Why Secondary Schools need Art Departments that push the boundaries.

School Art departments always have a special atmosphere. This may be because school rules usually don’t apply there: uniform rules are relaxed, pupils necessarily wander around the studio in search of materials, and teachers rarely stand in front of the class, or it may simply be because the whole environment is so visually stimulating. They are busy places where creativity and self-expression are the driving forces. School Art departments are the epitome of a teaching philosophy that allows students to discover universal truths through exploration of their own ideas.

The best school art departments are examples of "ordered anarchy"

School Art has come a long way. When I was at school some thirty years ago it was the preserve of a minority who were gifted enough to be able to draw. Today, whilst those fine art skills are still highly valued, schools are also embracing modern art and thus democratising art by allowing the Jackson Pollock in us all to find its voice. 

Art is by its nature challenging. It makes us view the world differently. Art also provides an important outlet for the Artist and that is it why it is so important in schools. It is not surprising that Art chimes with teenagers. Creativity seems to come easily at that age when fostered in the right environment. Furthermore, as they progress through the formative years of adolescence, they need ways to express themselves as part of the process of testing out their understanding of the world around them. 

Zena Ezz Eidin –
Liberty leading the Refugees 
– reworking of Eugène Delacroix 

painting commemorating 

the 1830  French Revolution.

A great example of this process in action was the outstanding IB portfolio produced by Zena Ezz Eidin, a Syrian pupil at JESS, Dubai. Some of her work highlighted the plight of Syrian refugees, by reworking classical masterpieces for a twenty-first century context. 

Zena’s work took a new direction when, having secured a place to study Fine Art at Columbia University in New York City, she was initially refused a visa under the terms of President Trump’s travel ban. Her final IB pieces were an outpouring of satirical pieces by way of protest against the visa restrictions imposed on her and her compatriots. Zena demonstrated her passion and disappointment with the plight of the Syrian refuges through Art and Art enabled her to tell her story to the world. 

A strong and dynamic Art Department allows students to express their feelings and ideas in a way that it not always possible in other subjects because of the constraints of examination syllabuses. 

Dress by Lara Rudar  Year8)
Using GoogleTiltbrush

At JESS, our IB Diploma and specialist BTEC Art students have been at the forefront of exploring the new art-form that is Virtual Reality Art, which allows students to paint in 3D, thus combining aspects of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. In Virtual Reality the rules of gravity do not apply, and it is possible for the artist to move around within the painting. JESS IB student, Hannah Demeyere, was the first person in the world to submit a piece of Virtual Reality Art as part of her IB portfolio, recreating one of her physical sculptures in Google’s Tilt Brush. Other students have designed dresses within the Virtual Reality environment.  Examples of this medium can be experienced on the JESS Digital YouTube Channel.

Educators have a duty to prepare students for their futures. Those futures will include jobs that we haven’t even considered as yet and it is more than likely that these jobs will require the creative skills that students learn and develop within School Art Departments. Brainstorming techniques, creative reasoning, visualisation of problems and integration of technology are inherent within the design process itself. It is these core skills that are vital for our 21st century learners to ensure they are #FutureReady.

This article was published in the March Edition of Emirates Education.