Arts Award Discover with The Superpower of Looking

We caught up with Jennie Thornber, Learning Coordinator from Art UK, as she reviews how Arts Award can be achieved through their education offer.

Art education charity Art UK has been a longstanding Arts Award partner and is proud to have created a new arts log to help young people complete their Arts Award Discover using freely-available The Superpower of Looking resources. The Superpower of Looking is Art UK’s innovative and inclusive programme which seeks to transform the visual literacy skills of children, empowering them to decode the images and media that surround them in our image-saturated world using artworks as a starting point.

Jennie said, ‘We’re thrilled to be exploring how The Superpower of Looking’s free digital resources can support delivery of Arts Award Discover. With over 20 resources to choose from, each focuses on an exciting artwork from Art UK’s online collection with a function for zooming-in on the pieces, prompt questions and videos to help students engage with artworks. The resources align with Arts Award’s aims to boost understanding of the arts, alongside encouraging creativity and communication skills.’

How can The Superpower of Looking resources support delivery of Arts Award Discover?

For Part A (Discover), children will encounter art forms as they discover artworks within The Superpower of Looking resources. All resources include creative activities, encouraging children to get creative and create artwork of their own in a range of media.

Children have the opportunity to find out about an artist they have discovered through The Superpower of Looking resources, contributing towards Part B (Find out). Contextual information about the artist and artwork is always provided as a starting point for children to find out more about an inspirational artist whose work they have enjoyed.

Just as Arts Award Discover aims to improve children’s communication skills in sharing with others what they have learnt and enjoyed (Part C – Share), a key element of The Superpower of Looking and its discussion-based approach is improving oracy, supporting children to share their observations and ideas about artwork.

As well as The Superpower of Looking, the new Arts Award Discover arts logs can be used in parallel with other Art UK activity. For example, it was launched as part of The Superpower of Looking’s Art Adventure – the ultimate free virtual school trip – which formed part of Art UK’s very first Visual Literacy Week (30 September – 6 October 2024). Renowned artist Sarah Graham led children to discover exciting artworks, inviting them to explore these artworks for themselves and to create their own artwork. Opportunities like these fit perfectly within the flexible framework of Arts Award, and give young people exciting chances to develop their art form knowledge and understanding in new ways.

How can you get involved?

Head to the partnerships page on the Arts Award website. Here you can find information about running Arts Award aligned to Art UK activities.

You’ll find a special discount code to use towards certificates when you offer Arts Award in conjunction with The Superpower of Looking, links to the new arts log, and a new mapping document.

Arts Award is delivered by trained advisers, who run Arts Award in their centres. More information about the different levels of Arts Award, and how to run your own Arts Award can be found on the website.