#engconf13

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How might the cultural sector take a more holistic and long-term view?

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Melanie Keen - Senior Relationship Manager, Visual Arts at ACE

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#engconf13 Sarah Thelwall - Director at mycake.org

I'm already a big fan of Sarah Thelwall - I've been referring to her Size Matters publication from the Common Practice network for the past couple of years.  I don't know how to do her justice here because this is all based on rigorous and sensible research.  I guess the biggest thing to retain from this is that small organisations are just different!!  They create deferred value which larger organisations then realise.  It is important for us all to utilise the work by Sarah to help us back up our instincts with factual foundations.  Need to sign off now because I want to mop up every word of this for my own benefit.... sorry guys... 

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#engconf13 Christopher Barnatt - Futurist Lecturer

Christopher Barnatt's presentation is alarming us with the news that there are a whole range of inter-related environmental challenges around the corner - I'm wondering whether we should all stop worrying about art and run for the hills.....!  We are being given a whole new set of concerns against which to foreground our work - peak oil/climate change/peak water/food shortages/limits to growth - the enormous implications of which are putting concerns about formal education into a different sort of perspective.  I guess the question now is becoming should we be throwing our resources in another direction or does this make our relationships with schools even more critical? Much like yesterday the tone is remaining positive and suggested new directions include 3D Printing/Synthetic Biology/Vertical Farming.  Christopher is suggesting we build civilisation on the twin pillars of technology and narrative.  He is challenging us to help foster new ways to consider society, which is a clear reflection of yesterdays dominant theme - that we have to deal with things as we find them and respond with positive solutions.  

Everybody in this sector is responsible for creating and reflecting narrative.

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#engconf13 Exchange Three - Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability

About to get stuck into the third and final exchange.  We are focusing on innovation in the delivery and resourcing of arts and education projects.  All of this in the light of current financial challenges.  Claire Antrobus has given us Capital Matters - mission models money - as a source of further inspiration and is giving usa word of warning not to exhaust ourselves looking at new income generation models above and before content and programme. 

Conference Panel: Christopher Barnatt, Futurist Lecturer; Dr Steve Ball, Associate Director, Birmingham Repertory Theatre; Hannah Barry, Founder of Bold Tendencies; Sarah Thelwall, Director at mycake.org, Caroline Wright, Artist and AIR Council Member; Melanie Keen - Senior Relationship Manager, Visual Arts at Arts Council England

Chaired by: Claire Antrobus, Independent consultant and engage Trustee and Louise Wright, Portfolio Manager, Arts Council Wales

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We should make tacit knowledge explicit!

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Lesley Butterworth - NSEAD

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#eng13 - Audience Comments

engage cymru are reminding us that there is a Welsh context too!  The Welsh Bacc enables creative teaching, and there is work taking place to launch a toolkit for galleries to assist in its delivery.

Other audience suggestions:

We should give teachers the confidence to argue for art's is importance and place creativity at the centre of the curriculum.  

We should acknowledge the paucity of hours there are in training for teaching of the arts.  

We should improve relationships between the visual arts sector and schools and teachers.  

There is a mis-match in language between the two professions - young people should not miss out on opportunities because of this.

Galleries are finding that the growth of academies and free schools means that the LEA is no longer the reliable single point of contact it once was.  

Galleries should consider working with teacher training organisations.

We should acknowledge the disadvantages of the curriculum for children with additional learning needs as well as decreased budgets and increasing difficulties for children needing a statement.

Separate to galleries and museums, studios are a liminal space for learning.

We should acknowledge parental pressure and provide young people with the language to make the argument that creative subjects are a valid choice.

NB - I've just realised I've been posting without a hashtag - apologies!  It should be easier to follow me on twitter from here on in!

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Exchange One: Looking to the Future

There is a sense in the room already that this conference is about dealing with the reality of a complex educational context.  Emily Pringle and Sarah Mossop have already stated that in order to have a meaningful relationship with formal teaching we need to understand this change and to respond with positive solutions.  There is acknowledgement that the current situation with regard to art education is problematic and a suggestion that this is precisely why we have as much, if not more responsibility than ever to engage in dialogue with teachers and education professionals.  

Lesley Butterworth is outlining the consultation process around drafting new Art and Design curriculums and outlining a recent history of challenge - for instance the near total loss of craft.  Despite consultation and launch of a new curriculum they are writing their own art curruculum that addresses several important missing aspects including the context of the cultural sector.  

Panel contributors:  Lesley Butterworth, General Secretary, National Society for Education in Art and Design; Lizzie Crump - Cultural Learning Alliance; Joan Parr - Creative Scotland's Portfolio Manager for Education, Learning and Young People; Laura Ford - Artist.  Chaired by Emily Pringle - Head of Learning Practice and Research at Tate

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Change!

We have made it to the CBSO, Professor Roderick Bugg, Chair of engage and Jane Sillis, Director of engage have got us started.  Conference Programmers Miranda Millward and Sarah Mossop are now foregrounding the themes as addressing significant and rapid changes in art education.  The conference will be structured around three keynote exchanges - looking at arts in formal education and constant flux in curriculum.

Our thoughts will be focused around the following exchanges.

Exhange One - Making sense of change

Exchange Two - Adapting to change (overseas case studies)

Exchange Three - Innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability - looking beyond the boundaries of gallery education

Sarah Mossop suggests we use the conference to formulate positive responses to current challenges.