Artcrimes

A quick summary of the year so far (or part of it)…..

If I have a major new focus, then it is my role within InSEA,The International Society for Education through Art. I am delighted to be one of the three World Councillors who represent Europe and had already volunteered to get involved in the social media and networking side of the organisation and to help to write a Manifesto for the Society, which represents the world as it is now. With Council members being spread over the world, we conduct most of our discussions by Skype/Zoom and email. It does make you think how on earth they managed before these were available! Typewriters, letters and snail mail no doubt. http://www.insea.org
Updates from this are here- the 2018 InSEA Manifesto was agreed and written with suggestions from many people and created in a graphic format (English) and also translated in many languages (with more to come) so please feel free to share this with your contacts, friends, colleagues, and students. Here is the link www.insea.org/InSEA-Manifesto

InSEA has been such a good experience for me, and in the summer of 2019, I went to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver where I was welcomed onto the new Council for 2019 to 2021, having been re-elected in November 2018. I am now leading a working group for InSEA with a focus on both marketing and social media. Soaking up other cultures has also been fascinating, as is the renewal of friendships and the making of new connections. The World Congress in Vancouver was a splendid event, busy but hugely inspiring.

In October 2019, I attended a European InSEA seminar in Malta, where I talked about Art Education and he Brexit crossroads and also ran a practical workshop on Manifestos.

I have also loved being a part of AccessArt as a Trustee and intend to continue to be both an ambassador and a champion for this wonderful organisation which promotes and showcases excellence for art education. www.accessart.org.uk

And as a Co-Director of the CIC group, Monkfish Productions in Newcastle, I hope to support them as they move into a new era and location and challenges, creative and otherwise. We heard in December that our application to convert to charity status has been approved. Welcome to a new era indeed!
www.monkfishproductions.org/our-team

I will continue my work as Secretary to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Art, Craft, and Design in Education, on behalf of NSEAD (National Society for Education in Art and Design)
http://www.nsead.org/APPG/index.aspx. This also gives me a role on NSEAD Council and I hope to also use that presence to involve NSEAD more with the global work of InSEA. Part of this work is working with other arts and/or education APPGs in a larger group which we call Drawn Together. There is so much common ground that we need to explore and support each other with. We have had two big Drawn Together sessions so far and hopefully will plan another one for the new parliamentary year. Read the Gomersal Primary School blog about their visit to speak at an APPG gomersalprimaryschoolart.blogspot.com/2018/?view=sidebar because it’s a joy to read.

Needless to say, the work with NEATEN (North East Art Teacher Educator Network) continues and supported by an excellent steering group, we will celebrate our 12th birthday as 2019 draws to an end.

I’ve also presented some keynote speeches at different events and locations, and have once again been guest judge and speaker at the 2019 Liverpool dotart schools event. This event in Margate was a great day of fun and making and advocacy and I was delighted to make the keynote speech as a ‘call to arms’. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-builders-manifesto-day-tickets-64748358082#

I was invited to be part of the PLAN-PREPARE-PROVIDE Art History Residential again in 2019, but it clashed with the InSEA World Congress and so I was able to contribute to the planning and also say hello by video conferencing. I will be there in 2020 though- watch out for date announcements soon.

We had our FOURTH Arts Council Collection Day in April- which I facilitated and tickets were sold out quickly. This year the focus was on INCLUSIVITY, which I based my two sessions around, and we also had great creative workshop opportunities run by artists and teachers. Once again, a great group of teachers and trainee teachers made the day special and unique. It rained all day but we didn’t let that spoil a thing. This is always a highlight of my whole year. I am delighted to tell you that we will be running the FIFTH day in June of 2020.

We also have a new primary art network thriving in the north east. *PATERN*- Primary-Art-Teacher-Educator-Regional-Network (how clever is that?) This is very exciting and based on the same model as NEATEN is- laingartgallery.org.uk/whats-on/patern-primary-art-teacher-and-educator-regional-network and I hope it will have the same impact in supporting teachers.

Paul Carney and I ran a national primary Art Conference in the 2019 summer term, hosted by the TTS company. Another sell out event, with great sessions by ourselves, Helen Ackroyd, Sheila from AccessArt and Cherly Stanley. We have also run another local Conference at the Shipley Art Gallery in December of 2019 which was well supported by speakers from arts organisations and attended by over 50 primary art teachers.
We were invited to run an event in Peterborough as well, once again, well attended and well supported by speakers from Big Draw (Kate Mason) and AccessArt (Sheila C).

NEATEN and our super annual Big Draw event, October 26th 2019 at the Durham Sixth Form Centre was a VERY successful day. A total team effort between NEATEN and the fabulous Durham Sixth Form Centre staff and students.

I also delivered over 17 talks and assemblies in the autumn term of 2019, on Roy Litchenstein, to support the Tate rooms exhibition at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle.

COMING UP IN 2020- I am working with Paul Carney on resources for the new Museum of Making which will open in DERBY in 2020. We also have THREE primary Art Conferences lined up in 2020, Oldham on 31st March, London on 14th April and (sunny) Margate on 26th June. Details are usually available here:”$”:https://www.paulcarneyarts.com/art-training-courses

After a very successful autumn term meeting with Durham EDS primary art teachers, I am continuing my support with network meetings and in school support.

Also planned for 2020: attending the InSEA European Congress in Baeza Spain in July. www.inseabaeza2020.com