Visual Arts: Top 5 recommends

1. Do it on the ‘gram: Social Media Art Lessons

As a predominantly visual platform, Instagram is a great resource for arts and craft lessons for children of all ages. Accounts such as @Emma__scottchild use the most of Instagram’s highlight feature, offering a mix of ultra-accessible art history, experimental activities and follow-along steps. With a bold graphic look and well-researched examples, Emma’s work offers substance as well as style, as much for adults as it is for primary aged children. Other crafty accounts of note include @growild_education and @hellowonderful_co.

2. Sainsbury Centre Online Studio

Norwich’s Sainsbury Centre have done an incredible job of translating their world-class physical collection into a well-stocked online resource bank, divided into activities for those aged 6-11, 12-18 and adults. From making your own DIY fabric design, to curating a beautiful knick-knack windowsill display, the Sainsbury Centre offer a huge variety of top-notch activities, for even the rainiest of days.

3. #InThePicture with Norwich Castle

Created by Norwich Castle for Twitter, #InThePicture is series of videos and resources that ask all the right questions about visual art. Ranging from painting to sculpture, these short, charming videos combine personal stories and art history to make art criticism accessible.

Take a look at some of the videos through the #InThePicture hashtag, then try and make your own. Take that postcard hanging on your fridge door. Are the colours bold and exciting or warm and sleepy? Does it stand out from across the kitchen, or do you have to look really hard to see it? How does it make you feel?

4. Creating The Future Films - Careers advice for Young People

For young people, thinking about their future career can be a daunting prospect, especially in the hazy, timeless throes of summer. To inject some intrigue into the process, we’ve commissioned Creating The Future, a series of honest, practical videos that break down key roles in the creative industries. Profiling the careers of artists, musicians, coders, designers, archivists and more, these videos offer a vital glimpse into the hows, whats and whys of careers in the creative sector.

5. DIY Loom weaving: Your Next Crafting Obsession

From the meditative process of warping a loom, to producing trendy decorations, loom weaving is seeing a renaissance amongst young people on platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. For those looking to start off, this tutorial from Soumaya Ettouji shows how you can make your own cardboard loom from scratch. Or for those looking for a slightly bigger project, WithWendy’s simple Youtube tutorials break down the easy techniques needed to create a looming masterpiece.

If you’re in need of inspiration, the incredible tapestry makers of Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios have a series of brilliant resources that range from simple PDF tutorials, to grand commissions that show how they are pushing this ancient craft into the forefront of contemporary modern art.

By Robbie Maloney