The National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) is slated to present the second edition of Art iT, a selection of artworks produced by a number of children who are participants in the Saturday Art Time Programme. The exhibition, which is free to the public, will open on Saturday, June 22, at the Information Centre of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), 12 Ocean Boulevard, Kingston.
The exhibition will run until July 12 and is available for viewing Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
The artwork selected do not only reflect the childrens basic response to an assignment. They highlight, instead, the childrens unique responses to questions about their curiosities and the diverse urges of their developing imaginations.
Saturday Art Time was started in 2009 and seeks to provide children with a set of organised activities which encourage them to think critically and speak sensibly about works of art, particularly those which form part of the NGJs collection. Since its inception, the works have been archived, and in 2011, Art iT was launched as the first exhibition solely of childrens visual artwork mounted by the gallery.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
The Saturday Art Time programme seeks to develop the visual communication and art production skills of children, while providing them with opportunities to interact with peers of similar interest, who may be from different backgrounds.
Within our workshops, children are provided with all the materials needed to produce both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art objects, which may include drawings, paintings, and a variety of sculptural forms, said Monique Barnett-Davidson, programme co-ordinator and curatorial assistant at the NGJ.
She noted that during most of the workshops, the children practised at least one visual arts technique and/or produced a visual composition which represented an object, idea, or theme.
Once the works are completed, the children add them to their portfolios and these are later assessed by the coordinators of the programme. With this assessment, selections can be made from the works for possible archiving and mounting in exhibitions.
At present, the Saturday Art Time programme accommodates 30 children and the participants are organised into two age groups, eight-11 years old and 12-15 years old.