Art Exhibition and Artist-in-Residence

Artist-in-Residence: Two weeks flew by and it seemed that no sooner had Colin Gibbs unpacked all his paints and art paraphernalia and it was time for him to pack it all up again. Colin Gibbs who became affectionately known as ColinGibbs (all one word) to the children during his stay here, came, not to teach art, but to BE an artist in full view of students, teachers and parents. I personally have loved having him at school. Every morning it was such a pleasure and a treat to rush down to Kakariki art studio and see what Colin had done overnight. I had trouble staying away as the artworks were gradually (or sometimes suddenly) revealed over time. Many children were just like me. The first thing they did in the morning was to rush down to see ColinGibbs and what had transpired overnight. The last thing they did in the afternoon as they were leaving was to go and take one last look for the day and say goodbye to ColinGibbs.

Having an artist-in-residence is something we have wanted since the school opened, but it took this long to find the space in our busy life as a school to organise it. The residency exceeded my expectations. It was such a rich, fruitful experience. What I particularly noticed was that with Colin painting in the Kakariki art studio it became a space of stillness and quiet for children. Though Colin was working, he was not doing busy work. Rather he was working, but not rushing, and very accessible to children and they loved this. A few children spent every moment they could in the art studio. Initially they spent their time telling Colin their stories, but eventually they would go to the studio and quietly settle down and create artworks alongside him.

I am looking forward to carrying out a more formal (but small) research project which will help us to understand more fully the impact and value of the Artist-in-Residence.

Data Collection: I would really appreciate you telling me, or emailing me any stories you might have about your child's experience of the residency. For example, what did your child come home and tell you about ColinGibbs and what he was doing in the art studio? What was your experience? Did you see value in it for your child? Please do not hesitate to tell me anything....no information is too small in research. In fact, we don't know what is important until we start hearing people's stories ....so anything, please.

Art Exhibition and Auction: This term the students are working on creating artworks for an exhibition and art auction (to raise funds for the ongoing development of our grounds - in particular senior playground equipment). We had a meeting with Colin last week to work out an exact date for the art exhibition at which he will also be exhibiting the artworks he created during the residency. We could not find a date that suited this term so have postponed the art exhibition until the end of week 2, term 3.

Art exhibition/auction: Friday evening, 1 August 2014

Keep this evening free and book a babysitter