'Hot and cold water; large enough to take a bucket; slight slope to draining board;
easy to clean.'
Mary Robertson, Headteacher
St George's CE Primary School
Edgbaston, Birmingham
The Project and what we did
The Artworks Creative Spaces Project aims to:
- understand the characteristics of successful art spaces within the different environments of schools, galleries and museums across the UK
- provide blueprints or models for future best practice in designing, constructing, resourcing and managing creative spaces, small and large, old,renovated, or new
In fulfilling these aims, the Project team is consulting the people who design and build creative spaces, and those who use and manage them.
The Project has two stages:
Stage one in 2002: A consultative exercise to gather data, experiences and opinions on the ideal creative space, leading to a report on the key factors for designing, building, equipping, using and managing creative spaces in galleries, museums and schools.
Stage two in 2003: A series of case studies following the development and use of a range of creative spaces in schools, galleries and museums, leading to a final report setting out models of
best practice.
This report represents the culmination of stage one and calls for further views and ideas.
What we did
In partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum's Director of Learning and Visitor Services, David Anderson, the Clore Duffield Foundation devised a preliminary list of key factors for designing, managing and using creative spaces in galleries and museums. The list was circulated for comments to a number of education departments in national and regional galleries and museums.
Ten focus groups, involving gallery education and curating staff, teachers and pupils, were held in eight venues to discuss issues of developing, managing and using creative spaces in galleries, museums and schools.
The eight venues were:
Arnolfini in Bristol
Compton Verney in Warwickshire
The New Art Gallery in Walsall
Tate Modern and the V&A in London
The Study Gallery in Poole
The Turner Centre in Margate
Room 13 at the Caol Primary School
in Fort William
The focus groups at three of the venues planning new spaces - the Arnolfini, The Turner Centre and the V&A - also included architects and project management staff. Altogether almost 100 people were involved in these discussions, and we would like to thank them all for their valuable contribution to the Project.
