Wall Art Trends for 2022

PYS Willingdon community school curriculum wall art

What Wall Art trends can we expect in 2022?

We’re confident that school Wall Art trends in 2022 will see a continued focus on wellbeing, sustainability, inclusivity and literacy. These are the main themes we’ve observed through our work with hundreds of schools over the past year.

As we look ahead to 2022, our installations calendar is already filling up. We have multiple school and college Wall Art projects booked for the New Year.

It’s fantastic to see so many schools investing in their learning environments. The visual environment plays a huge part in inspiring learning, creating a sense of belonging and promoting wellbeing.

2021 in a nutshell

One thing 2021 has reminded us is that educators, and their pupils, are incredibly resilient.

We’ve seen an extraordinary show of strength from all the schools we’ve worked with this year. But, in addition to all the challenges and hardships, we’ve also seen a common theme of care and kindness.

Pupils have worked hard to support their peers and communities. Teachers, who have always taken on multiple roles above and beyond teaching, have done so even more this past year. They have adjusted to new ways of working and demonstrated their unwavering sense of hope and optimism.

It’s been a pleasure to work with so many wonderful schools to help achieve their goals through our bespoke Wall Art.

 

PYS Lee Chapel Hall Curriculum wall

Education of the whole child

Over the past year, we’ve been pleased to be working with more and more schools who want to capitalise on the positive impact of creativity on wellbeing. Engaging in creative pursuits can benefit our children’s mental and emotional health. And, happy children have better learning outcomes, so wellbeing is, of course, a core focus for many schools.

Whilst we still see high demand for core curriculum based Wall Art, we’ve definitely seen a rise in demand for other areas too, such as;

There’s also an increased focus on environmental responsibility. A number of schools have requested Wall Art that educates pupils about carbon footprints, the importance of recycling and the impact of Climate Change.

We know that many children are suffering from environmental anxiety. Children may hear snippets of information in the news or from their parents, but don’t fully understand the situation or know what to do about it. So we’re delighted that many schools are asking us to create positive, fun, visual designs for pupils to empower them.

For example, we designed this environmental awareness stairwell for Colmers Farm Primary School (image below). This kind of Wall Art for schools and universities supports education of the whole child and can improve their mental and emotional wellbeing.

A love of literacy

In 2021, we saw unprecedented demand for literacy themes and library Wall Art. We were also delighted to support Booktrust on their Lifechanging Libraries project, in association with Cressida Cowell. This project highlighted how many schools are lacking in their library provision. In fact, we learned that 1 in 8 Primary Schools in the UK has no library.

As Ofsted continues to focus on literacy as one of its key areas for inspection, now is a good time to consider your existing library provision.

Even if you don’t have the budget for a big library project, you can create a safe and inviting space for pupils to read in. Children who read for pleasure are happier, healthier and do better at school. So, it’s worth prioritising reading in the year ahead.

Madeley school library wall art

Diversity and inclusion

When choosing images for our bespoke Wall Art designs, we’ll always ensure we use imagery that is diverse, representative and inclusive. We want all pupils to be able to relate to the pictures they see on their school’s walls. This applies to backgrounds, beliefs, abilities and aspirations.

A growing number of schools and colleges want Wall Art designs that focus specifically on diversity and inclusion as a primary topic. For example, we recently worked with a school who requested interweaving timelines celebrating Black History, women’s history, special needs history and LGBTQ history.

It’s wonderful to see schools taking representation seriously and this is a trend we expect to see more in school Wall Art for university and school displays during 2022.

Wall Art trends – our role

As an education design agency with over 20 years’ experience, it’s our role to keep a keen eye on the ever-changing education landscape.

Our co-founder, Lisa, is a teacher by trade and she’s passionate about promoting creative approaches to teaching and learning. This has shaped our ethos as an education provider, and we’re proud of the partnerships we’ve developed with schools around the world.

In the coming year, we’ll continue creating beautiful visual experiences for schools, colleges and Universities. We’ll be doing more work internationally and hope to attend more in-person events across the UK.