Art

Curriculum Art lessons

At Palm Bay children have a weekly art lesson with a specialist teacher. Upper Key stage 2 children are able to work alongside professional artists in residence in our purposely designed art studio. During these lessons, the children explore a wide variety of techniques and skills for different techniques, and build on these every year. Each year has a series of focussed projects that revisit drawing, painting, printmaking, 3D work and collage/textiles. Additionally, we have begun to incorporate photography projects in years 4 and 6. All skills and techniques that the children learn are related to those of a wide range artists and makers, both contemporary and historical, and spanning a range of cultural and geographical references. Many of the artists that our children study though are local, and may be visitors to the school, or contacted by our children as research. Children develop their skills and understanding of artists/makers and techniques using their own sketchbooks, which they take with them as they move through the school, resulting in a record of their whole art journey at Palm Bay.

YALs

We run a programme of YALs across KS2. These children take part in a range of projects, based in our art studio, in addition to their weekly art lessons. YALs will represent our school at projects and events, as well as sharing younger children techniques or skills, and working with them. For example, a group of year 6 students work in the EYFS outdoor art area at playtimes.

Artists in Residence

We are very fortunate to have professional visual artists working within our school. artists in residence. Our Studio currently hosts 2 artists in residence - Mat Pringle (printmaker) and Zoe DeCaluwe (mixed media). The artists receive free studio space in return for working in our art lessons and on specialist projects with our children. Next to the studio, we also have a kiln shed, where we can fire ceramic work made by the children at school. In addition to our artists in residence in the studio, we have a range of visiting artists and makers.

Collaborative Projects

We take part in a huge range of additional and high-profile arts projects alongside our art curriculum. We are the partner school for the Turner Contemporary Gallery, and our art specialist teacher regularly consults on their education programme. Through the Turner Contemporary , we are also linked to events and activities at the National Gallery. Projects with the Turner Contemporary have included the (national) School Prints Project, Art Inspiring change and in 2024-26, a project looking at local Kentish heritage (apples), alongside the international artist Anya Gallicio

Our second major partner organisation is The Powell-Cotton Museum. We have collaborated with groups of YALs to create art loans boxes for other schools, and our children have trialled, assessed and written educational materials for the museum.

We also take part in collaborative projects with our partner EKC schools, such as ‘Take one picture’ (National Gallery) - we use this project as a whole school transition project, which includes visual art, music, drama.

Events and Family Participation

On occasion throughout the year, we open the art studio to our wider school community, to meet the artists and to view their work, alongside that of some of the children. All children take part in a sketchbook share during the school year.

Annual events and family workshops include ‘The Big Draw’, Christmas and Spring/Summer Fair.

Arts Clubs

Our children are able to take part in after school art clubs, including ceramics, arts and crafts and YALS clubs, that have a term duration.

Funding for Art

Our projects are funded through our unique, annual school art auction, during which we receive donations of around 70 artworks by local and national artists that we auction to the public. Our friend of the school, artist Keith Brymer-Jones hosted the event for five years from 2019, and this year the host/auctioneer is the world poetry slam champion Harry Baker!