Artists’ work is often shown in a variety of educational environments. This page explores how work can be used to accompany educational programmes and explore many different topics. This page also looks at the overlap between education, and public screenings or events. The availability of artists' work is often a problem for the study of this area and finding adequate work to show in an educational environment is often difficult. This section will explore the resources that are available to educational institutions and how to locate good quality reference materials that can show shown as part of a course.

Who is the audience – academic, public, specialist?

When showing work in an academic environment it's important to be aware of the type of potential audience the work could attract. Many institutions work with other organisations on semi-open exhibitions or screenings that most commonly run parellel to a coure at a local university or are part of a symposium or conference. For such events, which are aimed at students, professionals and specialists, its important to think about what the parameters are for the project and who it is open to. When opening up academic screening to the public be aware of the different audiences and your responsibility to contextualise the work for people who might not have been involved in the supporting activities.

Teaching moving image – showing artists' work

When showing work in educational environments you are often restricted by the equipment that is available. 16mm projection equipment is less widely available now but colleges increasingly have access to high quality digital projectors. Without access to 16mm film this restricts the amount of work that you can show. If you do have 16mm capabilities ensure that the projector is working properly and that it has been serviced recently ensure smooth projection of what is often quite fragile material. Distributors of 16mm film often work with educational institutions and are used to helping teachers or lecturer's with selecting work to show students.

Showing work on original formats or in good conditions can greatly affect the understanding and appreciation of work and is beneficial to students and the artist whose work is being shown. If you are not able to show work in its original format there are various sources for high quality video or DVD copies. Make sure to show work in the best standard possible. Showing a badly quality VHS copy of a film does not do the students or the work any good. Various collections or distributors can sell work on video or DVD to educational libraries for reference and educational purposes. Contact distributors directly if you are interested in acquiring a copy of a film or video for your library or to use in within a curriculum as most offer such services.

Wherever possible show students films in their entirety and respect the requirements of the work to ensure good sound and image quality. If you are not able to show entire works see if students can access the work in the library and if they can’t see if you could acquire a copy of the work so they can. Most distributors provide institutional copies of works for this purpose.

Showing work for conference or discussion