All Schools Should Be Art Schools: Symposium on Art Education
Term: 1 Year: 2019
“(The Symposium) encouraged me to lead a school wide approach to art-centred teaching and learning programs.”
– Lily Ferres, Teacher, Wilcannia Central School
On October 24 2018 Kaldor Public Art Projects in partnership with UNSW Art & Design presented ALL SCHOOLS SHOULD BE ART SCHOOLS, a one-day symposium for art education professionals. The morning session featured a keynote address by Sir Nicholas Serota CH, Chair of Arts Council England, former director of the Tate (1988-2017) and two panel discussions. These discussions aimed to unpack art education within the classroom and offer insights into how schools can sustain meaningful and collaborative partnerships with cultural institutions on a local and national level. The afternoon session featured a dynamic, participatory workshop led by celebrated Australian artist Agatha Gothe-Snape and invited audience members to contemplate their seminal encounters with art, and reflect upon how such encounters have the capacity to change the way we see the world and each other.
ALL SCHOOLS SHOULD BE ART SCHOOLS is a slogan coined by British artist Bob & Roberta Smith, and is nothing short of a provocation. The symposium was held in light of recent debates on standardised testing, the “reboot” of Gonski 2.0 and the current NSW curriculum review. It aimed to provide a critical platform for discussion on the vital importance of art education and use the creative tools at our disposal to galvanise support for art education and generate ideas for teaching.
In 2019 Kaldor Public Art Projects will showcase 50 years of projects at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with the aim of developing new models of creative learning and teaching, collaboration and community engagement. ALL SCHOOLS SHOULD BE ART SCHOOLS provided a unique opportunity for Kaldor Public Art Projects to showcase the latest developments in art education and artist-led pedagogy, informed by extensive research into best practice learning and engagement programs. It also enabled the Kaldor Public Art Projects education team to connect with pioneering creative learning specialists and build new knowledge to feed into future programming within the anniversary exhibition.
Lleah Smith
Education & Public Programs Coordinator