Additional Programs QATA

Queensland Art Teachers Association (QATA) meetings are held twice per term at Pinnacles Gallery, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery and Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts. These meetings provide an opportunity for Visual Arts teachers to meet, collaborate and engage with the arts sector. During these meetings Gallery Services conducts evaluation and feedback sessions to inform its Creative Classrooms programs, education resources and strategies. 2013/2014 was a very successful year for QATA, introducing a number of new members to the group, including some teachers from the Primary School sector looking to create a smoother transition for their students to a secondary, visual arts level.

During 2013/2014 Gallery Services organised and presented 6 QATA meetings held over the three alternate venues listed above, with an attendance of 37 teachers over the year. Gallery Services also organised and hosted two professional development days for the Queensland Art Teachers Association in February and May of 2014.

These workshops included a free resource and idea sharing workshop for Visual Art teachers in the Townsville Region (including the Mt Isa, Ingham and Burdekin regions), creative process (inquiry learning model) in the art classroom, along with suggestions for strengthening standards of visual literacy and application.

During these sessions the teachers also participated in a life drawing workshop with local artist Gerald Soworka, a teacher-led discussion on appraising with a focus on collaborating, a workshop using 3D sculpting software Sculptris and Blender and a recycled material sculpture workshop with local artist Alison McDonald.

At these professional development days teachers are able to share their understandings on the curriculum, compare teachings and learn specific visual arts skills by artists in the field, which are relative to the needs of their students. This provides both teachers and students with knowledge and skills which are not necessarily available in the classroom at present.

Secondary and Tertiary Work Placement

The 2013/14 period saw an increased level of student participation in work experience placements and engagement with a total of 96 Secondary and Tertiary students immersed and involved in Gallery Services programs.

15 secondary students engaged in work experience over the 2013/14 financial year from the following high schools: Pimlico State High School, Ryan Catholic College, Heatley State High School, Northern Beaches State High School, Calvary Christian College, Kirwan State High School and Burdekin Catholic High School.

Students experienced roles in exhibition, administration, education and collections and undertook responsibilities and tasks as required during their placements within the Gallery.

During Strand Ephemera, 43 third year students contributed 25 hours of service each to the event in exhibition, public program, data gathering and administrative roles. Commencing from February 2014, Gallery Services partnered with JCU to provide Creative Industries second-year students with ten-hours of professional placement in exhibition, public program, education, design, administration and collection roles within a gallery environment.

This project is known as the JCU Project Bank and is linked as part of the students’ summative coursework. To date 38 students have participated; 12 students working with the Education and Programs team, 23 students working with the Exhibitions and Collections team and 3 students working with the Digital Media and Design team.

Guided Tours and Workshops

As part of the Creative Classrooms program, Gallery Services offers schools the opportunity to engage directly with the Galleries through an organised guided tour or workshop during excursions and special visits.

During 2013/2014 Gallery Services presented 19 tours and 31 workshops with school students from the Townsville Region, extending as far as Charters Towers, Aramac and Gumlu.

During the 2013 Strand Ephemera Gallery Services invited all schools in the Townsville region to consider visiting the exhibition for a specialised tour and or workshop. As a result, Gallery Services presented 30 guided tours, 30 workshops , 9 Artist Talks and 4 Self-guided tours to 2 188 students in the Townsville region.

During these visits students were provided with an activity book and education resource kit associated with the exhibition, a guided tour relating to the specific interests of each group and an organised workshop.

During the Glencore Percival Portrait Painting Prize and as part of the International Baccalaureate program, Year 11 students of Townsville Grammar School engaged with the works on display, writing a critique of selected works in French, Japanese or Spanish. The 25 students then visited Perc Tucker Regional Gallery to partake in a guided tour of the art works on display and an organised workshop activity exploring the components of portraiture.

Creative Classrooms Resources

Each Term during 2013/2014 Gallery Services delivered an e-news bulletin exclusively to teachers and arts educators highlighting all news relating to current and forthcoming exhibitions and programs that Pinnacles Gallery and Perc Tucker Regional Gallery were offering during the Term.

The Creative Classrooms E-news updates allow teachers to access Gallery Services online Education Resources, learn about upcoming workshops, education programs and professional development opportunities.

Gallery Services continued to provide high quality, in-house education kits to unpack and guide teachers and students through the major exhibitions on display at each of the galleries.

These kits, produced by the education and design teams were created in response to the exhibitions and designed with reference to the Department of Education and Training, Queensland’s Visual Art Syllabus.

Education Kits were available for download from the Gallery websites as well as hard copies available in both Galleries.

Gallery Services designed and printed activity books that relate to the information and teachings provided in the education resource kits, targeted at primary school students. These resources include activities and worksheets that are useful both in the classroom and during tours or visits to the Gallery.

Gallery Services made a concerted effort during 2013/2014 to distribute these education resources directly to schools in the Townsville Region by mailing each of the schools copies of the education kit and activity book and offering each school the opportunity to directly engage with the Gallery through a guided tour or workshop.