RA Outreach Programme

Since 1989, the RA Outreach Programme has travelled across the UK, from the Channel Islands to the Shetlands Islands, annually taking 100 dynamic, day-long, creative drawing workshops to schools. Over 60,000 pupils have taken part in these workshops over the past 20 years, and as a Friend of the Royal Academy, your support will be funding 3,000 more places.

With the life model at the centre of the day's activities, the Outreach Programme provides a unique opportunity for young people to explore a wide variety of approaches to drawing as a vehicle for developing their own creativity.

Workshops are mainly aimed at GCSE and A-Level students, but can be adapted for primary pupils at KS2 (Year 6), with a clothed model.

As a Friend of the RA, you are invited to nominate a state school of your choice to participate in an RA workshop at a reduced rate.

State school nominations for 2011 have now closed, we would like to thank you for your nominations.

Coming up...

Summer Term 2012

May

Six primary schools based in London, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire will be visited by the RA Outreach Programme this month - a post-SAT’s treat for almost 200 year 6 children! The students will focus on the more playful side of drawing with a life model and artist.

June

Over 200 students in 5 primary and 2 secondary schools will take part in workshops organised by the RA Outreach Programme this month, as the artist and model teams take to the road once again visiting schools in Essex, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Nottinghamshire and London. A student from Sir William Ramsay School, who took part in the Programme earlier in the year said the workshop enabled him to ‘come out of my comfort zone’. He said it was a ‘great experience’ and he would ‘love to do it again’.

July

GCSE and A-Level students in 2 secondary schools based in London and Essex will experience an intensive day of life drawing when the RA Outreach Programme visits their school this month. These are the final workshops of the 2011-12 academic year, in which a total of 3000 pupils in 100 schools across the UK participated in the scheme. With the life model at the centre of the day's activities, the Programme provides a unique opportunity for young people to explore a wide variety of approaches to drawing as a vehicle for developing their own creativity.

Spring Term 2012

Throughout the 2012 Spring term, over 1000 young people in primary and secondary schools across England and Wales have taken part in dynamic, day-long, creative drawing workshops with the Royal Academy of Arts Outreach Programme.The artist and model teams visited schools in Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Suffolk and Powys as well as London and the Home Counties.

Students from Taunton School particularly enjoyed ‘being encouraged and lead in a direction without restrictions'.Laura Meakin, Head of Art at Tendring Technology College commented that the workshop at her school was ‘Totally excellent! A really challenging but exciting day that allowed students to take risks and use intuitive decision-making’.

With the life model at the centre of the days’ activities, the Outreach Programme provides a unique opportunity for young people to explore a wide variety of approaches to drawing as a vehicle for developing their own creativity.

Artist and model encourages initiative, curiosity and contemplation, whilst generating a relaxed atmosphere in which students can explore their personal perceptions free from judgment. Exercises are designed to stretch the students’ notion of what drawing encompasses and how it’s a creative process in which risks are taken, responses explored, potential solutions compared, instincts acted on, mistakes made and exciting results achieved.

Whilst students enjoyed the Outreach Programme, teachers attending cReAte workshops at the Royal Academy explored ways in which thinking has an impact on drawing. These sessions focused on observation and imagination and how these elements can be brought together to enliven and enrich drawing. Hannah Nield from the Jewish Community School said the experience was a ‘really enjoyable reminder of how to re-engage with drawing’.

There are still a few places left for this year’s Outreach Programme, as well as cReAte workshops taking place on August 3rd and 31st. See RA Outreach For Teachers

Alternatively visit the RA Outreach Programme website or contact Paula Kitt at RA Outreach for bookings.

Autumn Term 2011

Throughout the 2011 Autumn term the RA Outreach Programme visited 48 primary and secondary schools, in regions as far a field as Keswick in Cumbria and Colyford in Devon, encouraging students to break free and leave all preconceived ideas about drawing behind them.

A-Level students from Notre Dame High School in Norwich particularly enjoyed the experience and relished ‘the opportunity to be adventurous and explore drawing’ as well as gaining ‘confidence in trying new ways of drawing and pushing my materials further’.

The first workshop of the year took place in the historic Life Room of the Royal Academy Schools and involved a group of IB Art Diploma students from The International School of Dusseldorf who were visiting London on a field trip. Jane Drinkall, Head of Art at the International School said ‘thank you for delivering a worthwhile, meaningful and thoroughly enjoyable workshop for our students who have returned to school energised and full of inspiration. It was a real privilege to participate in this workshop’.

During November two *cReAte *workshops for teachers were held in Gallery 1 at the Royal Academy. Combining both learning from drawing and facilitated discussion, the 30 Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 participating teachers were encouraged to look at the way they currently teach drawing and explore how this could be strengthened, improving understanding of the link between drawing and creativity and how this affects thinking across the curriculum.

During December the last six workshops of the Autumn 2011 term will take place in Dorset, Essex, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and London as schools start to wind down towards the Christmas holidays.

There are still places available on forthcoming cReAte workshops and further details can be found at RA Outreach For Teachers

Alternatively visit the RA Outreach Programme website