Art

At first sight there might appear to be little connection between the individual imagination and creativity characteristic of art, and the collective responsibility, decision-making and empowerment which are the foundation of citizenship. The most direct and obvious contribution of art to education for citizenship is in the development of visual awareness, literacy and imagination. Art Education has a second major contribution to make to education for citizenship, which may be less obvious but which is no less direct or important. This has its origin in the long tradition within art education of encouraging pupils to exercise choice and take responsibility for their own work. The major cause of poor quality of visual environment is often said to be lack of investment and public funding. While more investment might remove limitations from particular projects which are worthwhile and which deserve more active support, the basic problem is a much deeper one.