Annual Report 2008-2009 - National Gallery of Canada

Education
Priority: Offer a rich calendar of educational programs.
School Program
This fiscal year marked a year-long review of school programs
at the Gallery. The current menu of 61 programs was reduced by
removing some activities that were not performing at expectation.
Aspects of the overall school program, which is supported
by the RBC Foundation, were reviewed including the reservation
process, program scheduling, duration, delivery, cost and
promotion. The research tools included written post-visit
evaluations from teacher and tour operators, focus groups with
elementary and secondary teachers, phone surveys with tour
group operators, a web survey for teachers and group tour
operators, and benchmarking at other national museums and
major art museums. The new offerings will be available for the
2009–10 school year. Attendance was lower than the previous
year. This was to be expected with the closure of many galleries
as a result of the renovation project, as well as the non-availability
of Studio 3 for more than eight weeks. The bus strike
affected the attendance of some of the special needs groups
that depended on public transportation to get to the Gallery.
Docent Program
A major initiative to recruit new docents was launched in
September 2008. The process began with half-day mandatory
information/orientation sessions – two in French and two in
English – for individuals interested in volunteering at the
Gallery. The sessions attracted more than 160 people and the
Gallery selected some 40 new docents to begin the training
process.
Accessibility Program
The growing list of accessibility programming, funded generously
by The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, continued
apace, with the Gallery’s accessibility education officer conducting
outreach sessions with sister institutions, including
the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI. A
national web survey of college and university professors was
conducted as the first step toward developing new, postsecondary
educational programming, to be supported by RBC
Foundation within the School Program.
Family and Children’s Programs
As part of the ongoing review and revitalization of the Artissimo
family program, new in-gallery looking and art-making activities
were evaluated during the year. The Art Buddies, Feely
Boxes and Art from Above activities underwent formative
evaluation and a final version of the Art from Above activity
was launched this fiscal year as planned. Two new activities for
families are in development thanks to the generous support
from TELUS. Large-scale reproductions of William Kurelek’s
Manitoba Party and Piero di Cosimo’s Vulcan and Aeolus were
installed in the Artissimo Gallery. Family and youth program
participation decreased by 32% over last year because the
Gallery offered 33% less programming, including fewer weeks
of summer camps and one less Family Funday, and did not
offer daily studio activities in conjunction with the summer
exhibition.
The Teen Council developed and offered Off-the-Wall art
workshops that were well attended.
Adult Programs
The adult programs were reviewed to ensure that they respond
to changing demographics. The following criter ia were used:
“fit” with adults’ expressed needs, attainment of intended
learning outcomes, use of the collections, distinctness from
other adult programs, and cost. New programs will be offered
next year.
A national web survey of post-secondary professors (college
and university) and University Art Association of Canada
(UAAC) members was launched. Over 139 responded and commented
on their visitation patterns and logistics, on what
types of programs and resources – on-site and online – would
be of benefit to them and their students.
A new lecture series, Curators on Collections, was modestly
received, while the lecture on Bernini was very well attended.
Two partnerships have attracted large audiences – The Inside-
Out Film Festival in October with over 1,215 attendees and the
finals of the Regional Improv Games with more than 450.
The NGC Volunteer Circle undertook a review of their program
with the support of the Education and Public Programteam.
Participation in School Programs Projected Actual
2008–09 2008–09
School group visits 1,500 1,523
Number of participants on-site 50,000 60,743
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