The Runnymede Trust and Freelands Foundation published 'Visualise: race and inclusion in art education’ as a landmark research report into race and inclusion in art education, following three years of partnership between 2021 to 2024.
The report examined the current state of race in art education in England, confirming what art educators have been saying for years: that art education is at crisis point. Where despite their best efforts, teachers and students are rooted in an education system that is failing to nurture diverse art practices.
Freelands Foundation partnered with the art podcast Shade in 2024 to create this 5-part series of conversations that dig deeper into the ideas of Visualise – offering an alternative way to engage with the written report's provocations across its five chapters.
- Broad Canvas with Henry Ward (artist, educator and Director of Freelands Foundation) and Shabna Begum (CEO of the Runnymede Trust) gives an overview of the UK arts education ecosystem.
- Classroom Portraits with Exodus Crooks ( a Birmingham-based multi-disciplinary artist and educator who works with installation, film-making and text) discusses how we can transform the art curriculum within the classroom.
- Art Outside the Classroom with Dr Sadegh Aleahmad (an Iranian-born multi-disciplinary artist, facilitator and lecturer based in London) explores art education work beyond the classroom, enabling new ways of thinking, creating and coming together in community.
- The Art of Teaching with Shepherd Manyika (an artist and educator based in London) examines teaching as an artistic practice.
- Visualise the Future with Carey Robinson (Deputy Director, Learning and Public Programmes at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge) reflect and expand on the reports recommendations for the future and imagine a new direction for art education in the U.K.