A: There are two things expected. 1.) Do creative things in your school  and 2.) Share with others.

THE DOING: All you have to do is pledge to deliver a little extra art activity (as much or as little as you feel able to) to your class - or your whole school, during Term 6. This could be an art lesson every day for a term for your year group... or  one whole school creative day... or a big art project that your class gets involved in. 

THE SHARING: We believe that by collectively celebrating our Art Builders activities (and the positive impact of those activities) within our school communities, local communities and as a national network of educators passionate about arts in education, we can champion the value and importance of creativity in our education system.  In any way that you can, please celebrate and share your creative happenings, particularly via us (email, social media, snail mail), we can be a megaphone for all the Art Builder schools. 

A: Simply subscribe to the Animate Arts mailing list (tick the 'Art Builders' option). Find the green 'Join the mailing list' button is at the bottom of this page!

Once you have subscribed, you will be part of the growing network of 'Art Builder Schools'. There are 100s of schools like yours who want to see more creative things happening in their settings. We will send you occasional emails about the programme so you can keep up-to-date with announcements, project and resource offerings and opportunities!

A: It's FREE! Just subscribe so that we know that you and your school are pledging to be more creative. 

You could run an Art Builders activity in your school that is entirely designed by you without tapping into any of our offerings, but we do provide a range of activities and resources which is there if you wish to take advantage of. Some of these are free and others have a cost.

However, to be transparent, we are a small not-for-profit arts organisation, very passionate about creativity in schools. Currently we do NOT receive any funds to deliver the 2026 programme, and so any paid elements are to cover the costs and artist's time.

We do run fundraising activities which we hope that you will support to help us raise vital funds for 2027!

A: Plenty! 

Animate Arts CIC programmes and creates a range of activities, workshops, resources each year to support schools and their teachers to do creative things. Popular events include the Teachers Art CPD Bootcamp, Art Builders Day with all its live-streamed art workshops and the downloadable art projects. 

If your school prefers to design your own activity, you can contact us and arrange for our artists to visit your school with bespoke art experiences, or you can DIY your own in-house activities.

Do contact us on info@artbuilders.co.uk if you want to chat through your ideas.

A: Not necessarily! We understand that schools are under pressure and have plenty of things going on, so it’s not essential to join Art Builders Day if it doesn’t work with your schedule. We programme the day flexibly so that you can join as much or as little of the activity as you like. If you’re unable to join-in, the most important thing for us is that you  programme more creative time in school at a time that works for you!

A: Art Builders is designed for primary and SEND schools, specifically KS1 & KS2.

A: No... you can do anything creative inspired (or not) by the annual theme.

For programming purposes, our artists work to the theme each year , so you will find most of our resources and activities explore the set theme.  You can read about this year's theme on this page. 

A: The programme was born in 2019, with funding from Arts Council England, when Animate Arts started our mission with eight partner schools, their pupils and a team of brilliant artists from east Kent. The 'Art Builders' project inspired so many individuals that wanted to do more and get more schools involved. Since it began, Art Builders has supported 100s of schools, with over 160,000 young people getting involved in creative activities in their classrooms.

Currently, this programme is not subsidised with funding, but Animate Arts passionately believes in the value of creativity in our education system. In 2024, after 5 years of extraordinary activity and hard work, we paused the programme to reflect and look at funding options and direction. In 2026, we will offer a smaller programme with the most important elements so that we can continue to connect schools & artists, and bring ideas and support to teachers.