Helsinki (December 15th, 2020)- Internationally renowned education nonprofit HundrED and Finnish gaming giant Supercell have just released a Spotlight Report on the importance of fostering visual arts skills in education. The report recognizes Dear You, as one of the leading innovations in Visual Arts Education globally.
Art is essential to the human experience; visual art can be seen, without exception, in all cultures across the ages. In the past, Visual Arts education in schools often covered conventional art forms like printmaking, painting, textile design, photography, and the like. However, recently visual arts education in schools has seen a significant decline in support and funding. The pressure for schools to focus on accountability measures with standardized tests in STEM subjects has a big role to play with this decline. Recognizing the need to bolster visual arts education around the world HundrED and Supercell set out to identify and highlight the leading visual arts innovations working to help prepare students for a changing world.
“Game Artists are in high demand and very much sought after and yet, while in conversation with our own game artists at Supercell, we realized that there was a common denominator: many of them had been discouraged at times to pursue Art as a career choice, “ remarked Lesley Mansford, Global CSR at Supercell.
The world is turning more visual every day, and that’s why we are seeing an increased need for professionals to work in the field of Visual Arts. The report highlights the diversity of career opportunities available to young people looking to pursue the arts. In addition, the findings of the report confirm that Visual Arts in education is key in helping prepare students for the modern workforce. Chris Petrie, Head of Research at HundrED explained, “Educators and parents are frequently not aware of the rich array of exciting opportunities that are available for young people that develop specialized abilities in Visual Arts. As a result, few students discover their interest and talent for Visual Arts in their life – if at all.”
The report also emphasizes the idea that visual arts play a critical role in developing creative thinking, problem-solving and emotional intelligence.
Dear You Recognized as One of the Leading Innovations in Visual Arts Education Globally
Dear You was selected due to its unique approach and its potential to create a sustainable impact in education. Dear You connects children, their teachers, and artists internationally by making and sharing art with new friends from abroad. Through this process of exchange, a child’s worldview is widened and their skills for self-expression are honed. The exchange of process-based art projects with their new friends living in all corners of the world opens up dialogue, perspectives, and understanding. The selected innovations underwent a rigorous review process composed of four distinct phases. In the first phase, the HundrED Research team conducts an exhaustive search using both targeted outreach and crowdsourcing. The innovations are then shortlisted and evaluated by an expert Advisory Board. The Advisory Board for this Spotlight included teachers, leaders, city representatives, and artists from over 15 counties who are passionate about prioritizing visual arts in education.
Arlene Tucker, creator at Dear You said: “We’re so pleased to have been selected as one of HundrED’s 100 global innovations. Dear You was created to build bridges and open dialogue amongst kids all around the world through creative practise. Being offered the opportunity to extend this beyond Finland using HundrED’s platform, a network of global educators and innovators, is amazing and we are excited to see just how much further our work can be scaled. Dear You aims at being as inclusive possible and allowing everybody’s voice to be heard.”
The HundrED Spotlight on Visual Arts in Education is available to download on the HundrED website at no cost. For easy sharing, all innovations are freely available on the HundrED website.
To explore the selected innovations, please visit: https://hundred.org/en/collections/visual-arts-in-education
HundrED
A Finland-based nonprofit, HundrED discovers, researches, and shares inspiring innovations in K12 education. Their goal is to help improve education and foster a movement through encouraging impactful and scalable innovations to spread, mindful of context, across the world. HundrED Spotlights create unique opportunities for both educational professionals and independent organizers of the Spotlight to gain a thorough insight into the education innovations taking place in either a specific area of education, like literacy or sustainability or within a certain geographic location, for example, India or London. For each Spotlight, we select the brightest education innovations, which then undergo a thorough study by our Research Team and an expert Advisory Board. HundrED Spotlights are organized with partner organizations, who help from their area of expertise.
www.hundred.org
Dear You
Dear You is a process-based cross-cultural international art project created for children aged 4-15 years old. The project connects children, their teachers, and artists internationally by making and sharing art with new friends from abroad. Through this process of exchange, a child’s worldview is widened and their skills for self-expression are honed. Dear You creates space for new friends living in all corners of the world to dialogue, to create, to listen to and to voice different perspectives, as well as find understanding. In addition, the collaboration between artists and educational institutions enhances communication and creativity in areas involved in education, arts, and children’s growth and development.
Media Contacts
For more information, interviews, or an embargoed copy of the report, contact:
Mariah O’Mara at mariahomara@hundred.org
