Grade 1 to 3 Programs

Designed to reflect curriculum expectations, these programs encourage the development of students’ abilities to comprehend, negotiate, and derive meaning from visual information contained in works of art.

Fee: $8 per student with the required two-hour booking, $6 per student with a three-hour booking

This fun and interactive program exposes students to a variety of artistic styles and introduce the idea of “reading the art”- finding stories within an artwork. Guided viewing gently encourages visual exploration, while the incorporation of music and movement fosters creative storytelling.

Students explore a variety of artwork in the gallery and develop an appreciation for the composition of visual forms by focusing on elements of design such as colour, shape, and line. Discussion ill takes place around an artist’s personal style, choice of subject matter, and students’ individual interpretive responses to the work.

Through storytelling and a guided viewing of artwork, students discover the multicultural mosaic of Canadian art and explore how tradition and geography shape of identity. Hands-on activities further engage younger students.

Taking advantage of the spectacular gallery grounds adjacent to the Humber River Valley, also known as the Carrying Place Trail, these outdoor programs nurture connections to nature and promote environmental stewardship.

Fee: $8 per student with the required two-hour booking, $6 per student with a three-hour booking

Set on the spectacular McMichael grounds and available year-round, this tour takes students on a fun and exciting nature expedition. Through a series of outdoor activities, students will explore stories and the relationships between art, history, flora and fauna.

Art-in-Action Workshops offer students an opportunity to discuss artistic concepts and respond creatively with artmaking.

Fee: $16 per student or $12 per student when booked with additional programs

Workshops are divided as follows:

	In-Gallery
	In-Gallery / Outdoor
	Outdoor

Bringing together guided art viewing and artmaking, this program combines hands-on activities with a discovery of artworks from the McMichael collection. Students explore the colour wheel and discuss the how colour can be used to express feelings and emotions along with the relationship of colour to light. The program includes a pencil crayon drawing workshop inspired by colour theory.

Students try their hand at creating an artwork “en plein air,” one of Canada’s most unique painting traditions. The program begins with a guided viewing of landscape paintings by members of the Group of Seven that includes an introduction to vantage point, foreground, middle ground and background. Students then go out on the grounds for a short exploratory nature hike. The outdoor workshop reinforces the previously discussed concepts and include a hands-on exploration of colours and textures leading to a final piece of art using watercolour pencil crayons created in the open air surrounding the McMichael.

Weather sensitive program! Please dress appropriately depending on the season.

Each McMichael Signature Studio is a two-hour, process-oriented workshop led by professional art instructors and developed in collaboration with established Canadian artists. The programs are designed to foster creativity, develop manual skills, and to position the artistic process as a tool for personal and collective expression.

Fee: $16 per student or $12 per student when booked with additional programs

Starting with a close look at nature and discussion of various cultural concepts of landscape, this mixed media studio incorporates a contemporary approach to this genre emphasizing individual reaction and emotional connection to the land. Students start from an initial compositional study then explore a variety of materials including collage, pastel, plasticine and watercolour. Throughout the artmaking process students learn about painting perspective, identifying a focal point, and working with a palette inspired by nature.

This studio was developed in collaboration with Don Chretien, an Ojibwe artist, designer and educator who is inspired by the natural world and the visual storytelling style of Norval Morrisseau and the Anishinaabe School of Painters. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to look at the natural world through works of art, images, and real objects from nature, and creatively respond using a variety of materials and techniques. The studio culminates with a mixed media piece of art reflective of their personal relationship to the environment and the many stories within it.

Discover the art of Canada while saving on busing costs! Book an Art2Go program and McMichael instructors will bring their expertise right to your classroom! Please note that each studio program is preceded by a digital presentation introducing the McMichael.

Fee: $18 per student

Starting with a close look at nature and discussion of various cultural concepts of landscape, this mixed media studio incorporates a contemporary approach to this genre emphasizing individual reaction and emotional connection to the land. Students start from an initial compositional study then explore a variety of materials including collage, pastel, plasticine and watercolour. Throughout the artmaking process students learn about painting perspective, identifying a focal point, and working with a palette inspired by nature.

This studio was developed in collaboration with Don Chretien, an Ojibwe artist, designer and educator who is inspired by the natural world and the visual storytelling style of Norval Morrisseau and the Anishinaabe School of Painters. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to look at the natural world through works of art, images, and real objects from nature, and creatively respond using a variety of materials and techniques. The studio culminates with a mixed media piece of art reflective of their personal relationship to the environment and the many stories within it.

These highly interactive virtual programs guide students through the process of looking at, analyzing and interpreting artworks featured in the gallery’s permanent collection while learning about different styles of art and how they are created.

Fee: $10 per student

Young learners enjoy getting a different view of the world as seen through the artist’s window in a selection of artworks in the McMichael’s permanent collection. Interactive activities introduce the elements of design including colour, line, and shape and collaborative storytelling engages students’ literacy skills. A final artmaking activity encourages students’ creative responses and self-expression.

Explore some of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson’s most iconic paintings from the McMichael’s collection during this interactive program. Students are introduced to the distinctive styles of each member of the Group and learn about how the Group and Thomson’s legacies continue to inspire artists more than 100 years later.

Explore the artwork of Norval Morrisseau and other artists working in the style of the Anishinaabe School of Painting during this interactive program. Discover how Morrisseau employs the elements and principles of design and how his iconic style influenced other artists such as Carl Ray and Blake Debassige.