Educational program successfully launched in North Okanagan region
The Vernon Public Art Gallery has successfully launched a new educational program called Regional Reach designed for outlying schools in the North Okanagan.
The VPAG felt the need to create a travelling art education kit that all teachers and students in School District No. 22 and the surrounding communities within the North Okanagan regions can utilize. Although some schools nearby can participate in school tours and workshops at the gallery, high bus costs and other barriers impact outlying schools in the North Okanagan, creating lack of access to the VPAG’s art education programs.
Regional Reach is a travelling art education kit that is delivered to schools from the VPAG. This year the kit will focus on Contemporary Indigenous Artists. Teachers will have the flexibility to tailor the lessons to their class/ age group needs. The kit includes all the materials for select printmaking art activities and are cross curricular in Art Education, Social Studies, Language Arts and Science.
For more information or to request a booking date for Regional Reach please go to vernonpublicartgallery.com/ regional-reach.
“Art naturally invites deep and extended thought. This year’s Regional Reach kit focuses on five Indigenous artists whose work explores identity and culture and asks us to consider Indigenous peoples’ rights and world views. The artists and artworks in this guide have been chosen to inspire creative inquiry and critical thinking about the effects of colonialism through engagement with art,” says Learning and Community Engagement Curator, Kelsie Balehowsky.
The Regional Reach kit has successfully been booked for almost all of the upcoming school year for 2021, with plans to create a second kit well underway. The VPAG is committed to connecting our community to the creative possibilities within the visual arts.