Programme
Artists in Schools residencies embed art in the curriculum and assist teachers in providing creative sessions in the classroom and gallery environment. Artists work with pupils to develop their creativity and expression and allow them to explore what it is to be an artist and develop their own artistic skills. In addition, the programme provides professional development opportunities for teachers and can increase pupil’s creativity and self-confidence.
Making mosaics
Mosaic artist Amanda McCrann creates unique and collaborative mosaics that can be seen in parks and schools across Manchester. Amanda shows you and your pupils how she takes inspiration from nature, the environment and the gallery’s decorative tile collection to create motifs for mosaics that can be produced individually or in groups, using tiles, found objects and readily available materials.
Click here to see some images from this workshop
Nature’s canvas
Painter Pat Mountford is inspired by nature, seascapes and rural landscapes and documents her discoveries through expressive drawing, watercolour and acrylic paintings. Pat encourages you and your pupils to explore, experiment and play with mixed media techniques, such as wax trapping and painting onto canvas, to create colourful and textural artworks based on natural form and the local environment.
Creating characters (Years 5 and 6 only)
Comic artist Jim Medway observes and captures people as unique characters, often portraying them as cats and other creatures. Jim helps pupils create profiles and drawings for characters they can use in story development. Working individually and collaboratively, pupils develop their visual literacy and communication skills through a series of games and drawing tasks.
Mary Greg’s collection of curiosities
Mary Greg was a collector of mainly 19th century handmade objects. She wanted to preserve examples of traditional artisan skills so that children could understand how things were made. We’ve created a travelling box of curiosities to bring Mary’s collection to you in school for you to explore in an object handling session. We’ll support your pupils in a creative investigation of the objects. You’ll be amazed at the links and associations these objects inspire and how they encourage collective conversation, stir the imagination and generate magical stories.
