Schools

Our education and outreach programs for schools provide opportunities for teachers and students to encounter significant contemporary and historical visual art. We work with educators in multiple ways: through in-person and virtual tours, multisession collaborations, outdoor explorations, and artist projects.

Our programs engage critical thinking, creativity, communication, and empathy through looking at, discussing, and making art. There are also rich opportunities to explore cross-curricular connections.

We offer special programming and workshops related to zines and zine-making in connection with the Owens Art Gallery’s Teeny Tiny Zine Library.

We support educators through periodic Teacher’s Resources for special projects. You can find our most recent Teacher’s Resource as part of the online project, You Are Here: Seeing Sackville through the Owens Art Gallery Collection.

If you are an educator who would like to book a tour, collaborate, or discuss the ways that our exhibitions might connect to curriculum areas that you are exploring, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

All our education and outreach programs are offered free of charge thanks to generous funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, Province of New Brunswick, Town of Sackville, The Hon. Robert V. Barritt, and Friends of the Owens Art Gallery.

In a gallery, children sit on folding stools examining wooden furniture on display. They hold pencils and clipboards and work in small booklets. A studnet in the foreground holds the handle of a magnifying glass that rests on the clipboard on their lap.

Current Programs for Schools

Two hands hold the cover of a Cloud Collection with "CLOUD COLLECTION DIANE BORSATO" in large uppercase blue type.

Diane Borsato: Cloud Collection

Observations of clouds and other ephemeral phenomena in the Owens Collection

In a gallery, children sit on folding stools examining wooden furniture on display. They hold pencils and clipboards and work in small booklets. A studnet in the foreground holds the handle of a magnifying glass that rests on the clipboard on their lap.

School Tours

Visit the Owens with your students

A smartphone is held up in front of a lush green sports field. On the right side of the screen is a map with a point that reads, "Alex Colville, Running Dog". On the left of the screen is an image of a Wire Fox Terrier racing across a sports field marked with painted white lines.

You Are Here

Seeing Sackville through the Owens Art Gallery Collection

Two adults sit in arm chairs. Between them is a small table with a wooden display shelf that holds a selection of small publications. While one of them reads a publication, the other peruses the shelf. Behind them is a sign with text that reads "TEENY TINY ZINE LIBRARY".

Zine Library

An ever-growing collection of zines, artists' books and handmade publications

Studio 360°

An up-close look at artists' working spaces

Past Programs for Schools

Two hands hold up four brightly coloured sketchbooks with various designs on their covers.

Let’s Draw

A drawing-based tour for elementary school classes

In a gallery an adult stands addressing a group of children sitting on the floor. The adult holds an empty picture frame in their hands, while standing beside a large mobile work bench.

ENGAGE: Owens Art Gallery

A community-based learning project

A young person in a pink hooded jacket stands outside facing a sign with the symbol of a fire hydrant. They are making notes on a narrow card with the heading "Smooth".

Between Here and There

A school-wide project with Marshview Middle School

Two children stand in a darkened room in front of a small screen with a projected drawing. One of them holds a paper smiley face that casts a shadow of the smiley face onto the screen.

Shadow Stories

Shadow plays inspired by the permanent collection

A pair of hands holds up a small, staple-bound book with the cover facing outwards. The book's cover is black, and a gold rectangle across the top contains the title “THE COLVILLE HOUSE SKETCHBOOK”.

The Colville House Sketchbook

Drawing prompts inspired by the work of Alex Colville

A vertical banner attached to a telephone pole is viewed from below. The banner shows an image of colourful shapes including circles, zigzags and swirls against a white background with the word "Sackville" printed across the bottom.

Sounding Sackville

Sackville Soundscapes by students at Salem Elementary School

A young person looks at a book with blue pages. The facing pages each contain a list of handwritten names.

A List of Signed Names in Which Nobody Signed Their Own Name but Signed the Name of Another

A project by Micah Lexier

A child holds up a black flag with hand-cut white block letters that reads "BTW This IS A FLAG".

Studio Call

Artist in schools program

A pair of hands hold up a small book with a brown cover. Centred on the cover and printed in red are the words "A POCKET COMPANION TO THE OWENS ART GALLERY", followed by "a little guide for kids by kids" in smaller black type. Below the text is a small line drawing of two architectural arches.

A Pocket Companion to the Owens Art Gallery

A little guide for kids by kids