Diversity in art

Over the past few years, the whitewashed view of the artworld we once presented in education has changed. The study of ethnically diverse artists has started to be embedded in the curriculum. The art and artists we choose to study are making all children feel represented, enabling them to explore themes of identity and heritage. It is key that our art and design curriculum continues to be relevant to the world we’re living in and that it makes a positive contribution to children’s future perception of that world and their place within it.

Featured Artists:

• Yayoi Kusama
• Sir Frank Bowling
• Sonia Boyce
• Chris Ofili
• Frida Kahlo
• Sir Anish Kapoor

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who uses dots in her many forms of art: paintings, sculptures, performances and installations. She is open about her mental health and sees her art as a way to express herself. Find out more on the Tate art gallery website.

Where to find her art:

• Google Arts & Culture
• Tate
• Wiki Art

Activities:

• Children choose a motif (like Kusama’s dots) that could become a recurring theme in their artwork. This could be a colour, a shape, a texture, etc. They then create a painting and a sculpture that are connected through the motif.
• Children try a range of techniques for creating dots (twisting, printing, stippling, dotting, computer graphics, cut-outs, clay discs, etc.) and create a piece of art.
• Kusama often uses bright or bold dots. Help children find their own colour palate and use that to create a dotty sculpture or painting.
• Look at Kusama’s pumpkin art. Children experiment with rows of different dot sizes to create their own pumpkin art or create a similar dot effect on a different medium.