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From the August 17 to 21 2015, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe will hold the Holiday Art Camp, supported by art supplies company, La Rue. The Holiday Art Camp is facilitated by the Gallery’s Education and Public Programmes Department and is geared to advance the art and crafts skills of learners aged between 5 to 18 years.
The Holiday Art Camp is designed to adopt a formal approach with regards to the instruction of students as it takes into account the needs of the student’s full-time commitments to mainstream academic pursuits in the school curriculum whilst offering a practical bypass to help relieve the pressures of learning.
The camp not only serves as a retreat in scholastic terms, but it also allows children to learn a discipline through fun experiences which make their grasp on the discipline in a memorable way.
Activities which will take place include the creation of expressionistic sunflowers in oil, acrylic or pencil crayon, learning about colour mixing as creating butterflies out of tissue paper, paint, magic markers and coffee filters, learning how to create a fireworks display with crayons, paint, glue, foil and shoe polish. Students will make pictures using aluminium foil of their favourite themes.
Children will be taught about what makes a Van Gogh painting a Van Gogh painting, great paintings and art history as well. They will learn about the effects of salt on water colours as they will paint pictures of natural surroundings. They will also learn to look at the different ways of laying out a painting as they begin to recognize important elements of design.
Making art forms utilising processes and techniques influenced by different artists can help one to better understand how to create landscapes. These lessons enable students to understand techniques used by Monet and the Impressionist style as students are encouraged to create their own Impressionist paintings through fun activities which will be at their disposal.
Students are instructed by practising art instructors in different noteworthy categories through the Atelier method that was established by Gustave Moreau, famously adopted by the first Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Frank McEwen. In keeping with the tradition of the Workshop approach, the students practice creative freedom and work ethic in an open environment.
Aside from this, they will be at an advantage to find inspiration around them embodied in the works of past masters.
Pre-school and primary school groups have a schedule set for 9 O’clock in the morning until 1 pm. Refreshments will be provided at 10 am. Students aged from 13 to 18 years will be finishing at 1500 hours and should provide their own lunch.
With aid from the instructors, the students are able to understand how to use different tools and methods like painting or making craft objects.
The strength of the Holiday Art Camp lies within the fact that the older students learn from instructors who are individuals pursuing Art as a profession.
The camp serves to create a space in which young people can gain knowledge of visual art and develop their visual creative abilities. It allows them to express themselves in numerous ways giving them self-confidence in as much as it empowers them to attain an interest to occupy them take up art professionally.
The registration fee for the Art Fair is $30 only and all materials are provided for the students with the kind support of La Rue. The registration fee is also inclusive of refreshments over the five day course and commemorative t-shirts will also be available for a $5. Participants will walk away with prizes for their age groups. There will be entertainment by a traditional music and dance ensemble on prize giving day.
Online Reporter