Koffler Centre of the Arts

The Koffler Gallery's Education team offers year-round virtual workshops for elementary and high school students based on the current exhibitions.

Exhibition: The Spiders and the Bees

Examining our ability to see, process and recognize the visual forms of the past in a ‘post-historical’ era, François Xavier Saint-Pierre’s work in The Spiders and the Bees explores pictorial ambiguity through fragmentation and seriality. Using classical architectural and sculptural forms as a starting point, he creates imaginary landscapes that evoke the history of painting while pushing representation to the edge of legibility.

Addressing the legacy of modernist painting and the persistence of classical tropes, this exhibition examines the myths, continuities and fractures of Art History's model of progress. It leads us to also consider how certain cultural forms are repeated for political use.

François Xavier Saint-Pierre, The Other Banner Held Aloft, oil on panel, 18 x 25 cm, 2017.

Virtual Workshops: Elementary Students

Same but Different: Creating New Meanings from Old Motifs
In this one-hour workshop, elementary students will learn about motifs by investigating the use and symbolism of motifs in art from the past to the present day, and by creating their own motif.

Through a virtual tour of The Spiders and the Bees, students will learn about how the meaning and intent of motifs evolved throughout art history and put their observation skills to the test with a game of ‘Spot the Difference’. Then, students will participate in an activity where they can colour-in a motif based on themes such as time of day, emotion, and season, demonstrating their own creative interpretations.

Workshops will take place on Zoom
Length of workshop: 1 hour (20 minutes for tour and discussion, 40 minutes for activity 1 and 2)
Materials: computer/laptop, internet browser, colouring sheet, pencil crayons and markers

Elementary School Workshop – Same but Different Lesson Plan (PDF)

Virtual Workshops: High School Students

The Landscape of Monuments
In this one-hour workshop, students will be given a virtual tour of the exhibition, a presentation on contemporary and historical monuments and their respective environments, and an overview on the evolution of monument types over time and how public debates directed those changes. Through art-making and discussion, students will gain a renewed perspective on monuments, their relationships with landscapes and contexts, and the public demographics they exclude.

Workshops will take place on Google Meets
Length of workshop: 1 hour (10 mins tour, 10 mins brainstorming, 10 mins lecture, 15 mins activity, 15 mins presentation)
Materials: access to an internet browser, paper, scissors, glue, drawing utensils

High School Workshop – The Landscape of Monuments Lesson Plan (PDF)

For more information or to reach a member of the Koffler team, please email: info@kofflerarts.org