A crowd of more than one hundred excited pre-schoolers, parents and teachers from Armidale’s St Peters Preschool gathered at the New England Regional Art Museum recently when the opening of an exhibition of the youngsters’ artworks was the main attraction.
The exhibition, titled “Discovering Museums – Discovering artists, art thru the eyes of a four year old” showcases drawings, paintings and sculptures produced by the children during a pilot Artplay: Children and Ideas project at NERAM.
During a six week period, the St Peters Preschool community learnt all about what goes on at an art museum. They also explored art, art making and ideas through working with artists and art educators. St Peters Preschool students, parents and teachers worked with NERAM staff and artists and arts educators Christine McMillan and Margaret Brooks, exploring McMillan and Brooks’ Subak exhibition (on display until 6 May).
“I was delighted to see so many four-year olds participating in art-making activities and enjoying learning about an art museum,” said NERAM Director Caroline Downer, commenting on the project. “NERAM is particularly keen to develop projects that engage young children and their families.”
The aim of NERAM’s ARTplay: Children and Ideas project is to develop a pioneering model for productive and sustainable partnerships between Early Childhood programs and art museums by engaging young children with art and artists in meaningful ways.
Discovering Museums – Discovering artists, art thru the eyes of a four year old runs till 6 May.
