Celebrating sculpture
Between 2017 and 2022, Art UK photographed tens of thousands of images of sculptures inside public collections and out in the public realm across the UK. From small figures by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska to large outdoor sculptures like The Kelpies, these can now be enjoyed on our website. To celebrate this, we've gathered together a selection of our favourite Art UK learning resources created as part of this sculpture digitisation project, as well as favourites from our partner collections.
Something Plastic to Fight the Invisible (English Language Golem Perimeter)
2001
Mark Titchner (b.1973)
Sculpture in museums and galleries
Masterpieces in Schools
Throughout our Sculpture digitisation programme, we brought over 70 sculptures from museum and gallery collections into schools across the UK as part of our Masterpieces in Schools initiative. Many of these events have since inspired rich lesson plan and activity ideas on Art UK with photographic guides throughout. The following is a list of some of our favourites.
Weave a sensory sculpture (SEND)
Experimental painting with eggs (Primary)
The People's Museum: representing community in art (Primary)
Lorna Graves and sculpture in relief (SEND / Primary / Secondary)
Animals and us: Kenny Hunter's animal sculptures (Secondary)
Reflected environments: Rob Mulholland's mirror sculptures (Secondary)
Home School: pop-up crime scene collage (Secondary)
Home School: take flight with a winged sculpture (Secondary)
Sculpture in focus
We also partnered with CultureStreet to create a series of 'Sculpture in focus' films featuring young people exploring sculpture in their local area. The majority of these films focus on sculpture in museums and galleries with some inspiring the following lesson plan ideas.
Sculpture and belief: Ngāti Porou House Panels (Primary)
Dora Gordine and portraiture (Secondary)
Lobster Telephone and Surrealism (Secondary)
Henry Moore's Family Group and Harlow (Secondary)
Audio descriptions
Our partner, Vocal Eyes have created a series of audio descriptions of works from museums and galleries in various regions across the UK as part of our sculpture digitisation project. These are particularly useful for older secondary students, as well as students who are blind or visually impaired. We've listed some of our favourites below.
Woman in a Bomb Blast by F.E. McWilliam
Untitled (Slade Pinboard) by Rachel Whiteread
Gigantic Pumpkin by Kate Malone
Kenneth James Matheson by Alexander Munro
Outdoor and public sculpture
Sculpture near you
As part of our Sculpture Project, we invited schools across the country to create their own four-minute film celebrating a 'Sculpture near you'. Many of these films focus on outdoor sculptures and some of these have accompanying lesson plan ideas, such as the following selection.
Exploring characters with the Alice in Wonderland trail in Llandudno (Primary)
Animate public sculpture, inspired by Henry Moore's Draped Seated Woman (Primary / Secondary)
Telling stories through sculpture: Hazel Reeves and Emmeline Pankhurst (Secondary)
Hitchcock's Reel and the art of film (Secondary)
Sculpture Around You and Sculpture Trails
We also ran a series of Sculpture Around You events in communities which led to the creation of the Sculpture Counts card game as well as the online documentation of several public trails, such as with Public Art Dundee.
Download the Sculpture Counts card game (Primary / Secondary)
London, Brighton and Teesdale sculpture trails on Curations
Sculptors and sculptural techniques
Sculptors' techniques
Our 'Sculptors' techniques' films were created with CultureStreet and focus on contemporary sculptors and the techniques they employ in their designs across a range of mediums. We’ve highlighted some of our favourites below.
Halima Cassell and geometric pattern in clay
Sculptors' techniques: Ros Burgin and found objects
Sculptors' techniques: Brian Fell and metal
Sculptors' techniques: Erin Dickson and glass
Home School
During the coronavirus pandemic, we switched to working on a series of sculpture-inspired home learning resources, including a series of interviews and activity demonstrations with renowned UK sculptors.
Make a colour sculpture with Ania Bas (Primary)
Create a wire hybrid creature with Fiona Campbell (Primary / Secondary)
Create a softer world with Brendan Jamison (Primary / Secondary)
Make a dazzle sculpture with Lisa Traxler (Primary / Secondary)
Make a landscape sculpture with Mary Bourne (Secondary)
Make a White Rhythm sculpture with Robert Erskine (Secondary)
Resources from our Partner collections
Here is a selection of our favourite resources from partner collections whose sculptures are featured on Art UK.
Make and create
Ben Uri Gallery and Museum: 3D skills in the classroom
Colchester + Ipswich Museums: Buttons + Bottle Tops
Fitzwilliam Museum: Look Think Do – Blue Twisted Form
Hepworth Wakefield: Hepworth-inspired sculpture making
Jupiter Artland: Found Art inspired by Andy Goldsworthy
Jupiter Artland: Blue Tack Body inspired by Tracey Emin
Royal Academy of Arts: How to make a character house
Royal Academy of Arts: How to make a recycled sculpture
Royal Society of Sculptors learning resources
Southampton City Art Gallery: Make a foil sculpture video
The New Art Gallery Walsall: Build a Balancing Sculpture
The New Art Gallery Walsall: Whimsical Woodland Creatures
Research and learn
Aberdeen Art Gallery: Kenny Hunter – Sculpture Court
Arts Council Collection: Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945
Arts Council Collection: Making It: Sculpture in Britain 1977–1986
Fitzwilliam Museum: Abstraction in sculpture resources
Royal Academy of Arts: Found Objects
Royal Academy of Arts: Sculpture in the RA Collections
Royal Society of Sculptors: Material Matters
