http://www.ivaluethearts.org.uk

Information about this website has just landed in my inbox. It has me all fired up & reminds me of my first teaching post at a school not renowned for placing value on the arts, namely because most teachers were through necessity more preoccupied with preventing fights.

I used to give my G.C.S.E. groups the option of either doing their art work with wholehearted enjoyment or practising their handwriting. The piece which I used to give them to copy out repeatedly until they submitted to paying attention to their art lesson was Harold Rosenberg's The De Definition of Art, which if my memory serves me correctly goes: "Art is the one vocation which keeps a space open for the individual to realise themselves in knowing themselves. A society which lacks the presence of self developing individuals having just passive people being acted upon by their environment hardly deserves to be called a Human Society. It is the greatness of Art that it does not permit us to forget this". Highest ever percentage pass rate the school had had!

I passionately believe that statement & for some youngsters being empowered by Art is the only way out of a dead end life with few prospects. For more fortunate youngsters Art empowers them to challenge the norm, to question & to experience different ideas. Very few problems in life, business & society have ever been solved without someone thinking out of the box - applying a bit of creative thought.

Visit http://www.ivaluethe arts.org.uk & pledge your support.