The event will shine a spotlight on the role of visual literacy and drawing across the curriculum and diverse national industries, as the number of students completing art and design GSCEs fails to increase for the third year in a row.

The arts and culture industry is worth £7.7 billion to the UK economy [1]. However, in England the number of students taking art and design subjects in 2016 has declined, by 5.5% at GCSE and by 4% at A-level [2]. This is despite an overall increase in GCSE entries, according to exam watchdog Ofqual.

Described as ‘A Visual Learning Adventure for Educators’, the day-long event will see the worlds of digital technology, science, art, and engineering converge to demonstrate the importance of art alongside and within other subjects. Expert contributors, special guests, visual literacy advocates and innovators will discuss and demonstrate the integral role of creativity and drawing within their disciplines. Educators will be invited to take part in workshops, digital drawing demonstrations, interactive experiments and innovative installations, which aim to show why STEM should become STEAM.

The event will outline the definition of what the partners mean by visual literacy, and underline the huge role that 'drawing', in its widest possible interpretation, plays in underpinning professional practice across a spectrum of disciplines. It also aims to raise awareness and understanding of the role of visual literacy as a 'mode of thinking’ and the vital role this plays in our contemporary culture.

Kate Mason, Director of The Big Draw said:

“Visual Literacy is a mode of thinking that helps us understand and navigate the world around us and is a vital tool in an increasingly visual and digital age. This ‘mode’ deserves greater recognition and currency – I hope in time even the term ‘visual literacy’ itself will become more firmly embedded in the mainstream lexicon.”

The evening before the symposium, on Friday 9 September, 6-8pm, a reception will take place at an adults-only playground to demonstrate the vital role of play in creativity and innovation. Guests will be invited to make new friends, get the latest schoolyard gossip, and take their turn on the Lozziwurm – a giant tubular play structure.

Special guests include Carenza Lewis, Professor for the Public Understanding of Research at the University of Lincoln, of Time Team fame, who will work with The Big Draw’s Drawing Associates and ambassadors to flex memories and imaginations in a “no artistic skills” required drawing activity.

This event is sponsored by The University of Lincoln as part of a three-year relationship with The Big Draw, and is supported by the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead. It is part of The Big Draw’s annual programme of events funded by Arts Council England, which also includes The STEAM Powered Big Draw Festival, which will take place from 1-31 October.

Professor Matthew Cragoe, Pro Vice Chancellor of the College of Arts at the University of Lincoln, said:

“The arts form such an essential component of the British economy that the decline in the number of students pursuing art and design subjects at GCSE and A Level should be a cause for national concern. We hope that this wonderfully inter-disciplinary event on visual literacy will both focus attention on the problem and give people a wide range of exciting ideas to take away with them.”

Emma Thomas, Head of Learning & Engagement commented:

“We are delighted to be supporting The Big Draw Symposium this September. BALTIC’s Learning programme engages over 78,000 visitors a year and encourages the use contemporary art as an alternative lens through which to view the world. Visual literacy and drawing, in its widest sense, form the cornerstones of what we do and we are excited to share and support, more widely, the belief that STEM should be STEAM.”

Peter Heslip, Director of Visual Arts and London at Arts Council England commented:

“We are pleased to be able to support The Big Draw as it seeks to reach more people across England and encourage them to participate in drawing, particularly through The Big Draw Festival. For the last sixteen years The Big Draw (formerly The Campaign for Drawing) has sought to epitomise John Ruskin’s philosophy that art is intrinsic to society. The charity’s work around the STEAM agenda will play an important role in raising awareness of how visual literacy is an essential part of the cultural education that children and young people should have access to.”

Tickets for events on both the Friday and Saturday cost £35 or £25 for concessions (students, PGCE students, teachers) and can be bought at http://www.thebigdraw.org/steam-symposium.

[1] Creative Industries Focus on Employment, June 2016, DCMS.
[2] Summer 2016 exam entries: GCSEs, level 1 / 2 certificates, AS and A levels in England, May 2016, Ofqual.