1-HOUR WORKSHOPS

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

ART DETECTIVES
GRADES 1 – 3

In this workshop, students will engage in hands-on art activities to better understand artists’ individual styles and their use of the elements of design. The final drawing activity will allow students to create a postcard reflecting their own personal style. If preferred, teachers can choose an artistic movement or a specific artist to focus on. 

Curriculum Connection: VA

COLOUR CONCEPTS 
GRADES 4 – 6

Students will investigate the colour connections between vibrant works from the McMichael collection. The activities will build an understanding of colour relationships such as complimentary, monochromatic, and analogous colours, with an emphasis on the use of colour for expressive purposes. The workshop includes a 40-minute artmaking activity inspired by colour theory.   

Curriculum Connection: VA

CROSSING-THE-LINE SKETCHING WORKSHOP 
GRADES 7 – 8, 9 – 12 

Students will explore drawings, sketches and other works of art from the McMichael’s collection and learn about drawing as fundamental tool in making art and as its own medium. This program includes a 40-minute drawing workshop that features an introduction to basic drawing techniques and a final critique.

Curriculum Connection: VA

ART AND POETRY SLAM 
GRADES 7 – 8, 9 – 12

The program examines the idea of artistic inspiration and the connection between words and images. Drawing on the works of poets and writers whose work is featured in the McMichael’s collection, including J.E.H. MacDonald and Emily Carr, students will create their own haiku poem inspired by a work of art.

Curriculum Connections: VA, L, E

2-HOUR WORKSHOPS

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

EN PLEIN AIR ADVENTURE*
GRADES 1 – 3, 4 – 8, 9 – 12

Students will experience and discuss what it means to create an artwork “en plein air,” beginning with close observation of landscape paintings by members of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries from the McMichael’s collection. Students will then go out on the grounds to experience for themselves the challenges artists encounter when working outdoors. This 40-minute outdoor workshop includes a discussion of vantage point, landscape composition, and the relationship between light and colour. 

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

Curriculum Connection: VA

SKETCHING WITH TOM THOMSON*
GRADES 4 – 8, 9 – 12

Students will discover original paintings by Tom Thomson and visit the Tom Thomson Shack located on the McMichael’s grounds. This workshop is the perfect mix of discovery, artmaking, and storytelling. Students will hear stories about the famed Canadian artist’s life and legacy and learn about the history of the Thomson Shack before participating in a 50-minute Thomson-inspired outdoor artmaking workshop. 

Curriculum Connection: VA
*Not available from December 1 to April 30

LEARNING FROM THE LAND*
GRADES 6 – 8

Developed in collaboration with local Indigenous community elders, traditional teachers and environmental leaders, this outdoor program explores the human footprint on the environment through the lenses of both traditional Indigenous knowledge and scientific inquiry. The program is centred around Indigenous plants and their medicinal and nutritional properties, as well as discussions about the importance of environmental responsibility. The program culminates in a field-sketching art activity. 

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

Curriculum Connection: VA, SS, ST, EE, FNMI
*Not available from November 1 to April 30