My Truth About Art in the UK
by Dana Lillie
Ever since I was a child, sitting on my small plastic chair in primary school, I loved drawing. My first memory of art is emblazoned in my mind: I was in Year 3 and all the children in my class had been tasked with drawing a bird for some school project or another. It was my first experience working in watercolour and I had spent so many labouring hours working on it – but that was okay because I had loved doing it. The end result was great – a fully-coloured magpie sitting on a branch. I remember how special I felt when my teacher praised me, my other classmates looked at my work in awe and I eventually got the most prestigious award that a small child could get – the headteacher’s award. It was a lot for a seven-year-old.
From there, my passion for drawing was firmly established. I (rather naively) decided that when I grew up, I was going to be an artist. I ignored everyone who told me that this was ‘impractical’ or that art was a hobby not a career. It didn’t matter to me because I loved it, so surely that should be enough.
Primary schools in the UK, in my experience, are very encouraging towards artsy students. Many of my projects at school were orientated around art. We had a highly successful Arts and Crafts club, as well as a cheery lady who came in weekly to teach us how to draw and be generally creative.
Secondary schools, however, are a completely different story. Seeing my timetable at the start of Year Seven was something of a culture shock to me. Four times a week we had double periods (an hour and ten minutes) of Maths, English and Sciences. In contrast, stereotypical ‘artsy’ subjects such as Music and Art were left with one double a week; Drama was allocated just one, thirty minute session a week.
This was especially shocking for me as I had just come straight from a primary school which had looked upon creative activities so highly that they had dedicated practically the entire summer term to running a production of ‘Oliver!’. How could two schools be so different? What was it about secondary schools that make them place such a strong emphasis on academic subjects? Have the government even stopped to consider how students who struggle in these areas feel?
Despite these issues, my love of art prevailed throughout secondary school. In Year Nine, I created a five-year plan based around becoming a successful artist.
Then GCSEs happened. I was so excited when I got the option to choose four subjects to study. Art was the first on my list. And it was nothing like I was expecting.
Art, as I had known it, was about having the freedom to express yourself. GCSE was the opposite of this. We were told what we had to draw and how we had to draw it in order to get the marks. We were told we had to take inspiration from other artists in order for our work to even be valid. We were dragged to art galleries to observe these artists. And I hated it. It wasn’t the art I was used to and had loved.
I remember half way into my course I was sat on a beach in Florida with my mum just chatting. She suddenly asked why I wasn’t drawing anymore. I was shocked. I had started resenting my lessons and drawing and just being creative. I had stopped doing all those things I had loved as a child. GCSE Art had crushed my passion and I hadn’t even noticed.
I didn’t take Art for A-Level. During this time of extreme demotivation, my love of art had ended. This passion had instead been replaced by English and the written word. I was fortunate enough to be able to channel my creative energy through these means instead.
I still draw sometimes, but not nearly as much as I used to. When I do draw, it takes me a while to finish it. Those days of being able to finish an entire picture in one sitting are over. And it’s a sad thing.
So, to all of you who may feel demotivated and frustrated by your education system – as I did – I want you to remember this: a marking scheme can never define your talent. What one person sees as worthless, another sees as beautiful. Do not allow other people to stop you doing what you love.