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Art — Capstone: Curation & Claim

Summer 2 (6 weeks) · Made by Matt · madebymatt.uk · the claim window · 2026–27

Unit enquiry

What does a year of work actually prove — and can a stranger walk the room and see it?

Where this sits

This is the claim window. Everything built since September is audited, selected, mounted, labelled, hung and defended. The adviser audit happens here, and the Evidence Locator is completed and handed over.

Kit: mount board · scalpel and cutting mats · steel rules · fixings · a space · camera. Blades are supervised — bench cards out.

The pupil curatorial committee

The room is run by pupils in named roles with real responsibility. Adults fetch and carry.

The committee is the leadership evidence. It maps to the top of all three awards at once: Explore Part D (you actively chose what to share), Bronze Part D (the feeder-school workshop is a stronger skill share than teaching a peer), and Silver Unit 2 (the committee IS the arts leadership project, with genuine liaison with others).
A public showing is a GOLD requirement, not Silver. Run the launch — it is worth doing at every level — but never write it as required, and note the adviser is not trained at Gold.
Agree this with SLT well before the term, not in the week of it. A public launch, marketing, and pupils working with primary-age children mean image consent, a visitor protocol and supervision planning. Long lead time.

Week by week

Week 1: Portfolio Review & Selection presenting · the audit

Enquiry: Which part of my award is thinnest?

Select against the award parts, not by prettiness. Find the gap first — that is what this term fixes.

Week 2: Curatorial Narrative & Floor Plan leading

Enquiry: Can a visitor walk it and get the story without me?

Committee roles taken this week.

Week 3: Mounting & Display Preparation creating

Enquiry: What does a proper mount do to a piece of work?

Diagnostic: bottom border slightly deeper than the top — it reads as even even though it is not.

Week 4: Labels, Statements & Your North-East Anchor artist · presenting

Enquiry: Where does my work sit next to the artists of this region?

This is the week that earns the “Modern Masters of the North-East” framing: each pupil places their work in dialogue with a North-East artist — Tabner, Shaw, Barlow, Deller or their own choice — saying in one line what they share and what they do differently. It also tops up artist evidence for anyone whose Part C or Unit 1D is thin.

Week 5: Installation & Pupil-Led Setup leading

Enquiry: Whose exhibition is this?

Hang at eye level for the shortest likely visitor. Check the wheelchair route before anything goes up.

Week 6: Launch, Outreach & the Claim ALL PARTS · adviser audit

Enquiry: What changed across the year, and where is the proof?

Completed Evidence Locators go to the adviser. Nothing is claimed until they have audited it.

Award mapping — one unit, three jobs

This unit runs in all three rooms with the same materials and the same diagnostics. What differs is the award part it evidences. Every week sheet carries the mapping across all three levels, and the Evidence Locator sorts it at claim time.

No GCSE assessment objectives anywhere. This provision runs Trinity Arts Award only. Never map a sheet to AO1–AO4 and never use GCSE grade bands. Tiers are Supported / Standard / Stretch.
No hours threshold, ever. Trinity’s guided-learning figures are guidance only. The adviser audits parts, not attendance. Every week carries a recovery route evidencing the same part — not a lower route.

What a trained adviser still needs to provide separately

A trained Arts Award adviser must audit the complete personal arts log against current requirements before confirming any claim. The centre is registered and the adviser is trained at Explore, Bronze and Silver.

Artsmark is whole-setting development, not an individual pupil award. Nothing here is Artsmark evidence unless the setting is actually on an Artsmark journey. Partnership activity is logged separately in the staff Arts Partnership Log.

Add locally approved, credited Teesside reference images before teaching. Artist and organisation choices are deliberately left open so they can be approved locally.