Educational Programs and Resources
A teacher's guide to Exploring the OAG
Explore OAG’s virtual school tours, guided in-person school tours and workshops, and our unique and engaging teacher’s resources and modules for grades K-12.
LEARNING AT THE GALLERY
School programs for grades K-12 at OAG are both fun and educational. Guided tours and workshops are designed with the Ontario and Quebec curricula in mind, and tailored to suit the needs and interests of each group. Our passionate and skillful guides strive to create a unique and memorable experience that will broaden students’ perspectives on the world through intellectual inquiry and tactile exploration.
For more information, please contact: education@oaggao.ca
Virtual School Tours
Duration: 45 minutes
Cost: $75 per group up to 30 participants. Groups larger than 30 will be divided into 2 groups.
Using Google Meet or Zoom as a platform, students will view images from OAG exhibitions via a live-streamed slide show discussion. Guided by an OAG gallery educator, the students will be led in engaging discussion, have the opportunity to ask questions and reflect on the topics at hand. A short art activity will be included in each session.
Don Kwan: Landscape Loss and Legacy (K-12)
Dark Ice: Leslie Reid and Robert Kautuk (7-12)
A Family Palette: Frances-Anne Johnston, Franz Johnston and Franklin Arbuckle (K-12)
Guided School Tours and Workshops
Guided Tours
Duration: 60 minutes
Cost: $75 per group up to 30 participants. Groups larger than 30 will be divided into 2 groups.
Come prepared with your curiosity for an exploration of OAG’s exhibitions lead by one of our experienced gallery educators. Questions and the sharing of ideas are highly encouraged!
Hands On Workshops
Duration: 60 minutes
Cost: School workshops are base price $70 plus $7 per participant after 10. Groups larger than 30 will be divided.
Designed to be stimulating investigations of the ideas and materials in the exhibitions.
Tour & Workshop Combo
Duration: 90 – 120 minutes
Cost: Tours are free if you book a workshop. Workshop prices outlined above.
Designed to be stimulating investigations of the ideas and materials in the exhibitions.
Tours and workshops are available in English or French.
Bookings must be made at least three weeks prior to the date of a guided tour or workshop visit
current Workshops
Workshops are available from September to June. All materials are provided.
Make Your Own Stickers! (All ages)
By encouraging students to look at the shapes, colours and patterns used in the works on display in our exhibitions, we will apply the principles and elements of design in the creation of a series of handmade stickers. This workshop will include some in-gallery sketching time to and will end in the OAG Studio.
Clay creatures (All ages)
If an elephant and a salmon became one animal, what would this creature look like? Inspired by the playful sculptures and drawings of Russell Yuristy, come play with some clay and sculpt your own imaginary critter.
Media, society and self (High School)
In this workshop, participants will explore the impact of societal pressures on identity through a creative exercise inspired by the story of the Dionne Quintuplets. Participants will visually represent how external forces can fragment and alter one’s sense of self. The final product will serve as a reflection on the transformation of identity under societal influence.
(Re)Mapping Place (High School)
High School students will discover pre-colonial Anishinaabe mapmaking traditions, and learn to deconstruct the authority of colonial maps by creatively (re)mapping their neighborhood or city using various art materials.
Expanded Landscapes (All ages)
What lies beyond the frame of a Group of Seven landscape painting? Students will examine famous artworks and imagine scenes beyond the confines of the canvasses. Experimenting with perspective and colour, they will create an expanded landscape and add their own point of view to these iconic works of art.
OAG COMES TO YOU
Can’t make it to the Gallery? OAG’s gallery educators make in-class visits! They come to you equipped with reproductions and all the materials needed for an engaging creative workshop.
- Michèle Provost: Darn Logos (High School)
Consider your relationship to logos and consumer culture. Do you augment your identity by purchasing these goods? Taking inspiration from multimedia artist Michèle Provost, students will alter familiar logos to express their own unique identity.
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR A TRIP TO THE GALLERY
A visit to the OAG is an opportunity to learn about and connect with artistic practices from the National Capital Region.
Here are a few tips to prepare students for their visit:
- Discuss the location, how will you get there, the kinds of activities they’ll enjoy, and what they will see at the gallery.
- Visiting an art gallery means respecting the artworks on display. Let students know that they will need to be careful in the gallery and keep a distance from the artworks, unless an educator invites them to touch or interact with a specific piece.
- Let students know that art galleries are spaces for sharing ideas. When learning and talking about art, it’s important for students to listen to the opinions of others, express their own ideas and keep an open mind.
- Finally, encourage students to participate and have fun!
Learning modules
Contemporary Indigenous Arts in the Classroom
This project aims to provide elementary and high school–level teachers with curriculum-linked lesson plans designed by contemporary Indigenous artists.
The goal is to build students’ cultural competence and respect for diverse Indigenous peoples, while encouraging critical thinking about colonialism in Canada.
Expanded Landscapes
Expanded Landscapes provides middle school teachers with a curriculum-linked learning module that focuses on the Group of Seven and climate change.
Students will explore this important group of Canadian artists while also reflecting on climate change and potential solutions to the climate crisis.
