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
Select Your Art Bytes Staff Member
JULIA JOHNSON
Project Coordinator (North)
Julia looks after the Art Bytes programme in the North of England. As well as several years experience teaching at primary level, she has a background in arts project management and excellent digital skills. Julia also writes about her love of art in her blog, Messy Lines.
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 guest judges then select the regional and national winners, announced in June.
Judging Panel
Select Your Panel Member
PAULA BRIGGS
Panel Member
Paula Briggs is Co-Founder, CEO and Creative Director of AccessArt, a UK charity which aims to further the advancement of visual arts education. Paula studied Sculpture at Norwich School of Art (now NUA), and did a Masters at the Royal College of Art, before co-founding AccessArt in 1999.
Paula has a particular interest in advocating and enabling drawing and making skills to underpin visual arts learning, and she is the author of two books for children: Drawing Projects for Children & Make, Build, Create: Sculpture Projects for Children. Paula lives in Cambridge where she continues to lead the AccessArt team.
