UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES:
Drawing Strategies for the Classroom: Charcoal, Observation, and Process
Monday, May 4, 2026
10:45am - 12:30pm
This hands-on workshop for intermediate and secondary art teachers explores expanded approaches to drawing with a focus on charcoal. Artist Sara-Jeanne Bourget will share her practice through an artist talk and demonstrations of observational, gestural, and textural drawing. Participants will experiment with techniques including shading, contrast and layering with charcoal, transfer and masking methods, and eraser drawing. Sara-Jeanne Bourget and teacher Ryanne Bergler will also present a secondary lesson sequence in which students create a series of works responding to their natural surroundings.
Workshop Presenters: Artist Sara-Jeanne Bourget and Art Teacher Ryanne Bergler
Location: Carson Graham Secondary, 2145 Jones Ave, Rm. D104 (art room)
Curator’s Tour for Educators
April 23, 3:30-4:30pm
One Hundred Artists Deep, Gordon Smith Gallery
Led by Curator Andrea Valentine-Lewis
Introduction to Artists for Kids’ Printmaking Kits
For Elementary and Secondary Teachers
Five after school printmaking pro-d sessions in April to May (details TBC)
PAST OPPORTUNITIES:
Micro to Macro: Visualizing Living Systems Through Art
Friday, February 13, 2026
1:00 - 3:00pm
Explore connections between visual art and science, including local earth materials, solutions, and solubility, with strategies you can bring directly into the classroom. Engage with exhibiting artist Genevieve Robertson in an interactive virtual talk and Q&A exploring artwork from her series Endless Body, currently on view at the Gordon Smith Gallery. Investigate how her work moves between microscopic and expansive scales, from bone marrow to fungi and river systems. Apply these ideas in a practical printmaking session using the Artists for Kids Trace Monotype Printmaking Kit to create prints inspired by microorganisms.
Artist talk by artist Genevieve Robertson and workshop by Artists for Kids educator Amelia Epp
Location: Artists for Kids, 2121 Lonsdale (Shadbolt Studio)
Art in the Intermediate Classroom: Lessons, Assessment and Organization
Friday, October 24, 2025
9:00 - 11:30am
This hands-on workshop, led by two experienced intermediate teachers, offers practical strategies for teaching art in grades 4–7. Participants will explore lesson ideas, assessment approaches, and effective methods for managing materials and student work, while developing sample lessons to take back to their classrooms.
Led by Raph Choi and Stephanie Kwok
Clay, Maps, and Movement: A Collaborative Workshop
Friday, October 24, 2025
12:30 - 3:00pm
Artist and educator Xinwei Che will introduce her creative practice and ceramics installation at the Gordon Smith Gallery, then guide a hands-on clay and drawing workshop. Participants will explore geology and mapmaking through classroom-friendly materials and collaborative, embodied artmaking processes.
Introduction to Artists for Kids Clay Kit
Part 1: October 6, 3:30-5:00pm
Part 2: October 20, 3:30-5:00pm
In this two-part hands-on clay workshop, ceramics artist Amelia Butcher will walk you through a lesson designed specifically for elementary grades. The artist will share practical tips and techniques for managing materials and teaching clay techniques to elementary students. Teachers are able to sign out the AFK Clay Kit to use in their schools for a two-week period. In this kit, teachers will have all the tools needed to complete the clay lesson taught in this two-part workshop series.
With artist Amelia Butcher
