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Background

 

Art Bytes has been developed by the team behind the dot-art Schools programme, which has been championing creativity in North West schools since 2012.

From 2012-2019 the dot-art Schools programme raised the creative education profile of almost 500 schools in the North West of England and supported them to achieve Artsmark and meet OFSTED targets. Since inception, the competition has engaged with over 8000 students in addition to supporting over almost 500 teachers to improve the quality of pupils’ art experiences.

We are enormously proud of the impact dot-art Schools has had on increasing pupil’s confidence in their own artistic ability, and the contribution the competition has made to the creative skills agenda by championing the importance of creative skills for future employment. With the creation of Art Bytes, our ambition is to make dot-art Schools a national competition so that all pupils have the opportunity to participate in a programme that is proven to raise pupil’s aspirations and self-esteem, improve creative confidence; and break down barriers to families engaging with cultural spaces.

The team includes five staff and an invited panel of judges who help shortlist and select the artwork entries.

Meet The Team

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EMILY CARTER

Project Coordinator (North)

Emily looks after the Art Bytes programme in the North of England. She has a BA (Hons) from the Northern School of Art and an MA in Art Education, and taught Art, Design and Photography for over 15 years until 2023.

About The Panel

 

Our judging panel of respected arts professionals reviews thousands of entries online and shortlists the top three entries from each school. Following a public vote for the shortlisted entries, the entry with most votes from each school wins a place in the annual virtual exhibition.

Our judges including student judges then select the regional and national winners, which are announced in June. The youth voice on the panel directly impacts the choice of the regional and national winners and runners-up, whilst allowing the students to gain experience and exposure as emerging young artists We are grateful to Activate Learning for facilitating their input.

Judging Panel

Select Your Panel Member

RACHEL THOMPSON

Panel Member

Rachel Thompson is the CPD and Visual Art Content Producer for AccessArt. Alongside her role with AccessArt, she is a professional artist with a specialism in painting and drawing. She holds an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martin’s and regularly exhibits her work. Rachel is an experienced artist educator and has worked with all age groups to deliver art workshops in schools, museums and community settings.

Rachel is thrilled to be representing AccessArt on the judging panel for Art Bytes 2025 and really looks forward to seeing work submitted by the school community across the UK!

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