Basic education of art, media, architecture and design to children and young people.
Art schools provide basic education of arts to over 20 000 learners aged between four and 20 years, in Finland.
Teachers are art teachers, artists, architects, photographers, designers and media professionals.
Art schools are supported by municipalities as well as independent organisations. Some of the art schools are also part of adult education centres.
The basic education in visual arts refers to goal-oriented training on art, architecture, hand craft or audio-visual art which progresses from one level to another and takes place outside of the school hours.
This education equips the learners to express themselves and to apply for higher level education in the field of arts. The basic education of arts in Finland is government regulated by a specific law.
The skills acquired in the basic education of arts can also be useful when applying to study youth work, pedagogy or other similar subjects.
The Finnish Association of Art Schools for Children and Young People is an umbrella organisation for art schools for children and young people. It was founded in 1982 and it has more than 70 member organisations.
The association:
- promotes high quality art education by offering training and communication services,
- raises awareness on the basic education of arts, and
- aims to create networks between organisations and schools providing art education.
The basic education of visual arts equips the students to express themselves through visual means. Teaching develops ability to creatively solve problems and contributes toward ecological and aesthetically orientated attitude.
Schools teach the learners to use diverse range of materials, to work in groups and to appreciate one’s own and one’s peers’ artistic creations.
Studies aim to create long term motivation for learning and hobby in the field of art and it provides the learners with solid foundation for further studies on the field.