Art history will no longer be a school subject in New Zealand

Monday, 15 September 2025

In art history students learn about the creation, history and contexts of art and visual culture, from ancient periods through to contemporary times.

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The Government’s axing of art history as a standalone subject in schools will have profound impacts on students’ understanding of culture, society and the world, says the NZ Art History Teachers Association.

Last week the Government released the new curriculum subjects for students at years 11-13, which include new ones like civics, politics and philosophy; music technology; and media, journalism and communications.

But the Government has also quietly removed art history.

The idea to have parts of art history taught within other visual arts subjects like design or painting or photography is flawed, said Dr Barbara Ormond, president of the NZ Art History Teachers Association and a director of secondary programmes at the University of Auckland.

Teachers, students, the wider arts community and universities were “very shocked” by the announcement, she added.

In New Zealand in 2024, 763 students took art history at year 12 and just over 1000 took the subject at year 13, according to the Ministry of Education. It used to be offered to year 11 students, however this ended when new standards came in.

The NZ Art History Teachers Association is calling on Education Minister Erica Stanford to reinstate the subject.

In art history students learn about the creation, history and cultural contexts of art and visual culture, from ancient periods through to contemporary times. They are taught about what ideas societies placed value on, and about New Zealand’s own artistic heritage ‒ including of Māori and Pacific art.

Its assignments test things like visual analysis, critical thinking, interpretation of art, use of language, and argument construction.

Many of New Zealand’s creative luminaries including Oscar-winning director Dame Jane Campion studied art history.

In a statement to The Post, Campion said art history was the only subject she looked forward to during sixth form (year 12), and that the subject was “a crucial step” towards her creative life in film. It was at art school that Campion started making films.

“It was so helpful to discover I had visual acuity and I was actually good at something. Do I think it’s a good idea to scrap art history? No, I think it’s a terrible, tragic idea. Students like myself deserve a chance to discover themselves [and] find something they feel passionate about and can pursue to enrich their lives.”

Art history could lead to satisfying careers in architecture, interior design, graphic design, theatre, painting, art restoration, community art, photography or cinematography, Campion said.

Oscar-winning film director Jane Campion says the decision to axe art history from schools is tragic. She called on the Government to reverse it.

“We are moving at rocket speed into a world of AI. How will future New Zealanders communicate with their AI bots if they have no general knowledge of art? … It’s important to have a framework of knowledge in subjects to be able to drive AI.

“It is my hope the Government reverses this decision. We are fast approaching a time when work for many people will become obsolete as AI takes over so many jobs. Leisure pursuits like art will become more important as people struggle to fill their days with meaningful activities ‒ any activity.”

Ormond added that in a world “bombarded with visual images”, critical analysis and interpretation of visual imagery was more important than ever. Art history was a knowledge-rich and academically robust subject that strongly developed students’ reading, writing, research and critical thinking skills.

Axing the subject would mean no students feeding into tertiary-level art history education courses, and potentially fewer art history graduates to work in the arts sector, Ormond said.

The potential loss of art history as a subject in the United Kingdom in 2016 was met with dismay. Eventually, it was restored after teachers and academics voiced their opposition ‒ something Ormond was hopeful would also happen in New Zealand.

Art history’s low student numbers could be attributed to it being seen as harder than some other subjects with more generic exams that could be prepared for more easily, Ormond said.

It was also often not offered by schools with small numbers due to resourcing issues, and in bigger schools, art history was often a victim of timetable clashes.

Globally, the study of art history has been accused sometimes as serving a cultural elite.

Ormond said art history could not be adequately or comprehensively taught within other visual arts subjects due to time constraints in those programmes.

Not all art history students take an arts subject, and not all art history teachers are general art teachers ‒ many are part of social science departments.

She feared a general dumbing down of the population. The study of art was, she said, by extension, the study of concepts like love, spirituality, conflict and identity.

The association was calling on Education Minister Erica Stanford to reinstate the subject. A student-led petition to keep the subject alive was also in the process of being created.

Ministry of Education spokesperson Pauline Cleaver said integrating art history into specialist visual arts subjects would make sure students could continue to engage meaningfully with historical artworks, artists and cultural movements, while developing practical and analytical skills.

“For students with a strong passion for art history, tertiary pathways remain open and well-supported,” Cleaver said.

Stanford’s office was asked for comment.