Discover Arts Award: A Practical Guide for Young People, Parents and Educators
Discover Arts Award gives children and young people an opportunity to explore the arts, try something creative, learn about artists and share what they have discovered with other people.
One of the most important ideas behind our Discover Arts Award study pack is that art is much broader than painting and drawing. Art can be found in the clothes we wear, the music we hear, the photographs we take, the programmes we watch, the buildings around us and the objects we use every day.
Our Discover Arts Award study pack guides young people through this journey in manageable stages. It encourages them to look carefully at the creative world around them, participate in an arts activity, investigate an artist and, finally, share their completed work with other people.
How does the Discover Arts Award online study pack work?
The study pack is designed so that young people know what they need to do and what evidence they need to collect as they progress.
Each section includes an introduction, details of the evidence required, a to-do list and questions to answer. Young people are encouraged to read through the whole pack before beginning so that they understand what they will be doing and can collect their evidence at the right time.
The activities are divided into four main parts:
- Thinking about art and creating an ArtsMap
- Taking part in an art activity
- Learning about an artist
- Sharing the completed work
Part A: Thinking about art
The journey begins with a deceptively simple question: What is art?
Young people are encouraged to think about their existing experiences of art, the arts they have already tried, what they think they are good at and what they might need to become an Arts Explorer.
They can add pictures of art they have already created and think about why they want to take a Discover Arts Award.
This is an important starting point because there is no assumption that a young person needs to be an accomplished artist before beginning. Instead, they start with their own experiences and ideas.
Discovering art all around us with an ArtsMap
The next activity expands the idea of what art can be.
Young people create an ArtsMap, recording the art and creativity they notice during a journey through their everyday surroundings.
The map can be drawn, created using photographs or made as a montage of pictures. The important thing is that it represents the young person's own journey as they go through their day.
The evidence requested for this activity includes a photograph of the young person creating their ArtsMap and a photograph of the completed map. They are also asked to reflect on what they learnt while researching and creating it.
Part B: Taking part in an art activity
Discover Arts Award is not only about looking at art. Young people also get involved.
For this part of our study pack, they choose an arts activity or workshop. This could involve any kind of art. A young person might draw, paint, photograph, make something, perform or explore another creative discipline that interests them.
It can be an online lesson such as a video, or a leaflet like the ones we have created on our website or one which our students have created on our Facebook page.
This can happen at home or out and about with an artist in a public or private workshop.
That flexibility opens the door to many possibilities.
The study pack asks them to keep evidence of the experience, including a photograph of their artwork and a photograph of themselves taking part in the workshop. Afterwards, they record the title of the activity, explain what they saw or did, and, importantly, describe what they learnt.
This focus on the learning journey runs throughout the pack. The finished artwork matters, but so does the experience of creating it.
Part C: Learning about an artist
The next stage invites young people to choose a favourite artist and find out more about them.
Here, the word artist is deliberately broad. As our study pack explains, an artist can be anyone who creates art, anywhere or any time period.
This gives young people considerable freedom to follow their own interests.
They research their chosen artist and collect suitable evidence. This can include a picture of the artist, examples of their work, quotations and interesting information. For performers, a video reference can be used.
Young people are encouraged to consider their own response to another person's creativity and identify what they find interesting or inspiring. Young people can also include artwork they create in the style of their chosen artist.
Part D: Sharing your work
The final part of the study pack is about sharing.
Once the study pack has been completed, the young person shares it with other people, such as friends and family.
Importantly, they are not asked simply to show their finished artwork. They share the whole study pack, allowing others to see the complete journey they have taken.
The pack suggests several practical ways to collect evidence.
Evidence is part of the journey
One point we emphasise throughout our study pack is the importance of evidence.
Young people are not simply completing activities and trying to remember everything afterwards. The pack tells them when evidence is required and what they should collect.
Depending on the section, evidence can include photographs of activities, finished artwork, the ArtsMap, pictures and information discovered during artist research, photographs of people viewing the completed study pack, handwritten feedback and screenshots.
Ready to begin?
The child should be registered with an Adviser before their learning journey begins. If they aren’t registered with the Adviser, then they cannot be issued with a certificate.
To start your journey, please email: artsawardinitiative@gmail.com