Art for All News from the School of Art, Architecture and Design

Fine Art Professor Bob and Roberta Smith's new show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park explores 100 years of Art in Education

Cass Fine Art Professor Bob and Roberta Smith's new exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park explores 100 years of Art in Education.

The installation Art for All has been developed in response to the holdings of the National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) at YSP, which documents over 100 years of art education. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the archive, Art For All extends the artist’s provocative advocacy for the role of art in lives and education and invites ideas toward an art curriculum for the digital twenty-first century.

Sharing key material and ideas from the NAEA, including the original artwork for A. E. Halliwell’s iconic travel posters, each bay in the gallery presents a pivotal era in art education from 1914 to the present day, including The Child Art Movement and Basic Design.

The exhibition, and major open-air work Art Makes Children Powerful (2013), demonstrates the artist’s continued commitment to the right of everyone, especially children, to access art, as well as the continued relevance of the NAEA.

Bob and Roberta Smith has vigorously advocated the importance of the arts in education, through his art work, public appearances , social media and exhibitions including the ART PARTY CONFERENCE, the ARTS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTRE at The Cass. In April, he stood against against Michael Gove in the General Election, attracting widespread media coverage for the issues facing arts education.

Art for All extends Smith’s Arbroath Template project, an interactive artwork first commissioned in 2014 by Hospitalfield, Arbroath which calls for YSP visitors to use a basic 30cm square template to make and share their own art across social media. Visitors can also contribute to the project during Art for All: Pop-up Art School, a week of interactive activities for all ages taking place between 18 and 21 August, the results of which will be included in the exhibition.