CENTRES

CENTRES (Creative Entrepreneurship in Schools) project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

www.centres-eu.org

With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union

Art Run, August – September 2013 Ishøj, Denmark

1. Context The pilot activity is based in the curriculum for Danish and in the obligatory free project assignment that all pupils in 9th class in Denmark have to do. The activity enhances the pupils’ understanding of entrepreneurship and underlines the importance of cooperation and group work. The activity was carried out and planned together with a local art museum. 2. Approach The core of the activity was to work with the influence of art in people’s daily life. The pupils should learn about modern art and plan activities for the local community and at the same time investigate the possibilities for modern art to function outside of the museums. The aim of the ArtRun was to bring art/culture and people together and in the pupils’ case also add a learning perspective.

3. Rationale ArtRun was an obvious activity for CENTRES. The pilot can give knowledge about the field of schools working together with a cultural institution. 4. Pilot Description As a result of an enquiry in FFE-YE’s network of schools the ArtRun project was chosen to take part as a CENTRES pilot activity. The two classes and “Arken” – museum of modern art had already outlined a partnership and CENTRES added pedagogical value to the project in terms of entrepreneurship. The pilot had two central parts: the local event called ArtRun and the free project assignment for the pupils. ArtRun is an annual event in the local community where people are invited to take part in a 5 km run. During the route the runners will experience various art-events: local bands playing, sculptures on exhibit or, as in our case, school classes pushing modern art into the landscape. The project was kicked off by a day of creativity and innovation. Project manager Peter Rasmussen from FFE-YE instructed the pupils on how to develop ideas and to get an innovative approach in the planning of the event for ArtRun. In the following week the two classes spend three days at the museum learning about and experiencing modern art before they began the actual planning of the event for the ArtRun The classes came up with a concept they called “Eye C U”. The idea was to welcome, inspire and disturb the runners during three steps: the welcoming eyes, the odd eyes and the evil eyes. All pupils carried a big painted eye on a stick and when the runners approached the area, the groups met them according to their attitude: the welcoming, odd or evil. For the runners the whole thing was

CENTRES (Creative Entrepreneurship in Schools) project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

www.centres-eu.org

With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union

over in a minute but for the pupils in was a 1½ hour event. When the last runner had passed the area the “Eye C U” happening was over. The pilot involved three teachers, 39 pupils, two mentors (from the museum)

5. Impact & Legacy

The school had some experience in teaching entrepreneurship but the pupils are still fairly insecure about the issue. The evaluation shows that the school teaches skills like cooperation, how to develop ideas, imagination and creativity and the pupils also agree to that. The teachers also give a picture of a school that is developing its’ entrepreneurial skills. One the reasons for the teachers to participate in the pilot was the expected training the design of the event for ArtRun would give the pupils before they all should work with their free project assignment later in the school year. A subject like art is not the obvious choice for 16 year olds but the ArtRun project showed that art – when presented in an entrepreneurial context can be made interesting for this age group. The mentors state that they expect the pupils to learn about citizenship and about taking responsibility for their own situation. The outcome of the project for the pupils has clearly been that they feel more secure about working with projects that are unknown to them. The video from the project underlines this: http://www.centres-eu.org/news/art-run-innovative-way-of-learning-with-art-2/ They also feel that have improved their skills when it comes to getting new ideas and maybe this a crucial point of the pilot – the pupils actually recognising an improvement!

6. Quality The project was postponed due to a conflict between teachers and the school authorities and it meant the project period was very short – 3 weeks from the presentation of the project to the ArtRun took place. There is a common understanding between the partners that this actually enhanced the quality of the project. Originally the project was planned to begin before the summer holiday and then end in September but the new schedule meant that the pupils could maintain focus on the project since they were not interrupted by a 6 week break. The aspect of mentor and pupil relationship could have been clearer and in this case the mentor is not an commercial artist or creative industry but an cultural institution. The project itself went well and the event at the ArtRun was a success. It was clear to everybody who participated that the pupils had a great interest in the project and that they were proud of their job! One of the central things in all entrepreneurship teaching is the ability to contact people and communicate. “Eye C U” was about contacting the people who passed the pupils on the route and all these people were of course unknown to the pupils. About 40 pupils were in this pilot and they all took part in the same activity. The group could easily have been split into smaller teams and by that had given the pilot a bigger diversity. The evaluation sheets show that the pupils consider themselves a bit more entrepreneurial after the pilot and that the process had changed the original idea dramatically. The teachers seem to agree in this and they say that the pupils have learnt about accepting each others’ skills and the project made the pupils “forget their lunch break” Quote from the evaluation.

CENTRES (Creative Entrepreneurship in Schools) project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

www.centres-eu.org

With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union

The mentors clearly saw the project as a benefit for both the students and for themselves. They saw a potential in new guest but also an opportunity to develop the programmes they offer to schools.

7. Insight A project between school and museums is not new and probably goes on in a lot of countries, but the ArtRun project shows that entrepreneurship can add new dimensions to teaching art because the pupils suddenly can see a purpose of the art and that gives them a better understanding of how art can change peoples’ lives. The concept of classes working together with cultural institutions in entrepreneurship projects can easily be adapted by other schools and “Eye C U” will be presented at the annual “Danish Entrepreneurship Award” as an example of a new way of teaching art. Also in the future collaboration between schools and Arken the experiences from the pilot will play an important role when it comes the future development of the activities that the museum provides to schools. The pilot also has an international potential and could be a part of recommendations for museums as an example on how to set up a learning scenario where pupils can act upon their ideas to the benefit other others – a challenge every museum probably faces frequently.