Open Arts Objects

Open Arts Objects (OAO) is an open access platform which provides over 50 free films to support the teaching of Art History.

Watch this short film outlining the Open Arts Objects project

Open Arts Objects:

inspires wider and diverse audiences to enjoy and understand art works and visual culture, leading to a change in museums’ educational programmes and professional practice, and has increased public awareness about a global approach to Art History.
supports teachers by providing free open access materials including films, activities for students, and teaching support documents. OAO films are a recommended resources for the new A-level Curriculum by Pearson, covering the themes of Identities, Nature, and War, but they can also be easily adapted to the Cambridge Pre-U. They are an ideal resource for any teacher who incorporates art and design into their teaching.
underpinned by the research of members of the Art History department at the Open University, OAO promotes the understanding of art informed by the innovative methodologies of mobility and global approaches.
emboldens communities, regional groups, school children, teachers, and OU students with art historical skills, with a mandate to widen participation in Art History.
ensures the sustainability of Art History at all teaching levels, advocating for the democratisation of the subject and the decolonisation of the curriculum, and promotes educational opportunity.

We need your help! Our funding and support depends on feedback from you. Please take a few minutes to fill out this very short survey (6 questions, approx. 4 minutes). If you’d like us to visit your school or community group, get in touch: openartsobjects@open.ac.uk.

Partake in our Facebook group and check us out on Instagram and twitter (where every Monday when we post an interesting object/work of art at the start of every week for #materialmondays).

In 2017-18 members of the Open Arts Objects team served as academic consultants for the 9-part BBC series Civilisations produced in partnership with the OU, reaching over 13.7 million viewers. In 2019 OAO was short-listed for the Times Higher Education Awards in the category of Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year.

Open Arts Object: Anna Atkins, Title Page and Poppy , from the portfolio British and Foreign Flowering Plants and Ferns, 1854, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Susanna Brown, curator of Photographs at the V&A, discusses striking blue nature studies by Anna Atkins, one of the world's first female photographers.

Open Arts Object: Three highlights from the historic gardens at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire (English Heritage)

Dr Susie West explore a Victorian parterre, a 1680s sundial and a monumental altar of 1748, part of 300 years of design in the garden.

Open Arts Object: Henry Irving, Sycamore in Summer and Winter, c. 1900, Victoria and Albert Museum

Catherine Troiano, curator at the V&A, discusses a pair of photographs of a Sycamore tree by Henry Irving, which highlight photography’s role in both science and art.