Continuing our series of blogs looking at ways to support Arts Award delivery online, today we hear from Shane Strachan at Art UK, who talks about their extensive free visual art resources, to support all levels of Arts Award
At Art UK, we’re passionate about opening up access to the nation’s art. We have a wealth of resources on our website which can support young people to complete various elements of an Arts Award focused on visual arts. I’m excited to share insight into five of these resources and hope that it will lead to lots more young people being able to complete their Arts Award during this unprecedented time.
Resources 1-3: Art works, Articles and our Podcast
The Art UK website is home to digitised images of over a quarter of a million art works and public sculptures from over 3,200 venues. Art works can be searched by:
- artist
- region or venue
- type (painting, sculpture, etc.)
- topic (i.e. transport and industry)
- style (from Abstract Expressionism to Vorticism)
- or type any subject or object you have in mind!
As well as a high-quality image of each 2D work, you van view up to 10 different perspectives on sculptures on the site which provide a greater appreciation of each 3D work.
Alongside this vast collection of viewable art, the website also has a wealth of stories focused on different artists, art works, exhibitions, collections, styles and periods. We also have our ‘Being…’ series – articles focused on different individuals working in the arts who provide insight into their career.
You can also check out our Art Matters podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify which currently stands at over 50 episodes covering a range of themes and topics.
These resources can be used to support the following Arts Award elements:
- Discover: researching artists and their work
- Explore: exploring the work of artists or craftspeople and arts organisations
- Bronze: research the career and work of an artist or craftsperson
- Silver: research future opportunities and careers in the arts
- Gold: find out about artists or craftspeople and their career paths
They can also be used to inspire young people to make their own art in the style of an artist, which is great for Explore Part C, Bronze Part A or the Unit 1 arts challenge for Silver.
Resource 4: Curations Tool
This month we launch our Curations tool on the site, as highlighted . ‘Curations’ allows anyone to curate their own digital showcase of art works selected from the Art UK site. Users can then also write up additional content exploring their selections. This could be a great way for an Arts Award participant to curate their own exhibition focused on a certain theme as part of their arts activity, or it could be used to create a showcase of their research as part of their project evidence.
In time, venues and galleries will be using the tool to share their own virtual exhibitions, so it’s also a great way for young people to virtually attend something they may not be able to access otherwise at the moment.
The Curations tool can support the following Arts Award elements:
- Discover, Explore and Bronze: take part in arts activities (curating your own online exhibition)
- Bronze: experience and review an arts event (reviewing a gallery’s online exhibition)
- Silver: review arts events and share their views
- Gold: review arts events
Resource 5: Home School
Finally, our Learning & Engagement team have been sharing creative projects inspired by various art works on the Art UK site, from making a Mirrored Masterpiece to creating and documenting a Sculpture Adventure!
Home School can support the following Arts Award elements:
- Discover, Explore and Bronze: take part in arts activities
- Explore: create a piece of art work
Visit www.artuk.org and see how it can support your Arts Award!
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