Held by a Thread: What's the Value of Art in Schools?

What was your experience of art in school? Was it all doilies, cheap paint, and crusty brushes? Or was it better than that but you still wondered why it seemed to be the runt of the educational litter. In this humorous, engaging, and thought-provoking book, Anna Cutler, a leading figure in art education, takes you on a journey through her personal experiences and reflections on the value of art in schools. By the end you’ll come to realise that the stakes are surprisingly high for the social, emotional, and intellectual development of our children. It is an impassioned plea to nourish, within and beyond schools, the one resource that will never run out: the human capacity to create.

“Engagingly informal and on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, this wise and witty book can be absorbed quite effortlessly in one sitting. It leaves you with the sense that you’ve enjoyed one-on-one tuition from the favourite teacher you never had.”

Dr Shane Kinghorn, Manchester Metropolitan University.

“I learned a great deal reading this book and laughed in all the right places. It is a powerful, persuasive ‘Call to Arts’.”

Andrew McGuinness, author.

© 2025 Austin Macauley Publishers (Audiobook): 9781035847839

Release date

Audiobook: February 8, 2025