, which is why my subject matter focuses on buildings and locations of particular significance to me. As a result of this, my workshops are directly informed by my practice. My practice has recently adapted more into a focus of using the internet to provide arts based education due to the inability to conduct in-person workshops. Developing universal workshops that work in person and as a learning resource that can be done at home without the need for a teacher/artist in the room has become a big part of my practice because it has caused me to think about how I teach others and ultimately how to reach a larger audience through the use of the internet. Investigating how artists use other formats to educate their participants on their specialism has therefore become an integral part of my understanding.
Within my practice, I have been researching areas of interest linking to my current desire to produce educational workshops for KS3 Students and above. Doing research on the curriculum, its status, problems that are occurring within it and how artists can become more involved to enrich and expand the delivery of arts education through the forming of proper partnerships has been key in developing my project up until this stage because it has shown me where my work fits in within education, its intended context. This is important because I want to produce educational workshops that have meaning and show students how to do the fundamentals in drawing, something that they often do not get within the arts education they receive. It also benefits my wider understanding about what secondary school students should be learning and how artists can be a part of that, as well as the many setbacks and issues that the arts face and the impact it has on creative industries.
Alongside this research, I have been analysing the work and processes of other artists specifically focusing on their creative process, techniques and how they use their specialism to teach others. Looking at artists who educate helps my ongoing understanding of balancing both aspects of my practice.
Proposal
It is my intention to create an online learning platform that delivers meaningful, skills based arts education aimed specifically at secondary school level. It will be done through written workshops, e-resources, video tutorials and through an interactive area of the website where advice can be given and shared. The emphasis of the educational content will be focused on skills based learning from the position of the artist, not the teacher.
This project will be heavily influenced by my research into the role of artists in education, its importance and the current status of arts education. Finding more universal methods of becoming more involved with the learning of young people is important when students are learning at home, are in other areas of education like homeschooling or they are students who may struggle with school and therefore need extra help in their studies.
I see my project as a response to my ongoing findings about the status of arts education in secondary schools, issues surrounding its value when compared to other subjects and how artists can be more involved in enriching and expanding this area of the curriculum.
My initial aims of the project are:
To develop a fully functioning website complete with my workshops, videos and learning resources. As this is the main body of the project, the aim is to have it accessible for the general public, with regular updates to the content.
To base my workshops around my specialism, and put an emphasis on skills based learning that starts with my process. This is important because I want the workshops to be about things that I consider to be fundamental, while still being of educational value. Keeping a focus on not teaching anything I do not know well is important because I want to make sure the workshops are well informed, engaging and those who participate see an improvement in their level of skill in drawing.
Develop an informed understanding of the context in which my work will sit in through relevant research into the factors that are affecting arts education, the status of the curriculum, the importance of arts education and how artists are, can and should be used within the curriculum to enrich, expand and have an impact in improving the quality of arts education in light of the downfalls. Having an understanding of all of these areas and how they affect each other helps define the importance of my project and gives it validity alongside what is currently being taught on the curriculum.
Look deeper into my process as an artist to see where I can improve and develop my work through experimentation. Reflecting on my process of drawing and making subtle changes in an effort to be more experimental will be an important method of defining the important aspects of what I do to then take into producing a workshop. Being more aware of my process, things I frequently do within making my own work and experimenting with areas of this will inform me further in terms of my personal development and for the workshops I go on to formulate.
JUSTIFICATION FOR MY CHOICE IN SUBJECT AREA
I decided upon this subject area because I have an interest in education, how it is conducted and how myself as an artist can be more involved within the education system. I have investigated and conducted workshops previously with the aim to be socially engaging and allow those who participate to learn about my specialism. I feel that this is important to do as an artist because you are giving people the opportunity to find their own creative outlet through what you do, while gaining from their involvement as the person conducting the sessions. Learning from a working professional, has its benefits because you are getting direct skills based learning that is often overlooked in conventional schooling. Therefore, the way that a student learns changes.
I also acknowledge that the education system has clear downfalls and there has been a shift in what is deemed to be important within the curriculum, which is why I find this subject area particularly interesting to analyse. Knowing that there are issues with arts education, its delivery, uptake and the perception of its limited career paths makes my justification for investigating this subject area stronger because I believe my project as a whole aims to meet a need within schools; the need for artists and those in creative industries to be within the classroom, enriching and expanding the learning of young people to show them that the arts have as much value as core subjects.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE - SEE SHEET
SKILLS
- Adaptability: Being able to adapt is an important skill when developing a project because it allows you to problem solve without it being detrimental to the projects overall success. I believe this is a key skill that I can improve upon in this project because previously I have produced workshops based on my project theme, with the intention for it to be delivered face to face. Now that I am embarking on creating an online learning platform for participants to develop their drawing skills, adapting my thinking to create workshops that work without being in-person becomes crucial to the project’s success. Being able to take what I have learnt from the in-person workshops, and make alterations so that the tasks are easy to understand and manageable without the assistance of the artist/teacher will be where I improve the most in being adaptable in my work. Having manageable educational content that can be done at home changes the way arts education can be delivered, and therefore requires more thought about usability. Being able to adapt my written or video content to make alterations where necessary to improve these factors will test my skillset in this area in a positive manner. Although it is important to write these workshops with an eye to delivering them in-person, they still need to be written in a multi-use manner to be most effective.
Practical/Creative Skillset: During this project I want to build on my practical skillset, specifically the creation of more experimental work and being able to generate more diverse outcomes. As the workshops are based around my specialism, experimenting within my practice is vital as a way to identify what areas of my process are important, as well as what can be changed. It will also provide me with more diverse, thorough and meaningful workshop content because I have directly tried, tested and experimented with different areas of my process to show how small changes can produce different outcomes. Experimenting with choice of perspective, mark making techniques, scale, subject matter and application of my chosen medium are all things I am experimenting with. As I work predominately in fine liner pen, experimenting with these variables changes both the approach and the outcome of each piece I do.
WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED, WHAT THEMES ARE IMPORTANT AND WHY I AM RESEARCHING THEM.
My main body of research was centred around arts education, it’s status within the curriculum, the downfalls in its delivery and how artists could be more involved with education in terms of forming meaningful partnerships with schools to enrich and expand the curriculum. Although my research considers mostly the issues around secondary school education, there are factors of primary education that have a detrimental impact on students and their abilities in creative subjects. Acknowledging that that there are wider implications has shown me the overall impact and the lack of value that is often put on being creative.
I have noted some clear themes that recur through the investigation I have undertaken such as funding, time, priority and value. These issues contribute to the cycle of devaluation of the arts. This, coupled with the introduction of the EBacc, and its clear push to guide students into academic subjects makes it difficult for creative subjects to compete in terms of uptake and student value. Governmental decisions to take such ‘quality assurance’ measures have resulted in a narrowing of the curriculum, reducing priority, funding and therefore value on ‘non-core’ subjects.
Although I have researched further into the thoughts and opinions regarding the EBacc and its implications on the arts, I believe it was important to have a clear understanding of this to be able to identify the themes within my research. As themes like priority and value are so difficult to quantify, finding reasonings for the current status of arts education in schools was important, and I believe it starts with the insistence of the Ebacc. This, along with other factors I have uncovered has an impact on opportunities for artists to form meaningful partnerships with schools, and thus limits students seeing creative professionals in their classrooms, providing them with a different form of education that focuses on skills based learning. It is important to acknowledge however that there are many universal factors that are affecting arts education which are causing there to be clear downfalls and limited opportunity for artists to be involved. However, external arts groups and charities are beginning to provide artists and schools with the opportunity to build meaningful partnerships to deliver skills based learning that enriches and expands the understanding of young people. Although this is only beginning this year, with one charity receiving a national grant, it shows that the arts education in many schools is not at the standard it should be and charities are trying to assist schools with opportunities such as residencies and artist talks.
My reasoning for approaching education in this manner is to develop an understanding of where my projects sits within the context of education, and crucially its need within the curriculum. Having an understanding about why the arts are under funded, not given enough time and are not delivered to young people in the best way they could be gives my project the justification that the need for creative professionals in the classroom, or even in a virtual capacity, is vital to a young person’s understanding and engagement with the arts. In a wider sense, I believe that having creative professionals within the classroom, as well as involved in education generally would be a step in the right direction to have the arts on a level playing field with STEM subjects, a group of subjects who have had working professionals involved with the curriculum and have seen clear benefits from this.
I have a number of key resources that have given me vital information and context within my research. Much of this focuses on articles, books and studies concerning the state of education, the devaluation of the arts in schools and how artists can be involved in improving this. Within my practical work, I have also looked at artists who use their specialism to teach others, to develop a well rounded view of both the issues and what artists are doing to educate others. Looking at both aspects maintains the connection between my work and what I aim to teach.
The Future of Arts Education in England - SSAT study
The Schools, Students and Teachers Network’s study about the future of arts education in England highlights a number of areas of interest that relate to my project. The study discusses the concerns many members of the SSAT have with the curriculum, with specific links to how arts education is being impacted in light of the EBACC’s introduction. Although it is important to note that this study is from 2016/17, the fact that such concerns were raised by the SSAT shows how detrimental the EBACC has been and continues to be to student’s learning, even from when it was put in place. This study acts as a documented discussion of a range of points of view about education, the arts, the value of arts education and what can be done to keep it in the curriculum in a meaningful manner. There are a range of people who participated in this discussion, from policy makers to school leaders to arts practitioners, which is very important because the breadth of viewpoints is vital to determining a general consensus that is well rounded and beneficial to what can be done from this. The fact that a variety of professionals were in discussion to produce such a study shows that the impact of the EBACC on creative subjects has been concerning to those in education, as well as those in creative industries, and the goal of finding a way to provide meaningful arts education is still very much up for discussion.
I have taken a number of things from this aspect of my research that confirm elements for my initial research earlier in the project. One thing I have found is that the impact of the EBacc on students has been both felt and acknowledged by a wide ranging group of people both involved with the arts and policy making. It shows that there is validity in the argument that the EBacc has been detrimental on devaluing the arts because the study aims stresses the need for further research, funding and priority for young people to be exposed to meaningful arts education. The fact that theres been discussion of the EBacc “narrowing the curriculum” from those who participated suggests that the reason why arts education is suffering, and therefore artists not being able to be involved in the education of young people a consequence of this. I believe the study is a good discussion piece for change within the education system, simply through the breadth of people who was involved in such discussion, as well as the recurring themes of need, value and priority when discussing arts education.
Book: Art, Artists and Pedagogy: Philosophy and the Arts in Education
Art, Artists and Pedagogy: Philosophy and the Arts in Education is a book concerning the philosophy of arts education from many aspects and perspectives. The book discusses what “distinguishes” the arts in 21st century education as well as the arts as a practice. As well as this, it focuses on the philosophy behind education as a whole, with specific reference to how these philosophies apply to the arts from different philosophers points of view. This is particularly interesting when linking it to my research because it gives the thoughts and opinions of philosophers who value the arts within education and who see great value in its inclusion.
The book reflects on the challenges and issues that the arts face in education, and how no adequate solution has been put forward yet. This was another interesting aspect of the book because it acknowledges key issues, similar to that in my other areas of research, but also indicates how no real solution has been found to provide meaningful high quality arts education to young people.
The work of Gert Biesta is also referenced heavily, with specific links to his work “The Rediscovery of Teaching” that makes connections to the arts and the world, and the impact one has on the other. This gave me further context on the impact the arts has on culture and the world. Therefore, making the need for meaningful arts education ever more important.
This wider reading has, and will continue to, give me a wider understanding of the impact that the arts have on culture and why education is a crucial aspect in this impact. I think it shows the importance of having arts education within schools and gives the reasoning for such education with philosophical grounding.
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