Mission Statement

The mission of The Ark is to create high quality encounters in the arts for children aged between 4 and 14 years. The Ark’s core staff members (covering programme, technical and administrative functions) work closely with artists of all disciplines who are engaged on short-term contracts or who undertake commissions and residencies. Together we are committed to providing children with innovative, challenging and exciting arts experiences. Typically, The Ark presents eight major programmes annually. The programme seeks to make a balanced provision for the different age-bands within our target audience.

The Ark’s work ranges across the arts and across a wide range of media and techniques within those art forms. The nature of the engagement offered ranges from passive looking/listening to more engaged interaction, to full-blooded participation. The focus of each programme is precise, but the influences and inspirations for the annual programme are diverse, often emphasising that the arts are continuous with other human experiences such as those we classify as ‘history’, ‘religion’, ‘science’, ‘the environment’.

Some 22,000 children and 5,000 adults visit The Ark annually. About 18,000 children come during school time in class groups, with the balance coming at weekends or in holiday time. All visits are booked in advance and there is a free mailing list, which allows programme information to be sent in advance to schools and homes.