The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

ing writers of national and international standing to localaudiences — in an economical way .The contact time betweenartists and groups is not long in any of these schemes. Othersprovide for more sustained work through subsidised residencies.185 Rest- Organised principally by regional arts associations, the Artistsdencies in Schools scheme places visual artists in schools or galleriesto work for two to eight days — either consecutively or overseveral weeks. Aims and organisation vary from region toregion.The overall and common purpose is to deepen children'sunderstanding of contemporary art in general and of theindividual artist's work in particular. 3There have been considerable developments in recentyears in all areas of dance. 4 There has been a correspondinggrowth of interest in dance and education. The GreaterLondon Arts Association, for example, has funded fourDance Fellows to work in four London Boroughs for oneyear. The Arts Council has organised seven pilot projects —two in Leeds; two in Manchester; and one each in Havant,Devon and ILEA — each lasting five weeks and comprising aperiod of preparatory work in the chosen school by a danceartist, a one-week residency by a professional dance companyand a follow-up period with a choreographer to create adance piece with the pupils. Companies involved so farinclude, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, ExtemporaryDance Company, Emma Dance Company, Dance Tales, Ludus,Spiral and Basic Space.The Greater London Arts Association also sustains anumber of Writers' Fellowships. Under the C Day LewisFellowships, the Association helps to fund a salary for awriter to work in a school for two days a week for a fullacademic year. The salary is completed by the school or thelocal education authority. Fellowships are open to anypublished creative writer in any field and it is for the writerand the school to negotiate their own pattern of activitiesfor the year. 5The Gulbenkian Foundation itself took a lead in thisarea of residencies when, in 1973, it made available £30,000— later raised to £50,000 — to support a scheme whichaimed to introduce artists in all media to work in schools.This established a partnership in funding between the Foundationand eight local authorities. Each chose an artist, attachinghim or her to work in a school for a year. Cheshirechose a dance choreographer; Coventry a video artist; Cumbriaa composer; Devon a dramatist; Hertfordshire a sculptor;ILEA a rather special mix of painter, composer and dramatist;Leicestershire a painter; Sheffield a film-maker. 6 113