In today's society, there is an ever-expanding use of digital platforms and presence of visual content in our daily lives and work. Visual arts is expressed through different modes, like painting, sculpting, graphics, photography, media and cartoon art, arts and crafts, performance and location-based art. There is growing evidence that demonstrates a direct link between an arts-rich education from an early age and an increase in students’ confidence, their intellectual abilities across all learning areas, problem-solving skills, and general life skills. We at HundrED believe visual acuity, literacy and communication needs to be recognised as a fundamental skill in K12 education - at par with literacy and numeracy.
To help identify solutions and practices that develop self-expression and cultivate the creative thinking skills needed for the 21st century, we arecoming together with our global partner, Supercell to announce a Spotlight on Visual Arts.
Matt Allan, Game Artist at Supercell shares his personal experience from school stating,
"Throughout my own time at school, I was often encouraged away from art to more ''viable'' career choices. Today, I see curriculums pushing coding and humanities to the forefront. This is good, but I believe they still underestimate how important creative, flexible minds and skillsets are in building successful careers, companies and products that people will love."
The visual arts provide a vital cultural component and deliver on a range of important skills otherwise missing from the K12 curriculum. They provide a platform for addressing the important issues of our times; they build self-reflective, empowered communities.
Danny Gilliland, the Head of Impact & Growth at HundrED, shares,
“the ability to understand and reflect visual artistic expression is critically important to thriving in today’s digital and visual world. Visual arts not only cultivates the ability to reflect, understand and communicate important information, but fosters creativity and joy in our daily lives.”
This HundrED Spotlight will showcase leading innovations from around the world that foster visual arts in K12 education. The innovations will be required to have an educational element that promotes an increased interaction with visual arts education in and outside of our schools.
“Many times Art is thought of as a hobby and it’s not necessarily encouraged as a career path. We were inspired by the artists in Supercell to work together with HundrED to promote Art as a key element in education.”
states Maria Facal, from the Corporate Social Responsibility team in Supercell.
The submission call to share innovations ends on Friday, 15th May 2020 1700 UTC. Selected solutions will be released at the end of 2020 to kick-start a movement that supports the integration of visual art education in our classrooms globally.
All innovators, educators and organizations working in the field of Visual Arts education are encouraged to share their best practices and solutions. Create your page here!
