Between January and June 2023, Skipton Town Hall ran its first Bronze Arts Award project, working with 11 young people from the Craven area who are supported by North Yorkshire Youth, a youth charity.
Each week, the young people took part in a variety of activities and recorded evidence of their work in a portfolio, which was then assessed and externally moderated. All participants successfully completed the award, earning themselves a Level 1 qualification. Over 60% of those who took part had never visited Craven Museum before, so this was a fantastic opportunity to engage a new audience!
What is Arts Award?
Arts Award is a range of recognised qualifications awarded by Trinity College London which support children and young people aged 25 and under to grow as artists and arts leaders. There are 5 awards: Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Through Arts Award, they develop creative, critical and communicative skills by completing challenges in particular art forms, from fashion to theatre, music to museum curation, and pottery to poetry!
Different organisations around the country offer Arts Award programmes, including schools, colleges, museums, galleries, theatres and many more.
Find out more about Arts Award
What did this Bronze Arts Award involve?
This particular project was inspired by the various containers within the Craven Museum collection. The four parts within a standard Bronze Award were all linked to this theme:
Part A: Explore the arts as a participant
For this section, participants created 4 containers using different techniques: papier mâché, working with clay, rolling and setting paper coils, and moulding and embossing foil.
Part B: Explore the arts as an audience member
For this section, participants completed a container trail around Craven Museum, got up close with some containers in the handling collection and experienced a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum store.
Part C: Arts Inspiration
For this section, participants selected an artist or craftsperson known for creating containers or one of the art techniques they tried in Part A. They researched them and presented their findings in a poster.
Part D: Arts skill share
For this section, participants chose one of the techniques learned in Part A and planned and delivered a short lesson, teaching someone else how to do it.
All four parts were documented through photos and written reflections within a Skipton Town Hall Arts Award portfolio. Providing detailed evidence of everything that was done was crucial for the assessment process.
How can other people take part in Arts Award at Skipton Town Hall?
Skipton Town Hall will be launching its next Bronze Arts Award programme in January 2024! Individuals will be able to sign up before Christmas.
To find out more…
- Attend our drop-in event next half-term on Monday 30th October 2023 (details coming soon)
- Or contact our Education Officer, Chloe:
- Email: chloe.fowler@northyorks.gov.uk
- Tel: 01756 706398
We are also planning to launch other Arts Award levels in the future, so watch this space!