The Project so far culminated in the “Artists-in-Schools Celebration” evening at the British Museum in July, which brought together the students’ project-work in a varied, colourful and very impressive exhibition, that was appreciated by friends, families, fellow students, sponsors, organizers, and others. The event was confidence boosting and a high point for many of the students. One pupil of South Camden Community School enthused, “Making the banner was fun, but getting to see it actually displayed in the British Museum was probably the best bit”. Another agreed, “I was very happy to see my work up, I was so proud. It was also fantastic to be able to see everyone else’s work”.

For its organizers the event was a means of bringing together and assessing this unique initiative. As the British Museum’s Arab World Education Programme moves into its tenth year, Phase Three of the Artists-in-Schools Project is being planned. Nicholas Badcott is aiming for “significant impact and continuity”, but current ideas also include the possibility of testing the scheme outside London, perhaps in some of the more rural parts of Britain where students will probably have had minimal contact with Arabs and the Arab World.

Unique and successful the Project undoubtedly is, it is exciting to see it generating so much enthusiasm in its students not just for Art as a subject, but for learning itself, and to see them easily overcoming established stereotypes and prejudices in order to engage with different ideas, lifestyles and cultures. As Taha Al-Hiti noticed at St Angela’s Ursuline School, the children showed a great deal of imagination and receptivity: “The more you throw at them, the more they learn.” What Artists-in-Schools has shown is that, “There are no limits to learning and no limits to culture”. 

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ISLA ROSSER-OWEN is an established journalist and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 

Additional Resources:

The British Museum Arab World Education

Karim Rida Said Foundation