Arts Umbrella in Partnership with the Vancouver Art Gallery Launches Art Exchange, a New Visual Arts Program Offered with Full Scholarship to All Participants
Vancouver, BC / July 25, 2019 — Arts Umbrella, Metro Vancouver’s arts education centre for young people, announces a new partnership with Western Canada’s largest visual art museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, to deliver an exciting new program for young artists ages 12-15. Launching October 7 and running until May 25, 2020, Art Exchange is unlike any other program offered for this age group in Metro Vancouver, and will be offered with full scholarship to all participants. Applications for Art Exchange are due by 5:00 pm on Monday, August 26.
Over the course of eight months, students will explore and unpack exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery and respond to the artworks through workshops at Arts Umbrella. The program provides access to experiential learning through direct contact with original artworks at the Gallery. Held weekly, the classes will take place once per month at the Vancouver Art Gallery and at Arts Umbrella for the remaining weeks. There, under the mentorship of artist-instructors, participants will proceed with reflective studio practices based on the Gallery’s exhibitions.
This unique program is a wonderful opportunity for students based in Metro Vancouver who are interested in visual arts and want to explore, expand, and express their creative practice. Every month, students will work with a variety of Vancouver’s top artists, innovators, and educators, and will view exhibits by artists like Vikky Alexander, Emily Carr, Robert Rauschenberg, and Debra Sparrow. To complete the experience, young artists will explore the art-making process in-depth by way of group discussion and critique.
“Arts Umbrella is beyond excited to work with the Vancouver Art Gallery in a new community-based program that provides full scholarships to a new age group for a whole programming year,” said Roxanne Gagnon, Artistic Director of Art & Design at Arts Umbrella. “This partnership represents the next chapter of enriching our programs and commitment to a larger art community within the city. We are thrilled to be working together to provide access to experiences with exhibitions and arts education. We are looking forward to hearing these students inquire, respond and develop new aspects of their artistic expression.”
“The Vancouver Art Gallery is proud to bridge our public programs with the outstanding educational offerings of Arts Umbrella,” said Susan Rome, Public Program Coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “This partnership aligns with our ongoing mission to provide broader community access to our world-class exhibitions and rewarding educational programs. Working together with Arts Umbrella also helps us achieve the shared goal of fostering lifelong learning and enjoyment of the arts in youth, which has many proven benefits, from resourcefulness to critical thinking, toward their development into adulthood.”
Arts Umbrella is dedicated to creating equitable access to arts education. Thanks to the generosity of donors Terrence and Lisa Turner, and Elmar and Christine Klukas, Arts Umbrella in partnership with the Vancouver Art Gallery is able to provide this program to young people at no cost to families.
In 2020, Arts Umbrella will move into its new home on Granville Island, a renovated 50,000 net square foot space purpose-designed for arts education. Arts Umbrella program offerings such as Art Exchange will enjoy increased studio space and access to a permanent exhibition gallery, giving students more tools to succeed in their chosen fields.
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Program Information
Mondays, October 7, 2019 to May 25, 2020
4:30 to 7:30 pm
Application Information
Applications must include the completed form, letter of interest, and portfolio.
Completed applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on Monday August 26, 2019.
https://www.artsumbrella.com/programs/artexchange/
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About Arts Umbrella
Arts Umbrella believes that art is powerful, that it can change a child’s life. That’s why Arts Umbrella’s programs in Dance, Theatre, and Visual Arts are made accessible to all young people—through bursaries, scholarships, and donor-funded community programs. This year, Arts Umbrella will serve more than 24,000 students, with 80% participating at little to no cost. Since 1979, Arts Umbrella has been active in its communities, inspiring kids to build their creative confidence and develop the building blocks for life: critical-thinking skills, improved self-esteem, and tools for collaboration.
Facebook: @ArtsUmbrella Instagram: @ArtsUmbrella
About the Vancouver Art Gallery
Founded in 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery is recognized as one of North America’s most respected and innovative visual arts institutions. The Gallery’s ground-breaking exhibitions, extensive public programs and emphasis on advancing scholarship all focus on historical and contemporary art from British Columbia and around the world. Special attention is paid to the accomplishments of Indigenous artists, as well as to the arts of the Asia Pacific region—through the Institute of Asian Art that the Gallery founded in 2014. The Gallery’s programs also explore the impacts of images in the larger sphere of visual culture, design and architecture.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is a not-for-profit organization grateful to the support it receives by its members, individual donors, corporate funders, foundations, the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is situated on traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh) peoples, and is respectful of the Indigenous stewards of the land it occupies, whose rich cultures are fundamental to artistic life in Vancouver and to the work of the Gallery.
Facebook: @VancouverArtGallery Twitter and Instagram: @VanArtGallery
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Media Contact
Ariane Fleischmann
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Arts Umbrella
604-681-5268 x102