Practising any form of art is generally associated with some specific abilities that child supposedly has, with studying at a special school and preparation for professional activity. That is a serious psychological and pedagogical mistake.

Development of artistic and creative giftedness of all children under conditions of general education is a vital task that is greatly underestimated.

Early creative experience in the broad meaning is a very important condition of personal development and psychological well-being of every person and, consequently, of the whole society. Lack of such experience often becomes a cause of psychosomatic and mental diseases, asocial and criminal behaviour in adult life. Necessary creative experience can be most successfully acquired by children in the art sphere.

There are convincing data that practising one or another type of artistic creation significantly reduces the possibility that growing person will get into so-called “risk groups”. That is, general artistic education functions as effective social and psychological artprophylaxis.

Artistic and creative development is not only necessary, but also accessible to any child. Our long-term research and experimental-pedagogical practice as well as the analysis of up-to-date pedagogical experience of comprehensive school lets us assert that during the sensitive period of the childhood (from 5-6 to 9-10 years old) practically all the children of preschool and early school age demonstrate predisposition to artistic giftedness (in contrast to individual giftedness that roots mainly in the motivational sphere of the personality and is often connected with the choice of future profession).

This article presents psychological foundation, pedagogical principles, methods and techniques of actualization and development of the age-related artistic and creative giftedness under the conditions of comprehensive schools, art schools and home artistic education, as well as the most wide-spread mistakes and risks that adults and children may face on this way.