Early Years at the Galleries of Modern Art

Marie-Louise SmoorSchools Education Officer

National Galleries of Scotland

BackgroundWhy is the Early Years (3 – 5 years) important to us?

Eye Spy Nursery Programme at the National Gallery of Scotland since 2003:

Eye Spy tours – free of charge

Follow the Seaons Workshop - £35 for 2 hours for 12 children

Tours at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery since 2006

Taking on the Galleries of Modern Art

• Demand from nursery providers prompted us to think about extending the existing programme to the Galleries of Modern Art.

• We felt that the different types of art displayed at the Galleries of Modern Art, required a different approach to Eye Spy.

• We also wanted to review what we knew about 3-5 year olds’ needs.

Off the Wall9 Dec 06-28 May 07

Each nursery came for 2 2-hour visits, lead by a visual artist and a non-gallery artist.

Exhibition of contemporary ceiling- and floor- based art provided the opportunity to explore potential with early years.

We worked with:4 Edinburgh Nursery Schools7 artists from Music, Dance, Storytelling, Drama and Visual Arts2 curators1 music educator 1 gallery educator

What we learned?Children• Children as young as 2 years can actively engage in concrete and abstract

learning experiences with modern and contemporary art.• Children always bring their own interpretation to works of art and activities.• Children are able to work with complex ideas, e.g. colour theory, as long

as it is broken down into simple steps and tasks.• Children embrace the opportunities to explore the art through practical

making activities. They engaged longer with the practical activities than others.

• Children’s creativity increases when the materials are restricted. • Design open-ended activities that encourage children to use their own

imaginations to create their own outcome, and reflect varied attention spans.

Artists• Working with artists from across the arts – music, dance, storytelling,

theatre, enabled National Galleries of Scotland education staff to explore the collections in new ways.

• This also provided new professional development for gallery staff, as well as invited artists.

What Next?August – October 2007

Warhol Nursery Workshops8 2-hour sessions offered to

existingpartners and new groups.

•Art Sparks! Programme to be launched in January 2008

•45min-1hour tours of Dean Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art – free of charge•2 hour workshops at Dean and Gallery of Modern Art - £35 for 12 children•5 March 2008 – Art Sparks! Teacher Evening to introduce programme to teachers and invite constructive feedback.

For more information, contact:

Marie-Louise Smoor

Schools Education Officer

National Galleries of Scotland

0131 624 6547

msmoor@nationalgalleries.org