Firing Up the nation's school kilns
The Crafts Council has received generous funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to launch Firing Up: an ambitious national programme that will re-awaken school kilns all over the UK and introduce thousands of children to the joy of clay.
Ceramics is a subject that is rarely taught in secondary schools despite huge benefits that children receive from learning with their hands. Firing Up will raise awareness of the importance of clay in our everyday lives, support schools to use clay creatively and confidently, and encourage children to view ceramics as a viable career option.
The programme will follow a ‘cluster’ format that will be constructed around the ceramics departments within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Each cluster will consist of one HEI who will supply an ambassador, a technician and up to ten students who will then work with the staff and children of up to five secondary schools in their local area. These sustainable clusters will teach ceramics to children in Years 8 and 9. The proposed timescale means that in just three years over 55 secondary schools will be involved with the scheme, reaching up to 11,000 children who may have otherwise never been introduced to ceramics.
The pilot year of Firing Up will start in the summer term 2010 and will focus on three clusters; Plymouth College of Art and Design, University of Arts, London, and Liverpool Hope University.
“We are delighted to be involved in the pilot year of this very significant project. Our kiln hasn’t been used for years and we are excited about giving the students an introduction to a craft via hands-on learning with skilled professionals. We think it could really open up some eyes to a previously unknown creative career.” Simon Steff, art teacher at New Heyes School, Liverpool.
“Firing Up is a very significant scheme for the future of ceramics in schools as it will create sustainable links to ensure the continued presence of ceramics within secondary schools and HEIs across the UK.” Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council
Firing Up will provide teachers with the skills to teach ceramics in a creative and enjoyable way, finance the maintenance of kilns and train staff on how to use them and provide inspiring clay projects via workshops with Clayground Collective and local artists.
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For more information please contact Jill Read, Press Officer, Crafts Council on T: 020 7806 2549 or email media@craftscouncil.org.uk
Notes to Editors
• Firing Up has been developed by the Crafts Council through a steering committee of representatives from NALN, NSEAD, University of the Arts (London), Clayground Collective and Ofsted.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-making foundations in the UK. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK both now and in the future.
• Paul Hamlyn Foundation is one of the most important independent grant-making foundations in the UK. Their mission is to maximise opportunities for individuals and communities to realise their potential and to experience a better quality of life, now and in the future. They have extensive experience in exploring how the arts contribute to that aim.
• Clayground Collective Ltd is a non-profit company limited by guarantee. The directors are Duncan Hooson and Julia Rowntree. Hooson is a ceramic artist and educator with extensive experience of working with students of a range of abilities. His ceramic and art commissions include permanent installations outside the award-winning Alsop/Stormer Peckham Library, at BBC Leicester, Hove Museum, and temporary work at Sadler’s Wells and South Bank Centre. Julia Rowntree is a project coordinator and fundraiser with 20 years’ experience of working in a local and international context.
• The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft.
o We believe that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life.
o We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
o We believe that the strength of craft lies in its use of traditional and contemporary techniques, ideas and materials to make extraordinary new work.
o We believe that the future of craft lies in nurturing talent; children and young people must be able to learn about craft at school and have access to excellent teaching throughout their education.
• 11% of the UK population visited a craft exhibition in 20089/09, and 17% participated in craft activity in the same year (DCMS/ACE Taking Part data update August 2009). (Taking Part is an ongoing survey being carried out by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England (ACE)
• More than 2.8 million visits were made to the Crafts Council website in 2009. To find out everything you need to know about where to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk
• The Crafts Council is supported by Arts Council England. Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. As the national development agency for the arts, it supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts. Between 2008 and 2011, Arts Council England will invest £1.3 billion of public money from government and a further £0.3 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.
