Education, Interpretation, Access, and Engagement of Audiences in the Arts: UK POLICIES

Education, Interpretation, Access, and Engagement of Audiences in

the Arts: UK POLICIES

Matthew Poole

MAIN DILEMMA FOR CURATORS:

Does the artwork NEED to be ‘interpreted’?

Y/N?



YES:

So, you believe the artist has not

communicated clearly through the work? Is the artwork lacking in

some way?



YES:

So, you believe the artist has not

communicated clearly through the work? Is the artwork lacking in

some way?

NO:

But, are you then ignoring the needs and wishes of your audience, leaving

them adrift?



YES:

So, the audience needs some ‘expert’ help to more actively

engage with the artwork [to make the

experience more rewarding]?



YES:

So, the audience needs some ‘expert’ help to more actively

engage with the artwork [to make the

experience more rewarding]?

NO:

But, are you then missing out on the

possibility of generating more

research within the field/subject area that forms the context for

the artwork?

KEY QUESTION FOR CURATORS:

A. How do you recognise ‘active’

engagement with the exhibition by the

audience over ‘passive’

consumption of it?

KEY QUESTION FOR CURATORS:

A. How do you recognise ‘active’

engagement with the exhibition by the

audience over ‘passive’

consumption of it?

B. How can you provoke or catalyse ‘active’ engagement with the exhibition?

Art not as Representation, but as Experience

“A surgeon, golfer, ball player, as well as a dancer, painter, or violin-player has at hand and under command certain motor sets of the body. Without them, no complex skilled act can be performed. An inexpert huntsman has buck fever when he suddenly comes upon the game he has been pursuing. He does not have effective lines of motor response ready and waiting. His tendencies to action therefore conflict and get in the way of one another, and the result is confusion, a whirl and blur. The old hand at the game may be emotionally stirred also. But he works off his emotion by directing his response along channels prepared in advance: steady holding of eye and hand, sighting of rifle, etc. If we substitute a painter or a poet in the circumstances of suddenly coming upon a graceful deer in a green and sun-specked forest, there is also diversion of immediate response into collateral channels. He does not get ready to shoot, but neither does he permit his response to diffuse itself at random throughout his whole body. The motor coordinations that are ready because of prior experience at once render his perception of the situation more acute and intense and incorporate into it meanings that give it depth, while they also cause what is seen to fall into fitting rhythms.” (pp. 97-98)

John Dewey – Art as Experience [Harvard Lectures 1932]

Benefits of Education Initiatives:

Developing New Audiences

Promoting the Project/Exhibition

Generating Further Research

Production of New Work

Development of Networks

Creating Solidarity/Empathy

Proscenium Arch Initiatives:

Artists’ Talks

Curators’ Talks

Guided Tours

Panel Discussions

Symposia

Conference

Workshop Initiatives:Workshop Initiatives:

‘‘Making’Making’ Workshops Workshops

Group Discussions Group Discussions

Embodied Performance Embodied Performance

Published Initiatives:Published Initiatives:

Posters Posters

Leaflets Leaflets

Catalogues Catalogues

Artists’ Books Artists’ Books

Questionnaires Questionnaires

Web-Sites Web-Sites

Fanzine/Magazines Fanzine/Magazines

REMEMBER:

‘Education’ is

the ‘Coal-Face’

of Politics

in Museums & Galleries

1. DCMS - Department of Culture Media and Sport:

www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Museums_galleries/Education/default.htm

On Education:

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from and enjoy the wonderful

treasures that museums and galleries have to offer.

We work closely with:

the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)

the Group for Education in Museums [GEM]

And, Engage

and many other bodies to support learning provision in museums and galleries.

1. DCMS - Department of Culture Media and Sporthttp://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Museums_galleries/Education/default.htm

FundingWe fund core education activities in our sponsored institutions as part of our funding agreements. We also invest in museum and gallery education across England in partnership with the DfES.

To support the MLA’s Renaissance programme, we provided, in partnership with the DfES, £12.2 million of funding over 2003-06 to enable regional "hub" museums in the nine regions to provide a comprehensive service to schools.

In partnership with the DfES we provided a joint investment of £7 million over 2004-06 to strengthen the capacity of museums and galleries to support children and young people's education. This investment included:

Support for the 12 sponsored national museums and galleries, and the British Library, to work with regional museums and other partners on education projects

Support for non-Renaissance museums A secondment programme for teachers and museum educators,

delivered through the regional MLAs Training for gallery educators, delivered through Arts Council

England and engage

http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Museums_galleries/sponsored_mg.htm

http://www.mla.gov.uk/webdav/harmonise?Page/@id=73&Section%5B@stateId_eq_left_hand_root%5D/@id=4332&Section%5B@stateId_eq_selected%5D/@id=4351

http://www.mla.gov.uk/webdav/harmonise?Page/@id=73&Section%5B@stateId_eq_left_hand_root%5D/@id=4332&Section%5B@stateId_eq_selected%5D/@id=4351

2. MLA - Museums Libraries and Archives

www.mlalondon.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?NavigationID=273

MLA LONDON'S OBJECTIVE:

By 2010 London's museums, libraries and archives will be contributing to creating a learning London; maximising learning, skills and development opportunities for all Londoners by using the collections and services of our sector.


new initiatives funded and/or managed by MLA London include:

ｷ Londoners Need to Read - a skills for life research initiative for adult learners using London's libraries, archives and museums;

ｷ Young Cultural Creators - a flagship creative learning project for children and young people, and

ｷ Inspiring Learning for All - the new inclusive learning framework for our sector.

Visit the current Training section to find out about forthcoming training an development opportunities.

Go to the Resources section to download summaries of government publications relating to learning and skills, website reviews and full-text documents produced by us to support the MLA London training programme.

Visit the News section for updates about our current programmes and topical information relevant to regional learning and skills issues, policies and service provision.

We are working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to ensure that all Londoners, irrespective of their "learner status", make the most of the learning opportunities archives, libraries and museums can offer.

http://www.almlondon.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?ArticleID=522&NavigationID=161

http://www.almlondon.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?ArticleID=522&NavigationID=161

http://www.youngculturalcreators.com/

http://www.youngculturalcreators.com/

http://www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk/default.aspx?flash=true

http://www.lmal.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?NavigationID=159

http://www.lmal.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?NavigationID=161

http://www.almlondon.org.uk/priorities/index.cfm?NavigationID=118


Learning & Skills Statements

MLA London believes learning is integral to us as an organisation and is a key part of all its operational priorities particularly in relation to audience development, social inclusion and cultural diversity.

MLA London believes that learning is an intrinsic part of the work of all three domains.

MLA London is committed to working towards all archives, libraries and museums including and embedding lifelong learning objectives into every aspect of their work, to ensure that they become more responsive to the needs of Londoners and learning agencies.

MLA London is committed to working with practitioners to raise the standards of learning provision across museums, libraries and archives for the benefit of all Londoners.

MLA London will initiate and run innovative projects that demonstrate good practice and also highlight the relevance and impact of archives, libraries and museums to wider learning and skills agendas.

MLA London will undertake research to identify and address gaps in the provision of cultural learning opportunities and also help bring more resources into the sector.






















MLA London is committed to working with practitioners to raise the standards of learning provision cross museums, libraries and archives for the benefit of all Londoners.



















3. Arts Council England

www.artscouncil.org.uk/subjects/homepage.php?sid=9

Education and learning homepage:What we doOur national office and each of our nine regional offices has an education and learning team. We work together to develop and implement corporate policy and strategic initiatives.

Our national team works with other organisations to:

ｷ influence government agendas

ｷ help the arts sector understand these agendasｷ raise the profile of arts involving children and young peopleｷ manage national initiatives such as Artsmark and the Arts Award.

Our regional office teams work with local authorities and regional agencies to:

ｷ strengthen and develop arts education and learning provision in their areas

ｷ signpost opportunities and progression routes for children and young people.

The scope of our work is wide and includes:

ｷ the formal education sector

ｷ arts learning in informal settingsｷ youth arts.






































The majority of our current work is focused on arts education and learning for children and young people.

Children, young people and the artsChildren and young people’s engagement in the arts and creativity can be highly transformational and extremely diverse.

Children and young people can experience the arts by producing work themselves, participating in arts activities or working with and seeing the work of creative practitioners.

These experiences can be in a wide range of settings - school, home or other places such as youth clubs, hospitals or youth offender institutions.

Children and young people may access the arts by themselves, with friends or with their families.

Read our Children, young people and the arts strategy.

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publications/publication_detail.php?browse=recent&id=478


Our aims until 2008Our vision is that everyone in England, through early childhood to young adulthood and beyond, should engage with the highest quality of arts and creative experiences.

We aim to:

ｷｷ foster a world-leading infrastructure, alongside other cultural organisations, that supports and values children and young people and increases their opportunities to engage in activities relevant to their needs and interests

ｷｷ ensure the arts and creativity have a place within government and other policy agendas that have an impact on children and young people

ｷｷ see wide social recognition of the value and transformational power of the arts and creativity, particularly in relation to children and young people.

We will engage children and young people in all decisions which affect them and ensure that we reflect and value their cultural expression and choices in our work.

In order to provide relevant arts and creative opportunities for young people we will broaden the range and appeal of what we fund and support.



We aim to:








We aim to:








We aim to:







Current initiatives

ｷｷ Artsmark is a national award scheme that recognises and rewards schools that have a commitment to the full range of arts – visual art, dance, drama and music. Schools do an audit of their arts provision, which encourages them to develop and increase the range and variety of arts available to pupils.

ｷｷ Creative Partnerships is a programme managed by Arts Council England that gives young people in 36 disadvantaged areas across England the opportunity to develop their creativity and ambition.

ｷｷ Young people's Arts Award is the first awards scheme to recognise young people’s development through the arts.

ｷｷ Together with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), we are developing cultural hubs in Telford, Durham, and Bournemouth and Poole, to explore models of cultural provision for children and young people. Effective partnership working and joint planning between local arts organisations, museums, libraries, archives services and schools is at the heart of this programme which will run to 2008.

ｷｷ We are developing a corporate approach to ensure that we hear the views of children and young people.

ｷｷ We are working with our partner organisations to maximise the contribution of the arts to their existing and emerging strategies

4. Museums Association

www.museumsassociation.org/ma/10934

MA Code of Ethics:

‘Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.’

The values in this definition are developed further within ten core museum principles prefacing the Code of Ethics. These principles summarise the key points of the code and are headings for sections within it. …


Museums should:

1: Hold collections in trust for the benefit of society

2: Focus on public service

3: Encourage people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment

4: Consult and involve communities, users and supporters

5: Acquire items honestly and responsibly

6: Safeguard the long term public interest in the collections

7: Recognise the interests of people who made, used, owned, collected or gave items in the collections

8: Support the protection of natural and human environments

9: Research, share and interpret information related to collections, reflecting diverse views

10: Review performance to innovate and improve

http://www.museumsassociation.org/ma/10935












Museums should:

















Museums should:











Society must expect museums to:

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO EXPLORE COLLECTIONS FOR INSPIRATION, LEARNING AND ENJOYMENT

3.0 Museums have the generosity of spirit to be approachable at every point of contact, to reach out to audiences and to increase access to their collections. As educational institutions, museums encourage a participative approach to learning. However specialised their subjects or remote their locations, they develop new audiences and deepen relationships with existing users. Museums recognise that individuals have varied backgrounds and varying physical, intellectual and cultural needs and expectations.

All those who work for or govern museums should ensure that they:

3.1 Improve the quality of experience for all users.

3.2 Recognise the diversity and complexity of society and uphold the principle of equal opportunities for all.

3.3 Develop and promote the museum to appeal to an ever broader and more varied audience. Aim to provide something of interest to every potential user.

3.4 Promote public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the museum. Promote the educational role of the museum in its widest sense and cater for a broad range of interest levels and abilities.

3.5 Take account of individuals’ differing educational experiences, learning styles, abilities and ways of understanding. Provide a choice of types and levels of access.

3.6 Respond to the diverse requirements of different cultural groups.

3.7 Respond to the needs and wishes of people with disabilities. Have in place effective systems to ensure that buildings, displays and other services are increasingly accessible to people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities.

3.8 Take account of present and potential users’ ability and willingness to visit if admission or other charges are levied.

3.9 Make provision for those who are not currently prepared or able to visit. Use a variety of means to improve access, such as outreach, publishing or websites.

3.10 Make the museum’s services available on a regular basis and at times which reflect the needs of users and potential users. Make opening times, events and other services widely known. Make explicit the levels of access available to collections, including items not on display.

3.11 Respond positively to people’s expectations of access to museum collections, whether displayed or not. Regularly review the means available to the museum to make collections more accessible, either directly or in electronic or published form.

3.12 Reconcile the museum’s role in safeguarding items for the benefit of future users with its obligation to optimise access for present users. Make explicit the criteria used if access needs to be restricted.

3.13 Make provision not just for safeguarding the collections but also for keeping them accessible whenever a building that houses collections needs to be closed or isolated.

3.14 Assist everyone who makes a reasonable request for information. Give public access to all documentation and other information held by a museum, unless the information was imparted in confidence, or it can be shown that the wider public interest demands that access be restricted (for example to protect collections or prevent abuse of sites of historic or scientific importance).

3.15 Consider restricting access to certain specified items where unrestricted access may cause offence or distress to actual or cultural descendants. Provide separate storage facilities where appropriate. (See also section 7, recognise the interests of people who made, used, owned, collected or gave items in the collections.)

3.16 Facilitate public access to the expertise of members of staff. Allow public access to unpublished research carried out on behalf of the museum unless there is a genuine need to protect the research.

3.17 Undertake identifications to the highest scholarly standards and provide as many significant facts about an item as possible. Do not conceal any lack of specialised knowledge and recommend other appropriate sources of advice to enquirers whenever possible.

3.18 Encourage public appreciation of the cultural rather than financial value of items. Refuse to put a financial value on items for the public. (Valuation for a museum’s own internal management processes, such as insurance and acquisition is ethical.) (See also section 5, acquire items honestly and responsibly.)

3.19 Balance provision for particular groups or individuals, such as specialist enquirers, with long-term provision for a wider audience.

5. GEM – Group for Education in Museums

www.gem.org.uk/lotc/lotc_manifesto_more.html

Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto:

The Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto partnership was launched by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on 28 November 2006. The Manifesto is a ‘movement’ or joint undertaking that many different stakeholders have helped to create and to which anyone can sign up. Its aim is to ensure that all young people have a variety of high quality learning experiences outside the classroom environment.

www.teachernet.gov.uk/learningoutsidetheclassroom


The Group for Education in Museums recognises the value of Learning Outside the Classroom and supports the Manifesto’s vision and aims. We have therefore already endorsed the Manifesto along with over 100 other organisations, including English Heritage, Field Studies Council, Natural England, RSPB, Outward Bound Trust, Arts Council, Forestry Commission, Natural History Museum, Youth Hostel Association, Farming and Countryside Education, National Trust, Learning through Landscapes, to name just a few.

We have endorsed the Manifesto because we believe that by working together we can provide many more opportunities for children and young people to experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of their learning and development. We recognise that, quality learning experiences in ‘real’ situations can raise achievement across a range of subjects and develop better personal and social skills.


The Group for Education in Museums recognises the value of Learning Outside the Classroom and supports the Manifesto’s vision and aims. We have therefore already endorsed the Manifesto along with over 100 other organisations, including English Heritage, Field Studies Council, Natural England, RSPB, Outward Bound Trust, Arts Council, Forestry Commission, Natural History Museum, Youth Hostel Association, Farming and Countryside Education, National Trust, Learning through Landscapes, to name just a few.

We have endorsed the Manifesto because we believe that by working together we can provide many more opportunities for children and young people to experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of

their learning and development. We recognise that, quality learning experiences in ‘real’ situations can raise achievement across a range of subjects and develop better personal and social skills.


When these experiences are well planned, safely managed and personalised to meet the needs of every child they can:

1. Improve academic achievement

2. Provide a bridge to higher order learning

3. Develop skills and independence in a widening range of

environments

4. Make learning more engaging and relevant to young

people

5. Develop active citizens and stewards of the environment

6. Nurture creativity

7. Provide opportunities for informal learning through play

8. Reduce behaviour problems and improve attendance

9. Stimulate, inspire and improve motivation

10. Develop the ability to deal with uncertainty

11. Provide challenge and the opportunity to take acceptable

levels of risk

12. Improve young people’s attitudes to learning.

6. ENGAGE

www.engage.org/about/whatis.aspx

What is gallery education?

Gallery education is a new and changing body of practice that exists to broaden understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts - through projects and programmes that help schoolchildren and the wider community become confident in their understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts and galleries.

Gallery education continues to develop in response to changes in art practice, changes in audience needs, and changes in formal and informal education.

Many galleries and art museums around the world now have gallery education departments, and gallery education programmes organised and delivered by gallery education staff, working with artist-educators, artists, teachers, professional partners and community leaders.

6. ENGAGE

www.engage.org/about/whatis.aspx

Gallery educators work as:

ｷ creative catalysts - working with artists, curators, and the community to create new projects to help people engage with practising

artists

ｷ audience champions - representing schools' and communities' needs and expectations in the gallery or museum

ｷ access and education experts - understanding and planning for the needs of different users, including different learning styles and

cross-curricular opportunities

ｷ advocates and project managers - promoting and delivering projects and programmes

6. ENGAGE

Gallery education includes:

ｷ promoting visual literacy - helping people develop the tools and vocabulary to experience and

respond to art

ｷ unlocking creativity - stimulating people to explore their own creative potential, to make art

themselves, and to pursue careers in the creative industries

ｷ cultural empowerment - building people's confidence with and understanding of artists, galleries, arts centres, art museums.

6. ENGAGE

Gallery education can:

ｷ help schoolchildren expand and enrich their learning about art ,

ｷ give young people the chance to re-engage with art and culture ,

ｷ enable people to meet live artists and develop careers in the arts ,

ｷ reach out to community groups to build renewed contact with culture.

Documents

Education, Interpretation, Access, and Engagement of Audiences in the Arts: UK POLICIES