Abstract :
This article discusses the ways in which a fine art
department has successfully enabled pupils,
staff and the local community to gain access to
exciting and wide-ranging art experiences.
Through the creation of temporary installations
and exhibitions the art department at Trinity
School regularly becomes a gallery resource
centre for part of the year. Children across all key
stages create art inspired by artists in residence
(including an artist teacher) in response to challenging
contemporary issues. In 2005 three
collaborative installations were produced in
response to a potentially disruptive phase within
the educational establishment. ‘Sleep-Eternal
Rest’ involved pupils’ contributions to the installation,
gallery visits and the study of different
artists’ work. For the exhibition ‘Flesh, Fur and
Feathers’, a resident artist worked with students
in response to a hanging deer, game and a table
laden with fruit. In a building about to be demolished
a group of recently graduated artists
collaborated on an exhibition entitled
‘Somewheretogo’. This collaborative partnership
led to art becoming a central resource for different
curriculum areas as well as PSHE. The
success of the venture led to pupils’ own work
becoming an accessible artistic resource, to
which they themselves could respond. As well
as avoiding the potential limitations of examdriven
targets and assessment, it became a
source of enrichment in personal, educational
and creative terms.
