Saturday Art Time Resumes on January 17

The National Gallery of Jamaica is delighted to announce the resumption of its innovative child art programme, Saturday Art-Time, on Saturday, January 17, 2015.

The programme, which has been active since September 2009, consists of an exciting range of gallery-based art workshops for children 8 to 15 years old. The workshops are designed to provide an opportunity for children to learn about Jamaican culture and history through the gallery’s permanent collection and exhibitions.

In addition to the variety of art-making techniques customarily taught at the Saturday Art-Time workshops such as drawing, painting, assemblage and collage, the Education Department is excited to introduce Basic Animation workshops for participants aged 12 to 15 years old. Given the increasing integration of animation and other audio-visual approaches as a part of contemporary Jamaican art practice, the coordinators hope that students will begin to develop an appreciation for the use of various technologies that can facilitate expression.

The Saturday Art-Time programme is also planning to hold its third biennial child art exhibition, Art’ iT, previously held in 2011 and 2013. The Art’iT exhibitions feature a selection of imaginative and impactful artworks produced by the participants of the Saturday Art-Time programme and is held shortly after the closing of the annual workshops at the beginning of the summer break, on dates to be announced.

The workshops, funded by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education fund (CHASE), will be held every Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the National Gallery. The workshops are free of cost but space is limited so applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Registration forms are available at the National Gallery or can be downloaded here. For more information, contact the National Gallery’s Education Department at 922-1561 / 3 (Lime landline) or 618-0654 / 5 (Digicel fixed line) or via e-mail at info@natgalja.org.jm.