My Voice Matters photography exhibition.
Pupils at Oakfield Academy in Frome invite you to visit their ‘My Voice Matters’ photography exhibition at the Silk Mill on
Tuesday 23rd July, 5.30 – 9pm
Wednesday 24th July, 9am – 9pm
In this short photovoice project, Oakfield students worked hard to develop their photography skills to share images of what is important to them, before curating the exhibition themselves.
The exhibition runs for two days, opening at 5.30pm on Tuesday and closing at 9pm on Wednesday 24 July. We would all love to see you there to support their hard work!
Curriculum Enrichment Funding – Art at Oakfield Academy
This year, Oakfield Academy allocated funds to support a one-off project for pupils, which would have a positive impact. The funds were awarded to the art department’s ‘My Voice Matters’ project, which aims to provide participating pupils with a positive, confidence-building experience.
‘Photovoice’ is a type of participatory action research in which people use photographs to picture their environment and experiences and to express their thoughts about them. The aim of the ‘My Voice Matters’ project was to use elements of the photovoice method to support pupils to develop a ‘voice’: build self-confidence, help them recognise their creative potential, and develop a stronger sense of place and belonging within school.
This was a workshop-based approach, initially for 10 pupils (in Key Stage 3) and was held throughout the Summer term 2024.
The project ends with this final exhibition to celebrate and share pupils’ work with their families and the local community at the Silk Mill.
Developing pupils’ skills and engagement in photography, art and design
In 2022, the creative industries made a £124 billion contribution to the UK economy, and many of these roles require an art/ design qualification.
Frome has a thriving local art & design community and we can support our pupils to join that community one day by encouraging their involvement in creative subjects in school.
The National Society for Education in Art & Design recognises 12 different areas of ‘making’ in the art & design curriculum. By reusing the resources from this project, 3 of these areas will now be embedded in the Key Stage 3 Oakfield Academy curriculum from 2024/5, in the form of a cross-curricular art/ computing unit for our year 8 pupils:
- Photography and lens-based media
- Digital and new media
- Design and Graphic Design
The Ofsted Research Review: Art and Design (2023) states that, ‘The KS3 curriculum is important for a variety of reasons… Key Stage 3 may be the last opportunity for a pupil to engage critically and creatively with art during their education.’ Through the provision of digital technology in the KS3 curriculum, I believe that many more pupils will want to pursue this subject further, into KS4 and onwards. This will open them up to a wider range of education and work opportunities within the creative industries.