Sky Arts: Access All Arts Week

Sky Arts is pleased to announce Access All Arts week, a new nationwide arts week for primary schools taking place 6^th – 10^th June 2022.

Developed by Sky Arts in partnership with leading artists and arts organisations, this brand new learning programme will be available to all primary school teachers and children in the UK and Ireland, celebrating the arts and highlighting their importance in supporting the health and wellbeing of young people. After a year in which every child’s access to the arts has been severely restricted owing to long closures of schools and arts institutions, ‘Access All Arts’ week will give every child the opportunity to experience the arts at a vital time.

Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts, said: “Across the spectrum of the arts every single person we speak to passionately believes every child should have access to music, dance, visual arts, theatre and the full spectrum of creative activity and learning. With Sky Arts ‘Access all Arts’ week we aim to bring as many arts organisations as possible together to provide tools for teachers to create fun and inspiring lessons for their pupils. We know that access to creative pursuits enhances a child’s prospects whatever they choose to do in later life, so fighting the fight for arts education is vital.”

‘Access All Arts’ week aims to provide teachers with the resources and inspiration to take their classes on a creative adventure during one jam-packed week in June. Teachers can access a full programme of free, ready-made learning materials exploring all artforms via a content-rich website, providing a hub of activities, video content and competitions brought together by Sky Arts and their partners. Schools can also use the site’s interactive map to connect with local arts organisations.

Developed by an expert team of teachers and educationalists, teachers will have access to five modules built around five forms of artistic expression: Sounds, Marks, Words, Images and Moves. Each module contains two different artforms: Singing and Instruments (Sounds), 2D Mark Making e.g. drawing, illustration and 3D Mark Making e.g. crafts, sculpture (Marks), Poetry and Storytelling (Words), Photography and Filmmaking (Images) and Movement and Drama (Moves). Modules can be taught individually as a standalone teaching unit or joined together to form a longer programme, so that teachers can make the week their own.

‘Access All Arts’ week will feature well known artists and talent alongside key arts partners across the UK including the English National Opera, the National Theatre, The Big Draw, the Crafts Council, The Reading Agency, The Poetry Society, The Photography Movement, Into Film and Artist.

There will be a specific focus on targeting schools in areas of deprivation and those lacking arts provision.

The initiative is being run by Vanessa Woodard, Head of Partnerships, Sky Arts and We are Futures.