{"id":72517,"date":"2026-09-15T16:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/?p=72517"},"modified":"2026-09-15T16:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:35:40","slug":"a-r-m-holding-childrens-programme-calls-for-arts-integrated-learning-as-ai-reshapes-the-skills-children-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/a-r-m-holding-childrens-programme-calls-for-arts-integrated-learning-as-ai-reshapes-the-skills-children-need\/","title":{"rendered":"A.R.M. Holding Children\u2019s Programme Calls For Arts-Integrated Learning As AI Reshapes The Skills Children Need"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sixth edition of the A.R.M. Holding Children\u2019s Programme is now under way across the UAE<\/a>, bringing The Bigfoot Project, a new artist-designed workshop, to children aged five to 17 in 80 schools across all seven emirates.<\/p>\n

As AI becomes part of how children learn, the programme is calling for creative learning to become a core part of the curriculum. Its hands-on workshops encourage students to imagine, consider another perspective, and explore ideas, while building their artistic skills.<\/p>\n

The programme reflects wider national and international education priorities. The UAE\u2019s National Innovation Strategy<\/u><\/a>\u00a0identifies critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, perseverance, and adaptability as targeted skills for students. In 2024, UNESCO Member States adopted the global Framework for Culture and Arts Education<\/u><\/a>, calling for culture and the arts to play a greater role in education policies, curricula, programmes, and teacher training.<\/p>\n

The importance of these capabilities is also reflected in the World Economic Forum\u2019s Future of Jobs Report 2025,<\/u><\/a>\u00a0which ranks creative thinking fourth among the core skills employers value and identifies it as one of the skills expected to grow in importance by 2030.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2021 by A.R.M. Holding in partnership with Art Dubai, the programme commissions a different international and\/or local artist or designer each year to develop a bespoke workshop designed for UAE-based children. It has reached more than 35,000 children since inception, making it the largest cultural education initiative in the country.<\/p>\n

The programme has evolved over six editions, growing from workshops only held during Art Dubai fair to a school-based model to reach more communities across the country. It has then expanded to include adapted workshops for people of determination and masterclasses for educators, and deepened its focus on environmental themes, local context, and ecology.<\/p>\n

The Bigfoot Project<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Running until 4 November 2026, The Bigfoot Project is a concept developed by internationally exhibited Lithuanian artist Tomas Dauk\u0161a whose practice is playful and research-led blending art, science, fact, and fiction.<\/p>\n

The workshop reimagines Bigfoot, a legendary large, human-like creature, as a curious traveller arriving in an unfamiliar place. Children are invited to imagine how it might experience its surroundings and design miniature habitats that help the character feel safe and at home \u2013 which encourages them to practise empathy and perspective-taking.<\/p>\n

As part of the wider programme, teachers across the UAE will be engaged through online workshops, designed to provide educators with practical and classroom-ready approaches to nurturing creativity within their students.<\/p>\n

H.E. Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, Chief Executive Officer of A.R.M. Holding<\/b><\/strong>, said: \u201cFor us, cultural patronage means more than providing access to art. It means investing in the next generation\u2019s capabilities to help them prepare for a changing world. \u00a0Six years ago, we began advocating for arts-integrated education. Today, as AI becomes part of our everyday life, human skills and sound judgment matter more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the impact to extend even further with the ambition to contribute to the UAE\u2019s capacity, so we have designed our programme to build creative learning infrastructure and consider the evolving educational landscape. And we are committed to seeing this through via teacher masterclasses and growing \u00a0school partnerships,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director of Art Dubai Group<\/b><\/strong>, said: \u201cWorking with a practising artist allows children to experience creativity and critical thinking together as it happens. Schools are where those skills are first formed, and so we bring this creative learning experience to them. Through our work across Art Dubai Fair and Art Dubai Projects, we look ahead to future challenges and build practical models that respond to them. Our partnership with A.R.M. Holding that brought our shared vision to life in multiple ways over the years demonstrates what sustained cultural investment looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools can register through the Art Dubai website<\/u><\/a>\u00a0until 25 September 2026. Slots are limited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sixth edition of the A.R.M. Holding Children\u2019s Programme is now under way across the UAE, bringing The Bigfoot Project, a new artist-designed workshop, to children aged five to 17 in 80 schools across all seven emirates. As AI becomes part of how children learn, the programme is calling for creative learning to become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","animate-on-scroll"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72519,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72517\/revisions\/72519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}