Support learning through art
I’ve been working as a teacher at Arthur E. Wright Community School for five years now. The K-8 school in the Maples area serves many students who are new to Canada alongside those who grew up in our community. As an educator, there is a lot I can do to help new Canadians experience what our city and country are all about, and to support them in learning about their new cultural surroundings, which benefits the whole class. The WAG plays an important role for me in this work.
In my first year of teaching, I took my grade seven and eight students on a number of field trips. Our trip to the WAG stood out to me and my students right away. Everything we did was so interactive, lively, and hands-on. Since then, I have been bringing my classes to the WAG annually for tours and workshops.
Each time we visit, the facilitators start real discussions with my students by talking about art. As teachers we guide kids to develop their own views of the world. The WAG gives students the ability to focus and expand their learning further. It’s exciting to know that education spaces will grow with the opening of the WAG Inuit Art Centre next year.
I use the Gallery as an extension of my classroom for various subjects. When learning about the Arctic, for example, we watched videos in class on Inuit printmakers, like Andrew Qappik. Then at the WAG, students were able to handle materials directly tied to life in the North: seal skin, different types of stones, and ulus.
On some visits, students built their own inuksuks, and once, we made prints similar to Andrew Qappik’s to take home. This gives students many entry points to learn. After years working with the WAG, I can attest to how effective art is as a teaching tool.
I support the Winnipeg Art Gallery because it enriches my life and keeps things in perspective. I’ve had many inspiring dates with my partner at the WAG. My kids love the WAG. I have so many great memories of bringing classrooms and students to the WAG. It’s just one of my favourite things about living in Winnipeg. And I imagine it’s one of yours too. Please join me in championing the WAG as a vital learning space for the entire community to enjoy.
Yours sincerely,
Aaron Levere, Teacher and WAG Supporter
Each year, over 20,000 young people visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery for transformative art education and programming. This capacity will quadruple with the 2020 opening of the WAG Inuit Art Centre. Your donation will go to work immediately, helping connect children and youth to powerful learning experiences.
A donation to the WAG supports a wide variety of school tours, programs, and art-making activities, each one valuable to a child’s education, and each one only possible because of donors like you.
Your donation will ensure that the WAG continues to offer meaningful programs so teachers, like Aaron, can enrich their students’ views of the world through the universal language of art. You can inspire children to speak and understand when words may not be enough.
Please consider a gift today.
Each year, over 20,000 young people visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery for transformative art education and programming. This capacity will quadruple with the 2020 opening of the WAG Inuit Art Centre. Your donation will go to work immediately, helping connect children and youth to powerful learning experiences.
A donation to the WAG supports a wide variety of school tours, programs, and art-making activities, each one valuable to a child’s education, and each one only possible because of donors like you.
Your donation will ensure that the WAG continues to offer meaningful programs so teachers, like Aaron, can enrich their students’ views of the world through the universal language of art. You can inspire children to speak and understand when words may not be enough.
Please consider a gift today.
WAG-Qaumajuq is open today, 11am – 9pm. To plan your visit, check out wag.ca/visit.
