Posters dotted around London declaring “art is a serious subject” and “imagination is worth teaching” are turning heads. The billboards are the brainchild of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) which says that, after years of decline in arts education, art must be taught in UK schools.
Part of a new campaign called Art is a Serious Subject, the posters have popped up at tube stations and close to landmarks around the capital. Baring phrases including “we need more square pegs” and “science without art is a failed experiment”, they read in part: “Art is being squeezed out. And we're losing the mind-expanding, question-prompting, wild creativity and confidence that it brings to our classrooms.”
The RA, which runs its own art college known as Royal Academy Schools, says in an online statement: “The value of art in our schools is immeasurable. Urgently, we need to bring it back. Yes, times are hard and budgets are tight. But that’s not why art is drying up in our schools. The truth is more complicated.
“Over time, our school curriculum (both primary and secondary) has been re-structured to focus on core subjects and tests at the expense of everything else… No art teachers. No art rooms. No art lessons...It’s all going, going.”
"This campaign reminds us that art cultivates emotional intelligence," says Batia Ofer, the chair of the Royal Academy Trust
Courtesy of the Royal Academy. Photo by Laurence Howe
The institution adds: “It’s worrying that the number of students studying art, design and technology at GCSE [taken by students aged 16] has decreased by 65% since 2010.”
The campaign is timely, chiming with the new Labour government’s commitment to address the crisis in arts education, and arriving shortly before the delivery of the UK’s Autumn budget on 30 October.
In her address to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on 24 September, Lisa Nandy, the UK culture secretary, stressed that "a complete education is a creative education. And that is why Bridget [Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women & Equalities] and I have kickstarted a review of the curriculum to put arts, sports and music back at the heart of our schools and communities where it belongs."
In an online post, Batia Ofer, the chair of the Royal Academy Trust, says: “The Royal Academy’s campaign, Art is a Serious Subject, emphasises the critical role that art plays in shaping our society… This campaign reminds us that art cultivates emotional intelligence and inspires us to approach challenges from new angles.” A Royal Academy spokesperson says: "All Royal Academicians support the campaign."