Upon researching into my chosen subject area, I came across a reference to the Child Art Movement initiated by "Austrian printmaker Franz Cižek in the late 19th century" (Smith, 2019). This movement was discussed while giving context to Bob and Roberta Smith's feelings regarding the current state of education in the UK. Although a brief mention about the purpose of the movement, I found it particularly interesting that the arts were used after the war to aid children's mental wellbeing. Prioritising creative-lead education in an effort to process children's feelings, while building on skills in a fun manner has been used for decades, with this being an early example of such movements.
Throughout my prior research, the consideration of the health benefits of art at a younger age, particularly primary and secondary school level, has not been acknowledged. However, through my personal experience I found the arts to be the best way to explore my mental wellbeing through a creative process. The fact it has not been considered in my earlier research shows that even government commissioned documents do not factor the health benefits of the art, which plays into the value art has on the curriculum.
Franz Cižek's movement was formed in light of his feelings regarding "the value of creativity to children – and he used his methods to help children deal with trauma in the aftermath of the first world war. Art was used as an antidote." (Smith, 2019) This viewpoint is particularly interesting because it suggests art as a discipline can be used to help process thoughts, feelings and emotions, making it very valuable to a child or young person. Value placed upon the arts for young people should be high due to this, and also due to the vital skills it can help develop. Although it is important to acknowledge that the use of this movement was light of the trauma children had after the First World War, the concept of using art for a purpose cannot be ignore and carries as much weight today as it did then. Although the source of children's trauma can range across a variety of different situations, the fact remains that art can provide therapeutic qualities that other subjects simply do not offer. This centres around the creativity aspect, and the learning through doing and creating. If this is not offered to a child, regardless of their situation, they have no way of conveying themselves creatively, and thus are limited in their understanding. Movements such as this highlight the multi-purpose use of the arts and how, crucially, it is beneficial for those who participate within it.
How does this research benefit my project?
This wider reading of a historical example of the use of creativity to help young people with trauma will help my project because it gives me a wider understanding of how people come to use art. How they use it, why they use it and what they intend to get out of the educational content I provide will all now be taken into consideration when I build my learning platform. I think this brings in a more human level to the educational content I create, while giving young people the opportunity to have fun, express themselves and develop on key skills for both their personal and educational development. Getting young people in the habit of trying new creative skills, experimenting and using their own decision making skills will all factor into developing students as a whole. I think this research has shown that the arts are a useful tool for children both for their education and their mental wellbeing. Overall I feel that this brief look into the Child Art Movement has been vital to my research.
Smith, B., 2019. Why Are Children Forced To Choose Between The Arts? The Ebacc Must Go | Bob And Roberta Smith. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/22/children-arts-ebacc-gcse> [Accessed 11 December 2020].
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