Schools welcome gallery’s online art learning packs

Despite the requirements of the COVID-19 lockdown, Hastings City Art Gallery has continued to create and share art programmes and resources, including learning packs for its educational offerings.

While the gallery’s face-to-face educator programmes had to be put on hold, this distance learning option has been going strong and been very well received by the schools utilising it.

Kelsey Hankins is the gallery’s Learning Experiences Outside The Classroom (LEOTC) educator and she says there have been a lot of bookings for the programmes from schools, mainly in Hastings but also Napier.

The learning packs, which are free, include information sheets, worksheets, videos and at-home art activities related to gallery exhibitions and artists.

“Prior to lockdown, we had so many bookings for our programmes, particularly for the KAMOAN MINE exhibition by Andy Leleisi’uao. We wanted to make sure that schools could still access this resource, even though they could not physically visit the gallery.

“We came up with the concept of online learning packs, as a way for local tamariki and rangitahi to engage with visual art in an online capacity. For the KAMOAN MINE pack, we came up with a lesson plan and notes for teachers, some activities based around the artist, art detective work and hands-on art activities.”

Napier Central School teacher Carol Scott said she adapted the learning pack, and posted the students’ work resulting from it on the school’s Facebook page.

“Thank you for your hard work, we thoroughly enjoyed using this pack and being able to tailor it to our year 1’s was great,” she said.

Frimley School teacher Kirsti Baker also made good use of them.

“The learning pack is brilliant and we are looking forward to sharing it over the coming weeks as we reintegrate ourselves in a school setting again. 

“This situation has given us time to think about how we run our class programmes and essentially it is with and through art that we hope to bring everyone back together in a calm and nurturing manner to allow our tamariki to express themselves following the unusual situation COVID-19 has put us in.”

Miss Hankins said it was great to receive this feedback and know that the teachers were getting value from the online learning resources. 

More online learning packs are being developed for current and upcoming exhibitions at the gallery – contact kelseyh@hdc.govt.nz to get access to them.

Find out more about the gallery’s education programmes at www.hastingscityartgallery.co.nz.

PHOTO: Hastings City Art Gallery LEOTC educator Kelsey Hankins.

5 June 2020

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