Teachers and Students
School Programs
The Vancouver Art Gallery School Programs provide exhibition tours and workshops designed for elementary and secondary school groups. These programs introduce tools to foster visual literacy in students and to promote critical thinking about the world around us.
Led by the Gallery’s experienced and highly trained Docents, guided school tours are a great way to learn more about the cultural and social contexts of the artworks on display. For a list of the current programs, please see below.
Bookings for the 2020 Winter/Spring School Programs begin on Saturday, January 11 at 9 AM.
Teachers, login to view your upcoming visits or create an account if you would like to receive new information by email about the Gallery’s School Programs.
CURRENT PROGRAM | RAPTURE, RHYTHM AND THE TREE OF LIFE
- FEBRUARY 11 – JUNE 11, 2020
This tour looks at the art of Emily Carr in relation to work by her female Indigenous and Euro-Canadian contemporaries in this region. Iconic Canadian artist Emily Carr (1871–1945) is widely recognized for her paintings of the forested landscapes of British Columbia. Students will explore Carr’s images of the forest and the coast alongside paintings, sculpture and drawings by some of her lesser-known contemporaries—including Beatrice Lennie, Nan Lawson Cheney, Irene Hoffar Reid, Grace Wilson and Vera Weatherbie—along with baskets, cedar hats and cradle boards made at this time by Indigenous women—such as Amy Cooper, Mary Little and Gertrude Dick. The workshop for this program will consist of oil pastel drawing in front of the original artworks.
- Cost | $100-150
- Grades | 2-12
- Capacity | 30
CURRENT PROGRAM | SHUVINAI ASHOONA: MAPPING WORLDS and LINEAGES AND LAND BASES
- MARCH 3 – MAY 21, 2020
This tour will focus on two exhibitions: Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds and lineages and land bases. Mapping Worlds focuses on the drawings of contemporary Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona from the past two decades. Students will explore Ashoona’s references to traditional Inuit imagery and the way she combines these and other cultural references to develop a sophisticated and highly personal iconography using pen, ink and coloured pencils. Derived equally from her environment and imagination, Ashoona’s work is fed by her fascination with horror films, comic books and television. In the exhibition, lineages and land bases, students will discover work from the Gallery’s permanent collection made since the 1960s, when artists began to seek new ways of representing their relationship to the world. The tour will foreground the work of Indigenous artists who were grappling with the troubled inheritance of settler colonialism including Brian Jungen and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun.
- Cost | $100-150
- Grades | 2-12
- Capacity | 30
Self-Guided Visits
The Self-Guided Visit consists of a class navigating any open exhibition space in the gallery. Open to elementary, secondary and post-secondary school groups. Please check-in at the Admissions Desk when you arrive. Lockable bins will be provided for students' belongings at coat check. If you are bringing several classes of 30 students, please book as many arrival times as you need.
- Cost | $80-95
- Grades | All
- Capacity | 30
Post-Secondary Guided Tour
Guided tours are an excellent educational experience for post secondary students. The Gallery's rotating exhibitions of historical and contemporary art provide unique opportunities to enhance a range of studies from fashion, visual art, art history, graphic design, history, visual culture and architecture, among many others. For inquiries or to book, please contact Group Bookings by email at groupbookings@vanartgallery.bc.ca or by phone at 604.662.4717.
- Cost | $245
- Grades | Post-Secondary
- Capacity | 30
UPCOMING TEACHERS' ORIENTATIONS
Join us for complimentary Teachers' Orientations before your class visit. Each session includes refreshments, a guided tour of the exhibition, and an introduction to the workshop component of your School Tour. This event is a great opportunity to learn more about how to prepare your students for their upcoming visit and to experience the exhibition on your own before bringing your class.
- Cost | Complimentary
- Grades | All
- Capacity | 50+
Teachers Support
To help you get ready for your tour and help your students get the most out of their experience, we offer study guides and teacher orientations for many of our exhibitions
Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds and lineages and land bases
Rapture, Rhythm and the Tree of Life: Emily Carr and Her Female Contemporaries
GALLERY GUIDELINES
We are delighted that you will be visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery. Please review the following guidelines before your visit:
- We require a minimum of 1 adult per 8 students.
- A maximum of 8 adult chaperones will be admitted free of charge. (Please notify all chaperones that we can not accommodate toddlers on the tours.)
- Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your session. Check in at the Admissions desk located in the lobby.
- Please bring name tags with each student’s name clearly identified.
- We regret that bagged lunches can not be eaten inside the Gallery or in the Gallery Bistro. There is covered seating outside the Robson Court area.
- There is underground parking nearby in the Robson Square parking lot at Howe and Nelson St. as well as in the Pacific Centre mall parkade at Howe and Georgia St.
- From the Skytrain, on the Expo Line both Granville and Burrard stations are in close proximity. From the Canada Line the City Centre stop is nearest.
- We require two weeks advance notice for cancellations, otherwise the full amount will be charged.
For more information on arrivals, parking, check-in, way-finding, please review the Guidelines document.
REPEAT VISIT DISCOUNT
The Vancouver Art Gallery believes that children’s learning is enhanced by repeated engagements. We offer special rates to encourage this: if the same class is returning for a second or third visit in the same a school year, fees are reduced.
During your online booking process, please declare if this is your first, second or third visit, or the discount may not be applied. These rates apply ONLY to the same class of students during a given school year.
Accessibility
The Vancouver Art Gallery is committed to accessibility and offers reduced program fees for inner-city schools. For more information about rates for inner-city schools, please contact Susan Rome, School Programs Coordinator by email or by phone at 604.662.4700 ext. 2308.
Contact
For more information or if you have questions about School Tours please contact the Group Bookings Coordinator by email or by phone at 604.662.4717.