14 years on from the introduction of the Ebacc, the RA warns that the ‘mind-expanding, question-prompting, wild creativity and confidence’ fostered by art is in danger of disappearing altogether. Visualise: Race & Inclusion in Secondary School Art Education, a recent report from the Runnymede Trust and Freelands Foundation, finds that the art education we do have is not meeting the needs of our diverse student body, with just 2.3% of artists referenced in GCSE Art papers from Black (1.54%) or South Asian (0.74%) backgrounds.
Within this landscape, craft is even more vulnerable—3D processes are often more messy and time-consuming and need more storage space; teachers lack confidence in their skills and non-specialist teachers (often, at primary level, the curriculum lead for art does not have a background in art education) stick to ‘safer’ 2D processes.