Artworks Awards 2004: Judges' Observations
Trends in 2004
Overall, entries for Working with Artists and Working with Galleries were stronger than in previous years.
There were more entries in 2004 from post-16 groups, a slight decrease in early years' entries, and an
increased focus on Key Stage 3. The number of Key Stage 1 projects involving galleries remained low, but work
with galleries had increased at Key Stages 2 and 3.
This year there were more projects showing evidence of links with historical art works as reference and
inspiration, and more entries linking to citizenship, architecture and the built environment. Entries
using Information & Communications Technology in art & design were generally more ambitious and creative
than in previous years. The Judges noticed that the funding of projects had increased, but sadly this
funding seemed to be mainly for short-term activities rather than for sustained projects.
The Judges were interested to see that several projects this year employed art students and PGCE students
as artists-in-residence.
Judges' comments on the 2004 entries
The Judges were delighted to see strong evidence of raised standards in both teaching and learning, resulting in a marked improvement in the quality of entries overall. There were many entries which showed evidence of great commitment to careful planning, research and creativity, and which only just fell short of being selected.
A key reason for projects being rejected was that they lacked focus. Many projects were seen that took a theme such as 'the environment', and over an extended period explored this theme through a range of different art works and art practices (drawing, painting, textiles, clay, etc.), often at a superficial level and without a clear rationale. Projects selected as Award-winners were those that showed a clear sense of focus and a deeper engagement.
The Judges noted that they would have liked to see clearer evidence of the process and outcomes of projects. The storyboards (and accompanying videos, etc.) were all that the Judges could use to assess project work, so it was essential that these illustrate the whole story of the project as succinctly and visually as possible, without unnecessary embellishment or decoration.
Working with Artists
The Judges saw many projects in which the artist worked as a facilitator for a range of art-making activities, not necessarily related to their own practice. Although this is valid practice, they acknowledged that opportunities were being missed for children to engage with the artist's own work.
On the other hand, there were also a number of projects where children were too strongly led by the artist's ideas, and where it appeared that the artist was controlling both process and outcomes to the detriment of opportunities for children to make creative decisions and exercise their own imaginations. This was frequently the case with permanent, public-art-style commissions in the school environment.
In short-listing projects, the Judges recognised the challenge and importance of striking the right balance between these two.
The Judges noted that it would have been helpful to see a clearer differentiation between the work of the artist and that of the children, when illustrated on storyboards.
Working with Galleries
The Judges noted an ongoing increase in entries where schools make visits without the gallery being involved, as well as more evidence of brief, one-off visits. Although the Judges recognise that these visits are valuable, they noted that, on the whole, richer opportunities emerged when projects involved repeat visits or were developed in partnership with galleries.
Working from Other Sources
The Judges noted that there were fewer entries in 2004 than for the other two categories. This was the category in which there were the most instances of what the Judges described as 'really good teaching'. However, fewer of these projects stood out as exceptional, inspired project work, pointing to the tendency for richer learning to occur through real-life encounters with artists and art.
The Judges also noted that in this category, many projects lacked focus; they tended to reference a number of different, unrelated artists, art works and media around a central theme. The projects that were short-listed contained clear and focused reference to an artist's work, and the work showed the result of this inspiration.
