Source- Art Monthly

Big it up for Big Arts

When it comes to the building up cultural capital for the future clearly the right place to begin is in our schools. More over, this ought to be obvious to a government whose own figures show that what it is pleased to call the creative industries are worth more than £67b a year to the national economy. However, it seems that this is not the case since according to a survey commissioned by the charity Big Arts Week, 80% of the UK headteachers say that they have to battle to find the time to schedule art lessons within the national curriculum, while a staggering 90% of teachers have expressed concern that the sidelining of the arts is directly affecting their students’ ability to think creatively or, as one educational psychologist put it, ‘to think for themselves’.

At the same time, public museums and galleries in Britain are being pressurised to create new, socially inclusive audiences for art and to meet ever more exacting targets set by its funding agencies. No one disputes the desirability of such policies, but why make it even harder to achieve by effectively excluding school children form the arts at the age when they are open to ideas and to the kind of creative stimulation that the arts can offer?

Source- Stoke Newington & Stamford Hill Express

Harry’s Got A Big Art

My name is Harry Enfield and I’m writing with a plea to fellow artists to support BIG ARTS WEEK 2003. Big arts week is an exciting initiative inviting professional artists to volunteer their time and share their skills to inspire local children in primary and secondary schools throughout the country during the week of 30 June-4 July 2003.
Already big names such as Wayne Hemmingway, Oliver Parker, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor have pledged their support, but the more people we have to help inspire a new generation, the better.

We need all kinds of artists from painters to performers, architects to acrobats and journalists to jewellery makers. And we need all levels form recently qualified graduates to high-profile professionals and everyone in between. The creative future of Britain is under threat. School teachers today are struggling to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum. A recent survey showed the despite creative industries being worth more then £67 billion a year to our national economy, 80 per cent of UK teachers are hard-pushed to find time for the arts.

This means thousands of school children receive only a rudimentary introduction to the creative world. Which is where Big Arts Week comes in. I can’t think of a better way to simulate the talent of tomorrow than by introducing them to the talent of today and that’s exactly what Big Arts Week does, it encourages artists into school to share their knowledge. I urge all artists to get involved - I am.

To get involved, please visit www.bigartsweek.com, email info@bigartsweek.com or call 020 7654 0023, by Friday April 11 2003. Thanking you in anticipation.

Harry Enfield
Big Arts Patron

Source- Leicester Mercury ( Hincking edition )

Time for Artists to register for schools’ creativity week

Leicestershire artist and schools are encouraged to register for Big Arts Week 2003 and be part of innovating creativity in the classroom.
Big Arts Week, successfully launched last year, is designed to engage young people across the nation in the arts. Artists of every creative discipline are invited to volunteer between one hour and one week of their time during the week of 30 June to 4 July, to share their creative talent with a local school.

Every primary and secondary school in the country is eligible to take part.

The term artists encompasses painting to performance, architecture to acrobatics and journalism to jewellery- making.

Last year, over 7,000 schools and artists got involved, exposing young people to a diverse range of artistic experience. Big Arts Week 2003 benefits from the support of patrons such as the sculptor Antony Gormley, comedian Harry Enfield and artist Sam Taylorwood, who cite the influence of individual in their youth being inspiration for their love of art. Artists’ skills are needed to contribute to the next generation’s creative perspective.

For more information visit www.bigartsweek.com which includes online registration for both artists and schools, or contact info@bigartsweek.com.

Telephone 020 7654 0023

Source- Art Monthly

Art: Big?

The creative future of Britain is under threat as today’s school teaches struggle to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum.

To help draw attention to this plight Big Arts Week (June 30 – July4 2003) will introduce artists back into schools. As Anish Kapoor stresses, ‘The next generation of British artists is sitting in classrooms around the country … Somewhere the next David Hockney is learning his times-tables and the future Ben Okri is being taught how to spell.

These children are the future of British arts and it’s vitally important that other interests are fostered while they are young. Big Arts Week is looking for artists to go into schools and any volunteers should email info@bigartsweek.com or go to www.bigartsweek.com

Arts week to save children’s creativity

The creative future of the south west is under threat as today’s schoolteachers struggle to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum, say the organisers of Big Art week. Despite creative industries being more then £67 billion a year to the national economy, more then fore fifths (84%) of teachers in the south west are hard pushed to find time for the arts- meaning thousands of school children receive only a rudimentary introduction to the creative world. The research has been carried out by Big Arts Week - a charity initiative that aims to tackle the problem by inviting professional artists to volunteer their time and share their skills to inspire local schoolchildren.

Co-founder of Big Arts Weeks, Willian Seighart, said, “The arts in school are struggling for attention which is where Big Arts Week comes in."

From June 30 to July 4, artists of every creative discipline will be invited to share their talents with a local school

“Artists such as Harry Enfield, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor have already pledged their support but the more artists we have to inspire a new generation, the better. And the term ‘artist’ is all encompassing from painters to performers, architects to acrobats, and journalist to jewellery makers.”

Just one of several high-profile artists to volunteer their time, Anish Kapoor is one of Britain’s most celebrated and influential artists. This is the second year he has lent his support to Big Arts Week.

To volunteer, email info@bigartsweek.com, or for more information about Big Arts Week visit www.bigartsweek.com