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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: Mantegna, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1495-1505, Getty Museum, LA

Dr Leah Clark discusses the global dimensions of a painting by the Renaissance court artist Andrea Mantegna.

Open Arts Object: Yinka Shonibare, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, 2010

In this film, Dr Clare Taylor looks at a work made by a living artist who works in London, Yinka Shonibare. The subject, materials and sites she talks about all encourage viewers to think of their own individual, national and global identity in new ways.

Open Arts Object: Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait along the Border Line between Mexico and the USA, 1932

Dr Warren Carter discusses a self-portrait by the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in which she depicts herself straddling the border between Mexico and the United States.

Open Arts Object: Critical Term - Globalisation

Leon Wainwright and Leah Clark discussing the complexities of the term globalisation for Art History in relation to Renaissance and contemporary art. Includes Chinese porcelain, De Bry prints, and works on canvas by Frank Bowling.

Open Arts Object: Benin plaque showing the façade of the Royal palace, 1550–1650 (British Museum)

Dr Kim Woods discusses a fascinating brass sculpture from the historic African kingdom of Benin.

Open Arts Objects: Bichitr and Ramdas, Shah-Jahan receives his three eldest sons and Asaf Khan during his accession ceremonies, 1630-40, from the Padshahnama Royal Library, Windsor Castle

Emily Hannam brings the Mughal court to life in her discussion of paintings from the Padshahnama (‘Book of Emperors’) housed in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

Open Arts Object: Bridget Riley, Kashan, 1984, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

Bryony White (Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art) discussing Bridget Riley, Kashan, 1984, National Museum Wales, Cardiff.

Open Arts Object: Pyxis, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Francesca Leoni (Curator of Islamic Art) discussing a Spanish cylindrical ivory casket (pyxis) lid with huntsmen and animals, 389 in the Islamic calendar, or 998-999, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Open Arts Object: Jan van Kessel, Decorative Still-Life Composition with a Porcelain Bowl, Fruit and Insects, 17th century, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

An Van Camp (Curator of Northern European Art) discussing Jan van Kessel, Decorative Still-Life Composition with a Porcelain Bowl, Fruit and Insects, 17th century, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Open Arts Object: Michelangelo’s Pietà, 1498-99, St. Peter’s, Rome

Kathleen Christian discussing Michelangelo’s Pietà, 1498-99, St. Peter’s, Rome.

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