Freelands Foundation
Selected by Freelands Foundation
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SHIFT: Polly Brant
Artist educator Polly Brant emphasises practice as lifelong learning in this short film, while discussing making publications, materiality through collaboration and dismantling barriers for working-class primary and secondary school students.
Polly Brant is an artist-educator interested in art as common – ‘something shared by people and open for public use’. Her work spans publication, writing, digital practice and textiles, and is often produced in and with galleries and community spaces. In her practice, Polly emphasises the importance of creative education beyond the formal education system, urging for it to become part of our social infrastructure and everyone’s everyday life. Through this short film, Polly reflects on her collaborations with primary and secondary school students, and explores how the use of everyday materials is key to dismantling barriers for the working class within art education. The film focuses on her publication-making practice, which she anchors by saying, ‘making books collaboratively allows for sharing processes and ideas.’ This approach shifts learning from ‘do it yourself’ to ‘do it together’ and proposes book-making as a tool for collaboration through material processes.
Polly Brant is an artist-educator interested in art as common – ‘something shared by people and open for public use’. Her work spans publication, writing, digital practice and textiles, and is often produced in and with galleries and community spaces. In her practice, Polly emphasises the importance of creative education beyond the formal education system, urging for it to become part of our social infrastructure and everyone’s everyday life. Through this short film, Polly reflects on her collaborations with primary and secondary school students, and explores how the use of everyday materials is key to dismantling barriers for the working class within art education. The film focuses on her publication-making practice, which she anchors by saying, ‘making books collaboratively allows for sharing processes and ideas.’ This approach shifts learning from ‘do it yourself’ to ‘do it together’ and proposes book-making as a tool for collaboration through material processes.
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Teaching Behaviours w/ Sadegh (Sepanta) Aleahmad
Artist and educator Sadegh (Sepanta) Aleahmad is joined in conversation by Freelands Foundation Education Curator, Nathan Marsh, to discuss reclaiming play through experimental approaches to teaching art.
In this conversation, artist and educator Sadegh (Sepanta) Aleahmad speaks to Freelands Foundation Education Curator Nathan Marsh about his approaches to art education. Sepanta expands on play, experimentation and interdisciplinarity in art education to question power relations, including the relationship between teacher and student and the position of art amongst other school subjects. Beginning with his own upbringing in Iran and his childhood dislike of art and moving through his rediscovery of art in adult life and subsequent journey as an artist, Sepanta uses his experiences to frame his ideas and approaches, interrogating the ways art is traditionally taught while presenting progressive and playful possibilities for how it could be taught.
In this conversation, artist and educator Sadegh (Sepanta) Aleahmad speaks to Freelands Foundation Education Curator Nathan Marsh about his approaches to art education. Sepanta expands on play, experimentation and interdisciplinarity in art education to question power relations, including the relationship between teacher and student and the position of art amongst other school subjects. Beginning with his own upbringing in Iran and his childhood dislike of art and moving through his rediscovery of art in adult life and subsequent journey as an artist, Sepanta uses his experiences to frame his ideas and approaches, interrogating the ways art is traditionally taught while presenting progressive and playful possibilities for how it could be taught.
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Freelands Awards – Celebrating Art Education
Reflecting on the role of the Freelands Awards in championing the importance of art education within the UK’s cultural life.
When Freelands Foundation was founded in 2015, we set out to support visual art, art education and research, encouraging innovative approaches and responding to the cultural landscape of the United Kingdom. Over the past decade that landscape has continued to evolve, with new challenges appearing. The Foundation has evolved in response too, increasing its focus on art education and concentrating its energies and resources on supporting this increasingly fragile area.
When Freelands Foundation was founded in 2015, we set out to support visual art, art education and research, encouraging innovative approaches and responding to the cultural landscape of the United Kingdom. Over the past decade that landscape has continued to evolve, with new challenges appearing. The Foundation has evolved in response too, increasing its focus on art education and concentrating its energies and resources on supporting this increasingly fragile area.
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Belonging in Practice: The Artist-Teacher Residency
A 2025 film by Kit Vincent exploring Dianne Minnicucci’s time as the resident artist-teacher at Thomas Tallis School. Part of Autograph’s Visible Practice Residency.