Revisiting Art and Craft Education in the 21st Century

This practice-led research focused on identifying the affect of teaching methods identified from The Revolution of Child Art using the Child Art Collection, an archive based at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. In particular, the report focuses on selfexpression, creativity and innovation involved in art education.
Marion Richardson and Franz Cizek are pioneers of The Revolution of Child Art, and as such I have investigated teaching methods and work environments that they became famous for, Mind Pictures, Word Pictures and the encouragement of playfulness.
The modern day applicability was investigated via workshops and my practice. It was concluded that the impact on art education is fundamental to encouraging true selfexpression and creativity. Artwork from children during the workshops, and a bespoke hand-tufted collection of footstools and rugs demonstrated this point, however, it was naïve to presume that teaching methods from 80 years ago could be simply implemented in today’s education system. Instead, I found variations and amendments were necessary to facilitate the implementation of such methods.
Furthermore, key developments in research were identified that can contribute significantly to this vastly understudied area. I found that the inner-eye is vital for creativity, yet has been understood incorrectly and thus is a key area for future research. Additionally, a cycle of value, appreciation and confidence dictates the correlation between such teaching methods and self-expression and creativity.
This report has, without doubt, demonstrated that the utilisation of teaching methods from within The Revolution of Child Art, with some amendments, can improve selfexpression, creativity and innovation in art education as well as modern day practitioners.