2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 4

For the final day of the 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators (organized by the AGO and the CSEA), we got the chance to speak with the new Director and CEO of the AGO: Stephan Jost. He was funny and approachable and spoke of some fascinating new possibilities for the gallery. I love the overall philosophy he uses to approach such a complex and demanding job, he said: "if it's not about great art, education or access, I'm not interested."

We then heard from Jane Lott, the Coordinator of Family Programs at the AGO and explored the Hands On Centre, a play-based learning room for little ones. In discussing where and how she gets her material for such diverse programming, she explained that sometimes she has to get creative - an example, that I like and will be using, is to use LED lights in a simple plastic container to make a lightbox for under $20:

Our group of educators then heard from Melissa Smith, the lively Program Coordinator of the Gallery Guides, about the exhibit that opened on Canada Day: The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris and then went up to explore the show.

This painting, In The Ward, 1920, is one of my favourites from the show. I was surprised by the amount of painting Lawren Harris did of the Ward in Toronto. This run down area used to be where city hall and the Eaton Centre stand today, and was a place for immigrants- mostly Eastern European, Chinese, Black and Irish. His paintings provide a primary source for a missing part of our history. He has a beautiful way of using bright colour and thick paint application to create these images, and for me it was a fascinating departure from the landscapes that I'm used to. Definitely a great show that I would like to visit again!

In the afternoon we went to the Gardiner Museum and had a brief tour of the ceramics followed by a thoroughly enjoyable clay studio session. After seeing and discussing art all week it felt great to sit down and make something!

Ewer with tulips and scholar, Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen period, c.1635-40

The Summer Institute was a fun and rewarding week of art and education in Toronto. I will miss spending time with such like-minded and friendly people, and I look forward to exploring more of the art and museums in our city.

For more, check out the twitter updates about the week's adventures here, #AGOCSEA and have a look at the A.G.O. Schools and Teachers Facebook page here.

- Patrick

2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 3

On Day 3 of the 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators, organized by the AGO and the CSEA, we started off with a fascinating talk with the Chief Curator for the A.G.O., Stephanie Smith. Then we went up into the galleries to do a workshop with the wonderful Education Officer, Bob Phillips in the exhibition Communal Courtyard by Song Dong. 

This exhibit explores changes in society and changes in spaces and we looked at how students could engage with this show through the different concepts of space, and framing, and ideas of personal versus public.

Then we went on to discuss how we can work with our students with some other challenging and engaging pieces, first, a gallery favourite: Kent Monkman's The Academy.

Next was Bonnie Devine's Battle for the Woodlands. The artist used a massive old map of upper and lower Canada that was previously installed and painted on top of it to show an Anishinaabe understanding of the map and address issues of colonialism - specifically around the great lakes. The artist installed work in front of the mural as well as painting animals running away across the walls leading into the other spaces. It was great to see this work up close and be part of the space the work was created in.

In the afternoon, we made our way down to The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. We had some fun interacting with work in one of their current exhibits, Franz Erhard Walther: Call to Action. As the title suggests, the works are activated by the viewer and we got a chance to approach works of art in a playful way. 

We also checked out the video-based work of another German artist currently showing at the Powerplant: Ulla von Brandenburg. For more, have a look at the twitter updates about the week's adventures here, #AGOCSEA and check out the A.G.O. Schools and Teachers Facebook page here.

- Patrick

2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 2

On Day 2 of the 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators, organized by the AGO and the CSEA, our group of art educators went to explore the beautiful Aga Khan Museum.

The architecture alone is worth the visit. We started our tour looking out over the gardens and granite pools that connect the museum to the Ismaili Centre Toronto, and you can even see the C.N. Tower in the background. We then made our way into the luminous inner courtyard.

We were lead up the free-standing blue staircase to check out the spectacular auditorium.

As we entered the museum collection, we were greeted with an animated wall of moving patterns and script and a massive map showing the wide-reaching impact of Muslim art and civilization.

The diverse collection was fascinating to examine and there is so much to see, I will definitely return to continue my exploration. One item that stuck out for me is the illuminated botanical text explaining the growth of a specific tree. A theme that emerged from the day is the concept of cross-cultural commonalities, in classrooms, lesson plans and museum collection-  like the Tom Thomson tree painting that I posted about yesterday.

Back at the A.G.O. in the afternoon, we took part in a great workshop about how to Amplify Diverse Student Voices with strategies and lesson plan ideas that we can use in our classes. The workshop was lead by Ilene Soca, from Blank Canvases and Noorin Fazal, from Story Planet. Looking forward to the rest of the week!

For more, check out the twitter updates about the week's adventures here, #AGOCSEA. And have a look at the A.G.O. Schools and Teachers Facebook page here.

- Patrick

2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators - Day 1

This week I'm fortunate to be participating in some fascinating professional development at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The 2016 Summer Institute for Art Educators that has been organized by the AGO and the CSEA (the Canadian Society for Education through Art).

Yesterday was our first day and the program is off to a great start! Art educators from around Ontario teaching in elementary, secondary, post-secondary and museums studies have come together to explore how we can use galleries in our teaching practice. We spoke with the eye-opening and inspirational guest curator Wanda Nanibush and explored the Canadian galleries on the second floor.

I have always loved bringing all my classes (not just art!) to the gallery and I regularly use artwork in my lessons in the classroom, this week I hope to expand these practices and find new ways of engaging my students.

The AGO is updating on twitter about the adventures we have this week, check it out here, #AGOCSEA - and check out the A.G.O. School and Teachers facebook page here.

One of my personal favourites is Tom Thomson, and I got to spend some time with his oil sketches, here's "Dead Pine":

- Patrick