What do you feel? Emotional Learning Cards

New learning resource copublished by Iniva and A Space that addresses a long-standing gap in emotional learning and art education

‘These cards effectively combine thought-provoking contemporary art images with stimulating questions that highlight themes relating to social identity, gender and the meanings we give to our experiences. They will be very useful for art therapists, teachers and parents.'
Diane Waller OBE (Professor of Art Psychotherapy, Goldsmiths, University of London)

Children and young people need opportunities to build reflective skills so they can make positive choices and learn from their experiences. Evidence shows that processing emotional responses to life, finding ways to express oneself and understanding relationships are essential life skills.

The cards in the set What do you feel? feature high quality reproductions of contemporary artworks by culturally diverse artists on one side with questions relating to the images on the other. Artists have always explored subject matter that resonates emotionally and psychologically. The cards creatively bring to the surface themes that are central to emotional literacy including:

• understanding relationships;
• preparing for change and transition;
• acknowledging and working through losses;
• thinking about social, personal and cultural identities;
• identifying emotions and learning how to express them.

Using contemporary art enlivens and enriches social and personal learning. The boxed-set includes a booklet that provides a range of suggestions on how the cards can be used in their own right or as the starting point for creative projects.

What do you feel? addresses the need for stimulating art education and emotional learning resources that can be used in the classroom or after-school workshops, in therapeutic settings and at home.

The cards meet curriculum requirements especially in Art and Design, Design and Technology, Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) and Literacy.

The cards can be used with all age groups from Key Stage 2 upwards. They are particularly recommended for:

• years 5 and 6 pupils on the cusp of adolescence and preparing for significant changes (including the transfer to secondary school);
• secondary pupils who are navigating a series of changes associated with adolescence;
• young people in therapy settings;
• refugee children who are settling into new environments and may welcome the opportunity to make sense of their experiences.

---

Artworks by:

Laylah Ali, Janine Antoni, Gayle Chong Kwan, Zosia Combes, Mónica de Miranda, Gonkar Gyatso, Anish Kapoor, Chila Kumari Burman, Yayoi Kusama, Neeta Madahar, Chris Ofili, Hetain Patel, Freddie Robbins, Franklyn Rodgers, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Lorna Simpson, Do-Ho Suh, Francis Upritchard, Leticia Valverdes, Kate Walters

Sales information:

• Available from June 2008
• £12.95
• ISBN: 978-1-899846-51-1
• 20 colour cards, 8pp folded leaflet, box sleeve
• For sale from www.iniva.org (£12.95 + p&p), Rivington Place & selected bookstores
• Trade sales: contact www.cornerhouse.org/books

---

EDITORS' NOTES

A Space
A Space for creative learning and support is a research and development project that was initiated in 1997 by Alex Sainsbury (Glass-House Trust, Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts) in partnership with The Social Science Research Unit (Institute of Education) and Hackney Education (now The Learning Trust). The key aim of A Space is to pilot projects and services that creatively meet the psychological, emotional, educational and social needs of children and young people. To achieve this, A Space works in partnership with a range of schools, agencies, universities and organisations. The work of A Space has contributed directly to government policy and national strategies, most notably within the framework of Extended School Services and Every Child Matters. 

Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts)
Iniva creates exhibitions, publications, multimedia, education and research projects designed to bring the work of artists from culturally-diverse backgrounds to the attention of the widest possible public. In 2007 Rivington Place, Iniva and Autograph ABP's new contemporary visual arts space, opened in the heart of East London. Supported by the Arts Council England Lottery Capital 2 Programme, it is the UK's first permanent home for culturally-diverse visual arts and photography. Barclays Bank plc is the Rivington Place founding corporate partner, contributing £1 million towards the development. This innovative partnership reflects Barclays' history of supporting positive social change and making a real and lasting difference to the diverse communities in which it operates.

Review copies and press information

Rebecca Wilson Publications Manager rwilson@iniva.org 020 7749 1245