MELBOURNE.- The National Gallery of Victoria has launched dedicated online activities for children and families, and a suite of learning resources for students and teachers to utilise at home.

Resources include downloadable drawing activity sheets, e-books, interactive games, art education workshops, and free virtual excursions for schools, all available on the NGV’s website. The resources provide an opportunity to engage children and students in their active learning, development and play whilst at home.

Tony Ellwood AM, Director, National Gallery of Victoria said: “Our dedication to education has always been a core value for the NGV and this year we celebrate 70 years of our NGV Learning department. It is vital for children, students, families and teachers to have access to these resources, and we are deeply passionate about providing creative online experiences and services for our community especially at this time,” he said.

Minister for Creative Industries, Martin Foley said: “Each year more than 100,000 kids take part in the NGV’s education programs, and while the gallery is closed for now, it’s fantastic learning opportunities continue online for even more kids to engage with. I encourage families and teachers alike to explore these extraordinary resources which offer a world of creative learning experiences without leaving home.”

NGV SCHOOLS VIRTUAL EXCURSIONS
School teachers are encouraged to book NGV's free virtual excursions, which are hosted by NGV educators and can be accessed online from school or home. Students and their teachers can join an educator via video conference for a live and interactive introduction to art, and explore contemporary themes and ways of understanding the world through the lens of art and design. Questions and discussion are encouraged during the excursions, where educators facilitate a dynamic conversation and foster students’ curiosity about the world around them. The Virtual Excursions include Artful Encounters which introduces students to highlights from the NGV Collection, and programs which focus on recent exhibitions including Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines, KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, Top Arts 2020 and NGV Collection exhibitions including Collecting Comme, Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV and Japanese Modernism.

NGV KIDS: AT HOME ACTIVITIES

Kids Activity Books
A selection of downloadable NGV Kids’ activity books are available online for children to enjoy at home. These activities and creative challenges have been specifically designed to stimulate creativity, promote active thinking and cultivate hands-on making.

The activity books are filled with a range of fun activities to complete, featuring drawing exercises, interactive games for families as well as puzzles and playful sensory challenges, which are all inspired by some of NGV’s most recent popular exhibitions, including Escher x nendo: Between Two Worlds, NGV Triennial 2017, Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists and Express Yourself: Romance Was Born for Kids.

The NGV KIDS AT HOME section on NGV’s website also hosts a range of activity sheets and games for families in the home environment and includes KAWS’ ‘Draw a Friend for BFF’ activity created for children to draw their own characters. This activity featured in the NGV’s recent KAWS: PLAYTIME exhibition, which was presented alongside the NGV’s blockbuster KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness.

"We hope that our activities and games will empower children's positive thinking and mental wellbeing while at home. It is widely understood that art and making are deeply therapeutic, and we hope that children and families can use these resources to relax and connect. The activities have been created to occupy young minds, nurture their creativity and hopefully have lots of fun along the way,” said Kate Ryan, Curator of Children’s Programs, NGV.

OTHER NGV STUDENT LEARNING RESOURCES
Digital Creatives is designed for students who have an interest in technology. Inspired by art, this suite of activities provides the foundations for building code and using simple software programs. These activities integrate STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) with the visual arts, and provide an authentic context for developing critical and creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Digital Creatives activities include workshop instructions on how to create tessellation patterns, inspired by the art of M.C. Escher, using simple coding. Students can also access a coding guide to create their very own video game controller inspired by iconic video game Space Invaders displayed in the MoMA at NGV exhibition.

Great Art Ideas are curriculum linked lesson plans for primary school students, aged between 6 and 11 years old. These practical activities explore the NGV Collection and encourage students to consider the ideas and meanings behind some of the world’s great art and design, whilst creating their own artwork using readily available art materials. Activities include Pop Art Portraits which encourages children to consider what is a self-portrait and the concept of self-representation, as well as Dramatic Painting: Animals in Art which explores animal stories and animal symbolism. These activities can be carried out at home, with step-by-step instructions and include photographs of completed examples.

“The NGV has been at the forefront of art education for seventy years. We are proud to provide students and teachers in the Victorian community and beyond with such a rich offering of digital learning opportunities. Our virtual excursions will ensure that students will continue to benefit from our teaching program, while our online resources will support student learning anywhere at anytime” said Michele Stockley, Head of Learning and Education, NGV.

TOP ARTS HUB – A RESOURCE FOR VCE STUDENTS
Running for more than 25 years at the NGV, the annual Top Arts exhibition celebrates some of Victoria’s best young artists, presenting the exceptional work of VCE Arts and VCE Studio Arts students. The Top Arts 2020 web resource includes photographs of all exhibiting works, an insightful essay from NGV curator, David Menzies, and selected student folios with annotations from VCAA State Reviewers which highlight connections to the requirements of the Study Design criteria. A virtual exhibition tour of Top Arts 2020 will be available April 1, and a guided video tour with curator David Menzies, will be available April 2. An extensive archive of student’s annotated folios and works from previous years is also available through Top Arts Hub on the NGV website.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ART AND DESIGN THROUGH NGV EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDES
Learning resources, which provide context on historical and contemporary art and design from the NGV’s exhibition program, have been created for students and teachers. Introducing some of history’s most influential artists, these resources include question prompts to encourage critical thinking and visual literacy skills, and readings which reveal the stories behind the art and highlight key exhibition themes. Resources are available in PowerPoint, video and worksheet format, and include NGV exhibitions such as Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines, Hokusai, and Van Gogh and the Seasons.

MAKE YOUR OWN STOP MOTION ANIMATION WITH THE TROMORAMIX KIDS IPAD APP
The NGV Kids exhibition Open House: Tromorama for Kids welcomed children into a house of fun where familiar domestic scenes were recreated in an immersive and highly interactive environment. Relating to the exhibition, the Tromoramix Kids iPad App brings everyday objects to life using stop motion animation techniques and is available to download via the Apple iPad App Store for free. This easy to use, rewarding app allows children to create short animations that can be shared with friends and family.