Autumn Newsletter from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Kia ora koutou,

We hope you had a restful holiday and are enjoying the start of Term 2. With the COVID-19 Protection Framework setting at Orange, the Schools and Learning team at the Gallery looks forward to welcoming more of you on site for our education programmes. Our only Covid Protection requirements are that you keep a distance of at least 1 metre from others and everyone aged 12+ (and all ākonga working in the Studio) wears a mask. So, haere mai!

We have an exciting variety of art on show throughout autumn and into winter, and a range of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education programmes, including new offerings for Secondary and Tertiary groups. These new offerings give greater emphasis to developing bespoke programmes in relation to your specific teaching and learning foci and the exhibitions. We look forward to receiving your enquiries and bookings for Terms 2, 3 & 4.

All Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education programmes are FREE. While there are entry costs for ticketed shows, these are discounted to $10pp for booked education groups. We also have some complimentary tickets available, so please enquire about these when making your booking. Please enquire, too, about the ways we can help with transport costs for your school or kura, should these present a barrier to your visit.

Groups coming from kura and schools working in te reo Māori, please enquire about booking a bi-lingual kaiārahi to support your visit.

Please see below and visit us online for details of our programmes and to make a booking enquiry. Our Bookings Coordinator will reply within three working days.

Primary Education (NZC L1–4)
We offer a range of two-hour programmes for Primary-aged tamariki to explore, engage with and respond to the Gallery’s exhibitions. Ngā ākonga’s intuitive responses to multimedia artworks – including video, sculpture, photography and painting – are starting points for deepening understanding and appreciation of creative processes, works and ideas facilitated by our skilled educators. Click below for more detailed information and to make your booking enquiry.

Secondary Education (NZC L4–8)
We offer varied programmes for ākonga across all learning areas in Years 9–13. Our skilled educators facilitate student-led responses to artworks to deepen appreciation and understanding of art and its contexts and ideas. Exploring the connections between style, media, processes, contexts, meanings and personal responses, ākonga will develop and practise critical and creative thinking while enjoying new experiences and insights. Click below to explore new and established programmes and to make your booking enquiry.

This Matariki, an exciting wānanga toi Māori, Toi Te Kupu: Whakaahuatanga, celebrates and showcases the transformative power of mātauranga Māori as expressed through art, exhibition-making and wider creative practices. Hosted by the Gallery, this two-day symposium (15–16 June 2022) will be held at Te Pokapū Aotea Centre, and will be of great value to kaiako and ākonga of history and other social sciences, as well as the visual arts. Click below for more information and to secure tickets.

The Schools and Learning team will host two teacher PLD days in Term 4 this year – please email us with your suggestions and requests for particular workshops and other content:

o Primary School & Kura Kaiako: A series of workshops to develop skills and confidence in using art-making practices in the delivery of the curriculum across the learning areas.

o Secondary School & Kura Kaiako: A series of talks and workshops to support the development of critical thinking and creative responses through engagement with art. Rather than subject-specific, we will focus on how art can enhance teaching and learning in response to the refreshed curriculum aims and to develop the Key Competencies.

We recently launched Beyond the Walls, an outreach programme co-ordinated by Mosese Uhila, Gallery Educator, Pacific Engagement, in association with Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda, curated by Ane Tonga.

Over the course of six months and through eight engagements in both the Gallery and at kura, our Schools and Learning team, curators and artists will work with 50 ākonga from five kura to engage with and respond to the exhibition artworks and their contexts.

There will be a celebration in September to showcase creative responses from the participants. Invitations to participate in Beyond the Walls 2023 will go out at the end of this year.