North Vancouver School District
the natural place to learn©
Jun 22
Kids take over the Vancouver Art Gallery

By Meghan Parker, Teacher, Carson Graham Secondary

The Carson Graham Diploma Programme Grade 11/12 class was invited to participate in a new and innovative project at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) called Kids Take Over.

Instead of an upcoming exhibition’s didactics being written by curators, students were invited to contribute their ideas and insights to provide context to the artwork. The gallery also collaborated with a Grade 1/2 and 4/5 class from the Vancouver School District.

IMG_9857.jpg

The experience encompassed many forms. Throughout the fall, the VAG’s Program Coordinator for Schools and Youth Susan Rome introduced students to the works from the gallery’s collection that are included in the exhibition to facilitate conversation.

We were visited by Brendan Lee Satish Tang and Evan Lee who shared their process and journey as artists.

IMG_9830.jpgIMG_9861.jpg

We were then invited to the gallery on two separate occasions. During the first visit, we attended the exhibition’s installation. The installation team gave us a behind-the-scenes tour and taught us about the process that goes into putting an exhibition together.

The second visit was to attend the exhibition’s opening reception with the two other participating classes. The exhibition was presented, and the students' work was celebrated--the positive energy was contagious!

IMG_9849.jpg

I was impressed by the insight and depth students brought to their discussion and analysis of the artwork. Their ideas are shared throughout the walls of the gallery, along with the charming and thoughtful comments from elementary students.

The experience helped students develop confidence in their ability to talk about art. They learned from practicing artists and participated in the process of creating an exhibition.

Overall, it was a lovely experience that helped us develop a community where thinking deeply and sharing ideas is fun and valued.

Kids Take Over is open until September 11, 2022, at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Click HERE to view a video created by the Vancouver Art Gallery describing the process.

MicrosoftTeams-image (352).png

Comments

There are no comments for this post.