School Councils UK

Student Led Room 13 Art Project goes from strength to streng by Matt Lent

last modified 17 Apr 2008 at 10:55AM

What was going on

Student Led Room 13 Art Project goes from strength to streng Room 13 has never been very easy to explain but just recently things have become even more complicated as the project is expanding in lots of different directions all at once! The centre of the Room 13 project is still the art studio in Room 13, Caol Primary School, in Scotland, where the project began in the early 1990s, before the current Managing Director was even born. Although Room 13 has studios in a handful of other schools throughout the UK and abroad and before long there will be many more. This means that there now needs to be a management group whose job it is to oversee the running of the entire organization. While the Room 13 studios are open in various schools, they continue to operate independently.

What we did

Within each individual school, the Room 13 studio is organised and run completely by the students themselves. Each year a management team is elected, who are responsible for organising their own projects and raising funds to keep the studio running from day to day. Each management team is elected from primary 5, 6 & 7 and it is their job to look after the running of their studio and organisation of events. They have to make sure the paint and art materials are in stock, order the cleaning materials, keep the office stocked, and keep a diary of what’s been done and what needs to be done. They also keep track of the finances in their own studio's bank account and are fully responsible for paying the Artist-in-Residence's wages. In Room 13 no adult is allowed to sign the cheques! Room 13 is a democratic, autonomous organisation – the only things they depend on the schools for are light, heating and the use of the room itself.

What changed

The work produced by students who use Room 13 is exciting and fascinating. Having a dedicated art studio in school allows pupils to paint large scale works on canvas using oil or acrylic paint, create photographic collaborations in the dark room, or use the computer to make digital works. Every artist's work is different and unique, because the most important thing learnt in Room 13 is for the pupils to think for themselves. As well as exhibiting artwork in public museums and galleries, Room 13 also runs its own art gallery within the school, with exhibiting artists chosen by the curators. In each school there is one adult Artist in Residence who works in the studio and around the school. It is very interesting for all involved to work alongside a professional artist, seeing their work and hearing them talk about what they have been doing. There are no age restrictions in Room 13, and many students from the high school come to work in the studio after school. On some days there can be 8 – 18 year olds all working on their work together. Room 13 continues to grow and change at the will of the individuals who carry the project on with their hard work and enthusiasm. To find out more about the Room 13 project please visit www.room13scotland.com or for information about setting up a Room13 in your school e-mail management@room13scotland.com

Issue: Representing pupils on specific issues

Shared with network: yes

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