Room 13: The Movement and International Network

Room 13 is a global uprising of creative and entrepreneurial children who are responsible for a growing international network of student‐organised art studios. Each Room 13 studio facilitates the work of young artists alongside a professional adult artist in residence, providing an exchange of ideas, skills and experience across the ages. The result is an ongoing collaboration between adults and young people and a thriving culture of philosophical enquiry driven by a motivation to think and to learn. My own experience with Room 13 spans from that of the student, to adult artist and practitioner. Working under the direction of subsequent student‐management teams, I have been fortunate to be involved in the process by which Room 13 has gone on to establish an international network of student‐run art studios, serving an expanding global community of young artists. The emerging global movement surrounding these studios calls for a serious revaluation of what art is – and who is qualified to make it. Room 13 not only augments the case for the work of young artists, but presents a challenge to the current systems for art education. As the quality of formal arts education is eroded by a universal need to standardise educational experiences, the training that Room 13 provides motivates individuals and develops their creativity in a way that outstrips anything that schools, or even art colleges, can currently offer.