Children & the Arts

"Who knows....it may open a window onto a new world that will stay with those young people forever."

Quentin Blake, Ambassador, Children & the Arts

The Great Art Quest

The Great Art Quest 2009, sponsored by GAM, will introduce children from 20 primary schools around the UK to the visual arts. For many of these children this will be their first experience of visual arts in a professional gallery setting.

The project, which launched on 11th September with a teacher training day, will take place in five art galleries: spacex (Exeter), The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, The Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery (Glasgow), BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead) and Whitechapel Gallery (London).

The schools that have been selected to take part in this project have not previously been able to work with these local galleries.

During the Autumn term, children from the chosen schools will visit their partner art gallery where works of art will be brought to life for them by professional artists and storytellers. The children will be encouraged to get to know the gallery and to gather inspiration for their own masterpieces.

I think the Great Art Quest is a fabulous idea as it encourages young people to visit, interact with and be inspired by other great artists in an environment that they wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. In order to achieve creative success a child has to be stimulated and empowered. This is what the Quest is all about. I can’t wait to see the results!
Neil Buchanan, Ambassador of The Great Art Quest

The project will end with a very special exhibition of the children’s own work to be held in London in early 2010.

We had a lot of fun sponsoring the Great Art Quest in 2008/09 and we’re excited to sponsor again this year. The Great Art Quest has the potential to make a real impact on many children’s lives. It also echoes the cultural heritage of GAM and reflects our historically strong link to the arts.
Andrew Hanges, Chief Executive Officer of GAM UK Limited

This is GAM’s second year as sponsors of The Great Art Quest. The 2008 project involved Graves Gallery (Sheffield), The Harris Museum & Art Gallery (Preston), The Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge) and The Courtauld Institute of Art (London) and saw 700 children introduced to the arts and their local art gallery, many for the first itme.

View the 2009 Great Art Quest Teacher Training Materials