What is creativity, arts and culture?
Creativity, arts and culture refer to activities that foster creativity, allow individuals to engage in the arts and explore their local community’s cultural identity. Creativity and arts include activities such as theatre, music, visual arts and dance. These are activities that are normally included in children and young people’s lives through extra-curricular activities and some are also involved in the school curriculum. Cultural activities involve visiting art galleries, museums, libraries, and community cultural centres.
Fostering creativity in children improves future employability in all industries, mental health, academic attainment and cognitive abilities (1). Cultural activities also play a pivotal role for young people to gain cultural awareness and engage with the local community, making them more likely to both volunteer and vote as adults (2). These activities also improve young people’s analysis and problem-solving skills and develop a sense of their own identities and beliefs, contributing to personality development (3).
Why is this important to Ormiston Trust?
In more recent years, arts and cultural activities have been neglected within school curriculums and only a minority of young people in the UK can afford to participate in extracurricular activities (4). Many OT academies are located in marginalized areas of the United Kingdom and are more likely to be attended by students who are unable to participate in extracurricular activities that allow them to do arts and cultural activities. Therefore, Ormiston Trust is committed to improving access to creativity and cultural related activities for young people who traditionally have less access to these as through fostering creativity through the arts and providing young people with cultural awareness they are empowered to reach their full potential.
Grant programme examples: Music, art or drama experiences, art competitions, poetry competitions, museum, library and art gallery visits.
Desired Outcomes
References
(1) Arts Council England and Durham University, 2019. “Durham Commission on Creativity and Education ”. Durham University. https://www.dur.ac.uk/creativitycommission/report/firstreport/
(2) Cultural Learning Alliance, 2017. “ Imagine Nation: The value of Cultural Learning ”. Cultural Learning Alliance. https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/about-us/imaginenation-the-value-of-cultural-learning/
(3) NASUWT, The Teachers’ Union, 2017. “Creativity and Arts in the Curriculum: a report of policies and practices in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales”. NASUWT.org. https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/3535be2c-801c-46cb-b4410810472b52a3.pdf
(4) Arts Council England, 2014. “The value of Arts and Culture to People and Society: an evidence review”. Arts Council England. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/exploring-value-arts-and-culture/value-arts-and-culture-people-and-society
