Art and oracy are central to Articulation, a programme built around an annual public speaking competition exploring ideas through art history. This programme represents a key part of a new and UK-wide learning strategy that the National Gallery is implementing.

Articulation was originally established in 2006 by the Roche Court Educational Trust; an arts education charity based at the Roche Court Sculpture Park and New Art Centre in Wiltshire. The Trust supports children and young people to ‘look, think and speak’ about art to gain confidence in themselves and their future. Originally the competition was conceived as a tribute to the art historian Kenneth Clark, who was a founding Trustee of the New Art Centre from which the Roche Court Sculpture Park sprang. The gallery was founded in London in 1959 to give young artists leaving Art School an opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional setting.

Many contemporary artists who have become key figures in the art world today have supported Articulation since its early days at Roche Court. The impact of the pandemic has put huge pressures on education, learning and students’ engagement with the world more broadly. The National Gallery will ensure that the Articulation programme continues to grow, reaching new regional audiences; contributing to educational catch up; and taking advantage of the globally recognised collection of art at the National Gallery, as well as the wider array of partnerships the Gallery is involved with. Articulation will constitute a key part of the National Gallery’s work to reach out to communities around the UK, play a bigger role in the wellbeing and education of the nation, as well as helping to achieve the Gallery’s vision for learning: ‘art enriching lives enriching art’.   

Leading arts professionals from across the country will be invited to support the work, and past contributors have included Antony Gormley, Hannah Rothschild, Tim Marlow, Hetain Patel, and Zoé Whitely, as well as having been a focus on the BBC’s Culture Show. The National Gallery is especially delighted to announce that, as it starts this new chapter, we also welcome a major new funder: the Kusuma Trust. The Gallery is most grateful to have the support and partnership of Kusuma Trust, as we take forward Articulation and roll out an ambitious programme with our local Westminster secondary schools.