fbpx PRESS RELEASE: CIRCA AND SIR FRANK BOWLING COMPLETE LONDON ROLLOUT OF FREE ART SUPPLIES TO 32 STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 7,152 CHILDREN | CIRCA

PRESS RELEASE: CIRCA AND SIR FRANK BOWLING COMPLETE LONDON ROLLOUT OF FREE ART SUPPLIES TO 32 STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 7,152 CHILDREN

CIRCA AND SIR FRANK BOWLING COMPLETE LONDON ROLLOUT OF FREE ART SUPPLIES TO 32 STATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 7,152 CHILDREN

Classroom photo from Haberdashers’ Hatcham Primary © CIRCA

 

(CIRCA 20:25) December, 2025 ➳ CIRCA and Sir Frank Bowling have completed the first phase of the CIRCA PIPELINE, working in partnership with Findel Education to deliver free art materials to 32 state primary schools across London and enabling 7,152 children to take part in a six week arts course inspired by the 91 year old artist. The moment was marked with a presentation of the students’ paintings on Piccadilly Lights, giving thousands of young people their first public exhibition in one of the most visible cultural spaces in the world.

Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA, said: ➳ “Seeing the children’s work on Piccadilly Lights shows why the pipeline must continue to grow. When a child is given proper materials and encouragement, possibility opens. I hope to see many more schools across the country join this journey. Power to the teachers and everyone for their support. They are the real heroes.”

With the London rollout complete, preparations now turn to the next phase. Reaching schools across the United Kingdom depends on continued sales of Sir Frank Bowling’s limited edition print, Understanding Frank (£6,000). Each print directly funds the materials needed for 300 children to take part in the CIRCA PIPELINE, expanding access to creative time in classrooms that would otherwise go without. 


WHAT THE CHILDREN CREATED
For six weeks, children studied Bowling’s life and his pioneering experimentations with paint, including his celebrated map paintings which feature fields of colour overlaid with stencilled world maps. Guided by a curriculum developed with Frank Bowling Studio, Goldsmiths, University of London and CIRCA, students learned how to layer paint, explore texture, mix colour with intention and develop independent artistic choices. For many, this was their first time working with stretched canvas or specialist materials.


Their reactions speak for themselves. “I felt relaxed smoothing the paint,” said Amaira, 8. “We used so many colours to make other colours,” added Ishem, 7. “My picture is a bit like a Frank Bowling painting because it has red and blue and it’s got a map,” said Emin, 7. A pupil at Southwood Primary described the feeling simply: “Painting on canvas makes me feel like a real artist.”

Teachers observed the same transformation. Lise Bentley of Beavers Community Primary School said: “One of the best things about the project is that looking at Frank Bowling’s work has opened up the question of what art is for the children. It has given them licence to immerse themselves in colour and revel in applying paint in many ways. I am extremely grateful not to have to ration sketchbook pages. Normally each book has to last two or three years. Having a full art cupboard is amazing. There are suddenly enough brushes and paint tins to go around. CIRCA and Frank drawing attention to the reality of squeezed school budgets is so important. Art is vital for all children.”

 

Frank Bowling with primary school pupils and headteacher Nicola Wilson from George Tomlinson Primary School, London, Piccadilly Lights. © CIRCA, photographed by Leroy Boateng

 

LONDON IMPACT
Across these 32 London schools, more than 3,000 bottles of paint, 7,152 stretched canvases, 7,500 mixing trays, 7,500 sketchbooks, 7,500 watercolour sets, 8,250 brushes and 108,000 colouring pencils were delivered directly into classrooms through a coordinated distribution supported by FIndel Education. This investment in materials gave every pupil the chance to take part fully, many for the first time using a stretched canvas or professional tools:

 

  • St George’s CE Primary School
  • Beavers Community Primary School
  • Woodbridge Park Education Service
  • St Barnabas and St Philip’s Primary School
  • Hanover Primary School
  • Holmleigh Primary School
  • Soho Parish Primary School
  • Cheam Park Farm Primary Academy
  • Cheam Common Junior Academy
  • Southwood Primary School
  • King Solomon Academy
  • Myatt Garden Primary School
  • George Tomlinson Primary School
  • Haberdashers’ Hatcham Primary
  • St Clement St James CE Primary School
  • St Edmunds Catholic Primary School
  • Hague Primary School
  • Stewart Headlam Primary School
  • St Jude and St Paul’s CE Primary School
  • Dulwich Village C of E Primary School
  • Reach Academy
  • Crampton Primary School
  • St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School
  • Lancasterian Primary School
  • Dulwich Wood Primary
  • Larmenier and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School
  • Invicta Primary Blackheath
  • Invicta Primary Deptford
  • Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
  • St Thomas CE Primary School
  • Wentworth Primary School
  • Pakeman Primary School


WHY THIS WORK IS URGENT
Arts education in UK state schools has reached a breaking point. Recent findings from Child of the North and the Centre for Young Lives reveal that arts spending in many English state schools has fallen to less than £1.80 per pupil per year, leaving teachers with almost no resources to deliver meaningful creative learning. 53% of schools report further cuts to arts budgets since 2024, and the consequences are stark. According to the same research, up to 93% of children are now excluded from regular arts and cultural education because their schools simply do not have the funding or staff to provide it. These pressures fall hardest on disadvantaged communities, where access to creative opportunity is already limited. In this landscape, basic materials are absent from most classrooms, and teachers frequently report rationing what little they have.

The CIRCA PIPELINE offers a direct response by placing high quality resources and structured creative guidance into classrooms at no cost to schools. This has been made possible through support from Findel Education whose expertise and nationwide distribution network ensured the London rollout could happen at speed and scale. Their involvement demonstrates how collaboration between artists, educators and industry can create meaningful change where it is most needed.

CIRCA PIPELINE: Frank Bowling, ‘Understanding Frank‘ (£6,000). Each print provides 300 UK state primary school students with free access to paint, canvas and other materials – establishing a clear and accessible pathway to pursue a life of creative freedom.

 

THE NEXT STEP: HELP FUND THE NATIONAL ROLLOUT
The CIRCA PIPELINE was created to reach 100 state primary schools. With 32 now complete, 68 remain. Each sale of Sir Frank Bowling’s hand signed print directly unlocks the full materials package for 300 students. Understanding Frank is a 14 layer silkscreen based on a rare collage featuring the only known appearance of the British Isles in Bowling’s work. The work is a limited edition of 100, priced at £6,000, and available exclusively on circa.art/circa-pipeline

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

ABOUT SIR FRANK BOWLING OBE RA
Born in Guyana in 1934, Sir Frank Bowling arrived in London in 1953 and graduated from the Royal College of Art with a silver medal for painting in 1962. Recognised early on as a leading voice in British art, Bowling later moved to New York where his commitment to modernism shifted his focus toward colour, process and abstraction. He became a Royal Academician in 2005, was awarded an OBE in 2008 and a knighthood in 2020. His work is held in major international collections and has been the subject of significant exhibitions including Mappa Mundi, Tate Britain’s 2019 retrospective and Frank Bowling’s Americas at MFA Boston and SFMOMA. (frankbowling.com)

ABOUT CIRCA
CIRCA is redefining how culture circulates in the twenty-first century with a daily programme on London’s Piccadilly Lights. Each commission extends into prints, books, and digital publications, reaching audiences beyond traditional institutions while generating a circular economy known as the #CIRCAECONOMY, which reinvests in future projects, prizes, and community initiatives.

Since launching in 2020, CIRCA has raised over £1 million to support artists and social causes worldwide. Its public art programme has featured new commissions by Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, David Hockney, Frank Bowling, Vivienne Westwood, Anne Imhof, Tony Cokes, Emma Talbot, Alvaro Barrington, Cauleen Smith, Shirin Neshat, Eddie Peake, Kandis Williams, Fiona Banner and Kembra Pfahler, amongst others. (circa.art)

ABOUT FINDEL EDUCATION
Findel is a leading supplier of educational resources in the UK with brands including Hope, GLS, Davies Sports, Philip Harris and EuHu. Through the Findel Foundation, the organisation supports initiatives that positively impact children and their learning. (findel.co.uk)

ABOUT PICCADILLY LIGHTS
Visited by over 100 million people each year, Piccadilly Lights is an iconic London landmark operated by Ocean Outdoor on behalf of Landsec. The screen regularly hosts cultural moments, creative commissions and public displays, offering one of the most visible platforms for art in the world.

SUPPORTERS
CIRCA gives special thanks to all the participating schools and teachers, Sir Frank Bowling and his studio, Findel Education, Hauser & Wirth, Goldsmiths, Christina Anagnostou, Hannah Ridley, Rozi Rexhepi, Fitzbrien, The Groucho Club and Landsec for their continued support.

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