In 2014, the economic output of the creative industries amounted to £84.1 billion. The sector accounted for 5.8% of jobs within the UK, as well as £19.8 billion of our annual UK services exports. It is clear, therefore, that not only is an inclusive arts education important to the wellbeing of our children and young people, but also to our country’s wider economic prosperity.

On 11th October, the All Parties Parliamentary Group held a summit, Drawn Together: Collaborating Creatively. It provided a chance for MPs and Peers to show their support for arts education and the UK’s creative industries, while meeting with various education, arts and creative people from across sectors. Artswork were in attendance on the day.

Find out more...

Further Provocations (c) Tim Etchells

John Hansard Gallery, in partnership with Southampton Youth Offending Service, Compass School and In-Focus Training Ltd, are creating a programme of activity for February 2017 as part of the Tate Exchange Programme.

This exciting project, inspired by the Tate Collection and the Mass Observation Archive Report on Juvenile Delinquency (H.D. Willcock, 1949), creatively explores issues of youth crime from the perspective of young people, teachers, youth offending service workers and artists.

Find out more...

This summer, six Disability Provider organisations worked with arts practitioners and Arts Award on a Short Breaks project with disabled children and young people in Oxfordshire. Funded by Oxfordshire County Council, we supported the work through our Partnership Investment initiative. The result of this work is a festival of disability youth arts, which will take place at Ark T in Oxford, on 29th October. The festival will be opened by Ruth Gould, Creative Director of DADA Fest, Liverpool.

The Short Breaks scheme provides disabled children and young people with the opportunity to spend time away from their parents, relaxing and having fun with their friends. Families are also able to spend time away from their caring responsibilities, freeing them up to spend time with other children, or simply unwind and recharge.

The People:

• Autism Family Support with OYAP Trust
• The Let's Play Project with OYAP Trust
• Barnados with Animation Station
• Core Assets with River & Rowing Museum
• Parasol with Arts Excite
• Yellow Submarine with Film Oxford

Find out more about Artswork's work with Short Breaks here…

Learn more about ROAR, the disability youth arts festival...

“It’s about 6 and 7 year olds making art instead of grown-ups telling us what to do.” (Year 2 Young Arts Leader)

"At a recent meeting of inspiring people from the arts and education sectors, it struck me. Adults, even creative ones, can often be the biggest barrier to creating the kinds of people that the future needs. Standing in the room, listening to thoughts from my peers, I realised that our own ideas about education, skills, hierarchies of knowledge, ageing, wisdom, experience and leadership meant that many of us were reluctant to hand over power to children and young people. Can children and young people truly be inspiring arts leaders now, rather than the aspiring leaders of the future? Art Inspiring Change, a project at Turner Contemporary in Margate, is proving that they can be."

Read more of Karen Eslea's thoughts here...

Share your own Future Views here...

_artswork_We really enjoyed having STEAM Co. in our STEAM Teach Meet session last night! #STEMtoSTEAM

Follow Artswork on Instagram here!

Arts Council England’s Darren Henley recently described his vision for the future of the arts and culture sector. He talked about the central roles that art and culture play in our shared national culture, and in the life of cities like Sunderland. He emphasised that he is confident the sector’s contribution is recognised by the government – but that we must work hard on our partnerships with local authorities, so that they continue to invest in local art and culture.

Watch his speech in full here...

Each year Arts Award select a new group of Good Practice Centres to take part in a range of activities that profile and highlight their work and advocate for Arts Award.

Good Practice Centres inspire existing and potential Arts Award advisers by sharing their practice and advocating for the award in their communities and more widely. In return, Arts Award celebrate their achievements, profile their success and promote their work as part of Arts Award’s support offer to advisers.

Find out more here...

Creative Consultation with Young People

Bristol

Thursday 10th November 2016

Book your place

Creating Digital Change

London

Wednesday 16th November 2016

Book your place

Funding Your Youth Arts Project

Southampton

Thursday 24th November 2016

Book your place

Creating Digital Change

Manchester

Thursday 16th February 2017

Book your place

Find details on all our upcoming training courses and events here

We have created a publication to celebrate the end of the Creative Skills Initiative, a work-based learning programme led by Artswork with a consortium of six other Bridge Organisations.

The initiative provided opportunities for young people aged 16-24 across England, arming them with skills and experience to help them take their first steps into work within the creative and cultural industries.

Download the free publication here...

Plymouth Music Zone (c) Kevin Clifford

In autumn 2016, Arts Council England invested a further £1m in six research projects across England as part of their stage 2 research grants programme, involving a range of small, medium and large arts and cultural organisations.

Find out more...

Congratulations to the Enterprise Learning Alliance in Kent, a cross-phase Pupil Referral Unit who have recently achieved Artsmark.

The Pupil Referral Unit caters for students between the ages of 11 and 16 over six sites in Thanet and Dover. The Artsmark process has allowed them to focus on developing a rounded arts offer, which includes the aspiration to launch a new programme of delivery for GCSE Art and Design, as well as doubling the BTEC Creative Media Provision.

Read more...

A huge congratulations from all of us at Artswork to the five young people who have recently completed their Creative Apprenticeships, and thank you to their employers for supporting them through the process:

Georgia – Making Space

Ollie – Nuffield Theatre

Layla – Artswork

Lauren – Urban Vocal Group

Macauly – Urban Vocal Group

We wish you all the best in your very bright futures!

Find out more about our Creative Apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities for young people here...

@ArtsworkLtd Please RT, Charity Single out now raising funds for music workshops for homeless hostel residents https://t.co/GHHjby6sgh

— Music for Change (@music4changeuk) October 19, 2016

What will you do on Takeover Day?

Takeover Day is a celebration of children and young people’s contributions to museums, galleries, arts organisations, archives and heritage sites. It’s a day on which they are given meaningful roles, working alongside staff and volunteers to participate in the life of the museum. 

So get involved this year on 18 November 2016.

Find out more here...

Do you run an Art Club? Or would you like to?

Benefit from being part of a larger network to inspire your art club activities by hosting a Brilliant Makers Club!

Find out more here...

We have a number of Arts Award adviser training dates across the South East. Follow the link below to find your nearest:

See here for more details...

Follow us as we share images from the programmes and projects we're engaged with - catch an inside glimpse of our work as it happens.

Why not subscribe to our English National Youth Arts Network (ENYAN) newsletter too?

See the latest issue here