Art appreciation course for kids - London

[amtwixi888]

Hi all,

I am in the process of setting up my art appreciation course for kids (7-12). It will be a year long course where kids will be encouraged to look at the range of artworks very carefully, to learn about a particular art period or an artist, to have a go at a practical task to embed knowledge and vitally kids will be encouraged to share their observations and thoughts.

What is currently bothering me is that I do not see much of competition. I see art classes which use famous artist work to focus on art work creation, but not really much in space of learning to think about art in depth. And while it may seem great, that I have found a niche market I would like to establish, I also think that I simply not managed to come across it in my research. If you know of some, could you please reply? Also, any thoughts on course idea in general would be appreciated.

This is the sort of thing my 10 year old would love - she’s currently deep into colour theory but taking her to galleries is an absolute pleasure as she’s so engaged. Most art classes tend to be about the creating for this age group rather than analysis. Academic type courses tend to be for older age groups. I think you may struggle to find a market but if I were in London my daughter would be a customer.

Thank you so much for response, Enb76. Yes, I appreciate this will not be for every family, so I am focusing on small groups 8-10 kids at most and only select locations in Central London.

Artescape in Islington

Footle, brilliant, thank you.

Are you focusing purely on appreciation, not on creating? Artescape, I thought, is more about children using materials to make work inspired by an artwork or artist. I would have thought that the reason there’s no competition for appreciation only is that it’s straightforward and free just to take your child to galleries in London.

NightScented, thank you for your input. I agree, definitely, taking kids to see art in the gallery is not only straightforward and free, it is also always the best way to study the original, but if a parent is like my husband, for example, he can take kids to gallery, but he will stand there and do not have confidence to start talking about artwork. Also, some degree of a specialist knowledge required to help make connections between different periods and different artist, as art is a lot like a Chinese puzzle, right? Once again, thank you very much for your feedback, gives me an indication that I will need to make it clear on how course is different to a one off visit to a gallery.

Don't get me wrong, it sounds great, OP I have a seven year old who is very receptive to art but if we were still living in London now, I would be wondering what it is that your course offers that he would not get from regular gallery visits with me (not an art historian, but reasonably knowledgeable), or what, say, the Estorick education programme offers, as you're in the neighbourhood.

Maybe you could make it clear on your promotional material whether you do gallery visits, or to working artists' studios, or have artists come in to talk about their work, or anything that sets it apart from just me talking about Michael Craig-Martin's 'An Oak Tree' in the Tate...

@NightScented Thank you, it is very generous of you to spare time for feedback and insight. Noted!

I would also be very interested, but I would far prefer this sort of approach to be available as holiday courses/ one off events rather than a year's 'course'.

@onemouseplace You provided valuable input, thank you. Course is structured to run in two parts Oct and Jan start times, with an opportunity of free tester session prior to signing up to ensure that parents have an opportunity to assess if course is right for their children. It would be difficult to expose kids to the wealth of art history and help them to understand overall development of art in one off lesson. It is also key that children feel empowered to actively engage in analysing and understanding art work plus expressing their understanding confidently in a group, so course is build to allow for such skills to develop. However, once again, I see your point and will make sure to provide people with alternative ways to engage with art. I am very passionate about subject, so the more people find their way to expose kids to wealth of art history, the better!

I would be interested in your course for my child who is 8.

We aren't in London but if we were, my 9 year old DD would LOVE this.