News
Creative Careers Poster
dot-art Schools has commissioned graphic artist Thom Isom to produce this fantastic poster, which is FREE to download (click the image) and will also be posted out to secondary schools across the Liverpool City Region.
Thom worked with groups of creative industries professionals, recent graduates, current students and the general public to find out what barriers exist to working towards a creative career, why and how people choose to study creative subjects and the huge advantages this can bring. The result is this inspirational image, highlighting the huge number of jobs in the creative industries (which is the fastest growing sector in the UK) and just some of the reasons why working towards a creative career is such a fantastic idea!
We are grateful to Arts Council England for their support of this project.
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Vote Now!
A public vote to find Liverpool City Region’s best young artists opened on Saturday 28th March and continues until 28th April 2020. This year 1257 pupils from 76 schools have entered the dot-art Schools competition and the shortlisted students from each school are now hoping for your votes to win a place in the 8th annual exhibition.
The online inter-school art contest gives both Year 5 and Year 9 pupils across the Liverpool City Region and its near neighbours the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents and have their work shown in a public exhibition. At this stage school staff, friends, family and the general public can vote online for their favourite piece with the top art work from each school will be included in the final exhibition, details of which, due to the current coronavirus situation, will be announced as soon as possible.
dot-art Schools project manager Carolyn Murray commented: "We aim to celebrate the creativity of young people in the Liverpool City Region to nurture the next generation of rising stars. It's also a fantastic chance for pupils to showcase their skills and artwork to their parents, family and the wider community. At this uniquely challenging time for everyone, it is uplifting to be able to share and enjoy children and young people’s creative efforts. Browsing through the hundreds of entries online to choose and vote for your favourite artwork is an ideal activity to do at home with your family."
The artwork with the most votes from each participating school will win a place in the dot-art Schools 2020 exhibition. The competition’s overall winners will then be chosen by a special guest judge and announced at a prize-giving ceremony and exhibition launch later in the year. dot-art Schools is supported by Art Council England and could not operate without the generosity of our sponsors Medicash and Arriva.
View the shortlist and vote online for your favourite artwork on the SCHOOLS page. Voting closes at midnight on Tuesday 28th April 2020.
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CERI Research on Impact of dot-art Schools
The Impact of dot-art Schools – New Research Unveiled!
Earlier this year, dot-art Schools were delighted to be accepted for the CERI (Cultural Education Research Initiative) research project. CERI is a partnership between Curious Minds and Liverpool Hope University to support research-informed practice in cultural education.
The research offered an opportunity to examine what impact participating in the competition has had on both the school and students, and to map and learn more about the social, economic and educational context those schools sit within. We wanted to discover what motivates schools to take part in dot-art Schools competition, investigate the reasons for the diverse quality of artwork entered and address ways to support teachers to improve the quality of pupil’s art experiences. Does competing build quality, so schools produce better art as a result?
We looked at data about participating schools from 2012 – 2018 to give a demographic context of the schools that have taken part. We discovered that 64% of the participating primary schools and 50% of the secondary schools are in the most deprived quarter of the UK population. The researcher from Liverpool Hope University also conducted interviews with teachers from a representative range of schools and those competing regularly as well as for the first time.
dot-art Schools Cheshire, 2017-2019
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For three years, starting in the academic year 2016-17, we ran a second parallel dot-art Schools programme in Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East and Warrington, thanks to support from Liverpool John Moore University. Annual exhibitions were held in Hartford and Chester and we welcomed over 20 schools from across the region every year.
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From September 2019 onwards, these schools have been invited to take part in the main dot-art Schools programme, as we consolidate our efforts and bring all schools into one combined annual exhibition in Liverpool.
You can still see the amazing work of Cheshire schools from past years by visiting our Cheshire Archive section.
2018-19 Winners Announced!
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Earl Cabije of Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School won the Year 9 overall prize for his piece "Portrait of Earl".
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Dana of Belle Vale Primary School won the Year 5 overall prize for her work "The Dark Eye".
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
LJMU Festive Card Competition winners announced!
dot-art Schools were pleased when Liverpool John Moores University asked us to launch a new competition for our schools to find an artwork design they could feature on their Christmas cards. With almost 200 high quality entries submitted the judges at LJMU had the challenging task of deciding upon a winner for both the primary and secondary age groups.
On Monday 17th Dec the dot-art Schools team attended a special LJMU festive reception which saw LJMU's Interim Vice Chancellor Mark Power & LJMU Honorary Fellow Jim Davies OBE congratulate Harry Chapman (year 3) & Zac Kavanagh (year 9) on winning the LJMU 2018 Christmas card competition. Proud parents and teachers from Gwladys St Primary & Maghull High also celebrated with their winning students. Each school receives an artist led workshop as a prize and the students were presented with an art book and framed sample of their winning Christmas card designs. Thousands of people will be able to enjoy the boys Christmas card designs over the festive season as LJMU send them all over the world. Well done Zac and Harry!
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2017-18 Winners Announced!
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Jacob Crummey from St Margaret's Academy won the Year 9 award for his piece "Exploding Head 5".
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Harrison Fair from Eaves Primary School won the Year 6 award for his piece "The Rainforest Alive 11"
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
NEW - Partnership with LJMU
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Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) has become the official partner of dot-art Schools and aims to help us inspire the region’s next generation of Turners and Emins.
Lucy Byrne, Managing Director of dot-art commented: "We are absolutely delighted to be working with LJMU to increase the reach and impact of the dot-art Schools programme. This long term partnership will mean we can develop and expand the scheme in the Liverpool City Region as well as allowing us to fulfil a long held ambition to extend its reach into Cheshire.
Professor Nigel Weatherill, Vice Chancellor at LJMU said: "Our partnership with dot-art highlights the importance Liverpool John Moores University places on enabling future generations of talent to benefit from the creativity that Liverpool offers. As a modern civic university, we invest in keeping young people engaged with the arts, inspiring them to consider a creative career path, and encouraging their interest in the cultural community around them."
Merseyrail Exhibition
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From the 2nd August -1st September 2018 you can view a digital version of the dot-art Schools Exhibition at Lime Street Lower Level Station, thanks to our ongoing partnership with Merseyrail.
Artsmark Partner Status
We are pleased to announce that from February 2018, dot-art Schools is an Artsmark Partner. Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England, recognising their commitment to high quality arts and cultural education. dot-art Schools is proud to be supporting schools and education settings on their Artsmark journey, inspiring children and young people to create, experience, and participate in great arts and culture.
Find out more about Artsmark at artsmark.org.uk To find out how we can support your Artsmark journey, contact Carolyn on 0345 0176660.
Merseyrail Exhibition
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From the 6th July - 6th August 2017 you can view a digital version of the dot-art Schools Exhibition at Lime Street Lower Level Station, thanks to our ongoing partnership with Merseyrail.
2016-17 Winners Announced!
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Erin Gerrard from The Sutton Academy won the Year 9 award for her piece "Intergalactic". Grace McKeown from Knotty Ash Primary School won the Year 6 award for her piece "Lost Soul".
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
Free Event to Help Teachers Champion Creative Careers in Schools
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On Friday 23rd June, dot-art Schools and partners Liverpool John Moores University are holding an inspirational day of advocacy to help education professionals to champion the value and impact of studying art. The event will begin with a tour of the LJMU Art and Design Academy, followed by a visit to the 2017 dot-art Schools exhibition in St Georges Hall, then finish by hearing from three expert speakers on the diverse and vital range of careers that are opened up by a creative education
Morecrofts Sponsor dot-art Schools
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We are delighted to announce that Liverpool based independent solicitors Morecrofts have joined us as sponsor of the dot-art Schools Liverpool programme for 2016-17.
Cass Art Supports Young Talent
Cass Art has once again signed up to sponsor the dot-art Schools Liverpool programme for 2016-17. The national art materials supplier, which has a branch in Liverpool One, will be supplying prizes to both the winning students and schools from this years programme.
Tangle Teezer Returns as Principal Sponsor
Tangle Teezer CEO Matt Lumb receiving his certificate of thanks for supporting dot-art Schools 2015-16.
We are delighted to announce that internationally successful, cult hairbrush brand, Tangle Teezer, has once
again signed up as Principal Sponsor of the dot-art Schools programme for 2016-17.
2016 Winners Announced!
Overall secondary winner Nyah Boorman of St Hildas CE High School and her work "Golden Tamarin"
Overall primary winner Aiden Owen of St Bedes Catholic Junior School and his work "Boston Terrier"
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
2015 Winners Announced!
Overall winner Georgia Allen of Rainhill High and her teacher Anthony Bennett, receiving her prize from the Lord Mayor.
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
Lime Street Exhibition
dot-art Schools Exhibition at Lime Stret Lower Level Station
Thanks to an exciting new partnership with Merseyrail, the dot-art Schools Exhibition was on public view at Lime Street Lower Level for the whole of July 2015, where it was seen by almost 20000 station users. Look out for more activity in conjunction with Merseyrail in 2015-16 as we continue to develop more ways of highlighting and sharing all the wonderful artwork submitted for the programme.
Prize Giving and Exhibition 2015 on Bay TV
Video courtesy of Bay TV Liverpool, Freeview Channel 8 and Virgin 159 in the Liverpool region.
Partnership with St Georges Hall Announced
We are delighted to announce that the dot-art Schools Exhibition 2015 will take place at the iconic St Georges Hall, from 5th - 20th June.
Read the full press release here.
2014 Winners Announced!
Prizegiving with Lord Mayor Cllr Gary Millar
More details and full list of winners can be found on the Exhibition Page.
Overall Judge Announced: Award winning artist, Tabitha Moses.
Photo courtesy of McCoy Wynne
Tabitha Moses is an artist whose practice is rooted in the meanings and possibilities of materials. Fabric and stitch are central to her practice - through the language of textiles Tabitha uncovers rich connections and latent emotions. She is interested in the transformation of discarded or overlooked subjects and matter into objects that speak with eloquence of the human experience.
Tabitha was winner of the Liverpool Art Prize 2013. She is currently developing the theme for a solo exhibition at Walker Art Gallery later this year.
Tabitha has exhibited nationally and internationally and is a visiting lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Tabitha has selected the overall winners and runners up from both Primary and Secondary Schools.
Welcome New Sponsors: Cassell Moore
Employment law continues to evolve at a rate of knots and at Cassell Moore we recognise the challenges that this presents for our clients in balancing compliance against commercial and other objectives. We will work in partnership with you providing bespoke practical advice across the full spectrum of employment law.
At Cassell Moore we recognise the challenges that constant developments in employment law present for our clients, particularly in the Education Sector. Our specialist employment team will work with you to provide bespoke practical advice at each stage. We advise across the full range of issues from ad hoc HR queries, internal disciplinary and grievances, resolving disputes, representation at tribunal and advice on more complex strategic projects such as reorganisations, redundancy, TUPE and corporate transactions.
Contact: Liz Cotton, Partner – Head of Employment (pictured) lizcotton@cassellmoore.com / www.cassellmoore.com
Partnership with Walker Art Gallery Announced
We are delighted to announce that the dot-art Schools Exhibition 2014 will take place at the prestigious Walker Art Gallery, from 17th May - 8th June.
Read the Walker blog article here and full press release here.
2013 Winners Announced!
