Arts Award takes children and young people on a creative journey, exploring the arts world, discovering their potential as artists, developing leadership skills – and gaining a recognised qualification along the way. Open to anyone aged 25 or under, this unique set of arts qualifications builds skills essential for success in the 21st century: Creativity and communication, along with problem-solving, reflective-thinking and confidence.
Young people can achieve Arts Award in any art form, from music to mime, poetry to pottery, dance to drumming. Through the five levels – Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold – young people:
Enjoy creating and participating in arts activities.
Through Arts Award, young people get actively involved in creative activities and produce their own art work . Those working towards the higher levels collaborate with artists to try a genre or art form new to them too.
Experience arts events and explore the work of artists.
Arts Award connects young people with the arts world – as the audience or visitor, behind the scenes, learning from creative professionals, or researching the work of artists and arts organisations. At higher levels, participants review and share their experiences, gaining critical-thinking and organisational skills.
Gain 21st century skills for success in education and employment.
Completing Arts Award gives young people a wide range of transferable skills. In independent research Arts Award achievers mentioned the ongoing positive impact on their confidence, communication skills and creativity, which are nurtured by all levels. They also develop entrepreneurialism, independence and self-motivation while learning to reason, reflect and network more effectively. So it's great preparation for further study and the world of work, whatever their future holds.
Develop leadership skills through practical involvement.
This begins at Bronze level, where candidates share an arts skill with others. At higher levels they plan and deliver their own arts events and projects – workshops, exhibitions, performances or festivals. Whether organising the production schedule, curating performances, devising a marketing strategy or carrying out a risk assessment, they’ll be gaining a broad range of leadership skills through real-world experience.
Investigate arts careers.
Every level of Arts Award encourages young people to explore the creative professions. At lower levels they’ll research artists or craftspeople and their work. At Gold they’ll be immersed in the arts world through placements, volunteering and training, as well as researching professional artists’ career paths – gaining valuable knowledge and experience to help them make informed choices about their own training.
| Find out more about getting started and how it works or download our Arts Award Guide for a handy overview.
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