There is no limit to who can engage with the arts. Whether you’re young or old, experienced or a beginner, doing it professionally or just for fun, the Art Gallery of Peterborough has educational programming to inspire your creative pursuits.
Following the success of its 50th anniversary last year, the non-profit public art gallery has been adding new educational art programs that foster the exploration of creative expression for everyone while celebrating the arts in the Peterborough and Kawarthas region.
“Since the pandemic and the experience of being shut down and having to move online, a lot of these programs have been refreshed with our recommitment to showing how important and vital the visual arts culture is,” says Art Gallery of Peterborough director Celeste Scopelites. “We have a nice complement of programs that have evolved over the last couple of years.”
According to Scopelites, arts education has been an integral component of the gallery since it was founded.
“The experience of being with art in a gallery space is something that makes our programs truly unique,” she says.
Registration fees for each of the educational programs go towards the costs of running them, including purchasing supplies and paying the instructors, who are established educators and artists from within the local community.
“They are known within our communities and bring something special through their art practice,” says acting education programming coordinator Dorothea Hines. “They have a very special impact in their community because they focus on community engagement in development and appreciation through their art practices or through their art teaching practices.”
The Art Gallery of Peterborough is expanding this appreciation for the arts to young children with the all-new Art Start! program for children ages 4 to 6. A companion to the Saturday Art Club for children ages 7 to 11, the monthly program focuses on developing creativity and enthusiasm for art making from a young age.
“It introduces children to various techniques that they can do as they get older,” says Hines. “It’s one way to focus on creatively thinking outside of the box, but also to develop a strong sense of self in exploring their identity.”
The half-day “Fun with Shapes” Art Start! workshop on Saturday, February 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. will be led by printmaker and fibre artist Julia Szabo, who will help children explore basic shapes through drawing and cutting. The participants will create fun collages using different materials, developing their fine motor skills and creativity.
Other upcoming workshops will be on puppet making (March 29), sensory art (April 26), sea-themed art (May 31), and printmaking (June 28). The fee for each half-day workshop is $33 per child.
“The workshops encourage exploration using a creative spirit,” Scopelites explains. “Art can be an entry point into different areas like graphic arts and architecture, science, and ecology. Encouraging a comfort level with the different mediums when children are young helps feed into all these other avenues.”
For older children, upcoming Saturday Art Club workshops will explore mosaics (March 22), optical illusion art (April 19), clay sculptures (May 24), and landscape painting (June 21). As with the Art Start! program, the fee for each half-day workshop is $33 per child.
The Art Gallery of Peterborough is also continuing to offer its PA Day Program, featuring half-day workshops that explore a range of techniques and media for children ages 7 to 11. The next workshop is scheduled for Friday, March 7, when multi-disciplinary artist Alexandra Box will guide participants in using potatoes for relief printing and create patterns on paper and fabric.
“It’s a great example of how you can use just everyday materials that are more or less accessible, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it to develop it into a printing project,” says Hines.
Other PA Day Program workshops take place on April 11 and June 27. The fee for each half-day workshop is $33 per child.
For children who want to try it all, the Art Gallery of Peterborough is hosting its annual March Break Art Camp for children ages 7 to 11. Each afternoon from March 10 to 14, participants will learn about different artists and create artwork inspired by their artistic practices, styles, and techniques. The cost for the week is $165 per child.
This year’s March Break Art Camp will be led by Lesley Givens, a longtime teacher with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board who specializes in both individual art making techniques and communal artmaking techniques. At the end of the week, the camp participants will display their work and invite their family and friends to see all that they have accomplished.
“There is a lot of one-on-one time, and we have volunteers and program assistants so there is support and, if you need a hand, someone will come and help,” Hines says about the intimate group size. “By the end of the week, they’re actually quite a tight-knit group.”
For children ages 11 to 14 who are looking to get into a secondary school art program, the Art Gallery of Peterborough offers the Portfolio Development for Teens program. Running twice per year, the new four-week course will help participants develop skills and techniques that boost their creativity, while emphasizing the importance of experimentation and taking risks.
Course leaders for the spring session, which kicks off on Thursday, April 24, include ceramic and printmaking artist Alexandra Box, letterpress artist Jeffrey Macklin, and multidisciplinary artist Justine-Marie Williams. The program runs every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. until May 15, at a cost of $132 per participant.
“This is a program that’s led by practising artists who know about the application process and what a good portfolio looks like at the high school level and at a post-secondary level,” says Hines.
Senior high school students who are looking to prepare their applications for post-secondary arts programs can apply for the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s intensive Youth Art Mentorship Program.
Selected youth artists will receive training in visual arts and creative administration, developing valuable skills as professional artists that can also lead to related careers such as animation, industrial design, and architecture.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Spencer J. Harrison, an educator with OCAD University whose paintings and installation-based artworks have been exhibited internationally, and with assistance from professional jurors, participants will create work for a public exhibition at the gallery.
Applications for the Youth Art Mentorship Program typically open in November each year. There is no cost to apply.
Of course, young people can’t have all the creative fun, which is why the Art Gallery of Peterborough has launched the all-new monthly Adult Art Camp, which offers a casual and supportive environment on Thursday evenings where participants explore a new art form every month. No skills or previous experience are needed.
“It’s for adults who are not professional artists, but they want to develop technique, learn, and explore in a very relaxed, social way,” says Hines.
Upcoming workshops include eco printing (March 20), mixed media – collage and paint (April 17), sculpture – clay creations (May 22), and abstract watercolours (June 19). The cost for each workshop is $50, with materials and refreshments provided.
“People are enjoying being together with each other and it enhances and amplifies that learning experience when you see what your neighbour is doing at the next table,” Scopelites says. “We’ve received positive feedback about these art camps and we’re looking forward to continuing them.”
For more information about the educational programs and activities available at the Art Gallery of Peterborough and to register for upcoming workshops, visit agp.on.ca/learn/programs/.
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