Ako | Learn | Hastings City Art Gallery

Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga - Hastings City Art Gallery offers free education programmes to all levels and learning abilities. Our dynamic programmes and art-making workshops encourage tamariki and rangatahi to explore their personal responses to, and deepen their understanding of, contemporary art.

Our education programmes change regularly with our exhibitions. They are easily tailored to individual classes' learning outcomes and students of all learning abilities.

We can also bring our interactive programmes to you, so students can engage with contemporary art within the familiarity of a school setting. To see our latest Education Newsletter, with all our Term 4, 2023 programmes click here.

Each of our programmes are developed in line with the New Zealand National Curriculum, and are supported by the Ministry of Education’s ELC (Education Outside The Classroom) programme.

Please note, our education programme takes precautions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and visitors at all times. For more information about our Health & Safety guidelines, please get in touch.

If you would like to make an enquiry or booking, please contact us on 027 332 5496 or email galleryeducator@hdc.govt.nz.

Enriching Visual Language

Available 8th October – 13th December | This programme is aimed at enriching ākonga understanding and knowledge around the exhibitions showing at the time of your visit and the function of an art gallery. It will incorporate at least one hands-on activity. Suitable for Years 1-13. Free, 60 minutes.

My Home Town in Art

Available all year. In this programme, students will look at how artists have captured the Hawke's Bay through landscape art. We will think about our associations with local places, and how artists depict nature, landscape and place in their art.

Public Art Walking Tour

Students learn about the origins of Street Art - both overseas, and here in Aotearoa. We will embark on a walking tour of Hastings, examining local examples of Street Art, and the meanings and motifs behind the works. Programme FREE of charge | Year Levels: Primary, Intermediate and Secondary

Environmental Art (offsite programme)

Available all year. In Environmental Art, students will explore the ephemeral artworks of Andy Goldsworthy. We will learn more about the ways in which Goldsworthy rearranges natural forms in his artwork, and the surprising effects this creates. We also will think about why artists create artwork using natural materials, and how this process can help us gain a deeper connection to Papatūānuku.

Virtual Classroom

Available all year | We are now offering afternoon Zoom classes. Come for a walk around the gallery with our educator and feel as if you are there in person! We can also package up the materials needed to complete a related art activity for you to do in school, as a post-tour activity.

Collage and Zine-Making (offsite programme)

Available all year. In this offsite programme, we explore the fascinating world of collage art together! We will look at a brief history of collage, as well as the artists who pioneered this movement.

Bespoke Programmes and Gallery Tours

Available all year. If our programmes don't suit your learning focus, we can run a bespoke programme tailored to your specific learning needs. We can explore the gallery spaces, make art together, or work with a particular theme relevant to exhibitions on display and your focus.

Birgit Moffatt: Ko Papatūānuku e takoto ake nei (Online Learning Pack)

Available all year. In this online learning pack, students will have the chance to explore Birgit Moffatt exhibition. This learning pack includes a information sheets, worksheet, art activity and an experiment.

Andy Leleisi’uao: KAMOAN MINE (Online Learning Pack)

Available all year. In this online learning pack, students will have the chance to explore Andy Leleisi'uao's paintings in depth, and work as art detectives to learn more about the diverse themes that inform his artwork.

Previous Learn Programmes

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