The Art Gallery and Museum provides fun and interactive learning programmes to suit school groups of all ages. School visits are tailored to meet the needs of students through facilitated discussions, hands-on activities and engagement with real experiences. Contact our educator to book your visit.
If you are wanting resources on particular topics for your kura do contact me. Between our archives, collections and resources we have a vast wealth of information about our local history and visual art.
All programmes have been tailored to suit
- Years 1- 3
- Year 4-6
- Year 7-10
Senior secondary programmes and resources are created to suit particular standards on request.
What's on this term
Clever Crustaceans
Exhibition: Clever Crustaceans
Curriculum Links: Science
Dates: 28 September – 24 November (Term 3 Week 10 - Term 4 Week 6)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Crabs, lobsters, shrimp – they’re Aotearoa New Zealand’s most famous crustaceans. Now meet the wider gang, from barnacles with superglue to slaters in the backyard. Explore the unique features of five marine crustaceans, and take a dive into their world. Discover these crustaceans’ smart survival tricks in a mini exhibition with real specimens and hands-on interactives, created by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in collaboration with NIWA Taihoro Nukurangi.
Tūhura | Explore The variety of unique and fascinating creatures in our oceans
Ako | Learn About how crustaceans' brains and bodies function together
Waihanga | Create Make a class film in our shadow puppet stage set using the shadow puppets we each make of new species of crustaceans.
Optional second workshop - in the AV studio at the library to edit and add sound to the film.
Image | Up-close image of Phronima, courtesy of Mike Stukel.
Domain Tales: 160 years of the Ashburton Domain
Exhibition: 160 years of the Ashburton Domain
Curriculum Links: Social Science, History
Dates: 27 July – 31 October (Term 3 Week 2 - Term 4 Week 3)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Grandly named The Grange on Ashburton's first map in 1864, this fenced off area designated for recreation was largely indistinguishable from the untouched countryside around it. It wasn’t until 1877 when a newly appointed gardener began a systematic programme of planting that the area began to develop. Today known as the Ashburton Domain, it has evolved into a versatile and much loved recreational area for our town. In this exhibition, objects, archives and photographs will explore some of the tales associated with the Domain's 160 year history.
Tūhura | Explore The significant and varied history of the Ashburton Domain
Ako | Learn About how this landscape has grown and developed alongside the recreational wants and needs of Ashburtonians
Field Trip | Explore the Domain through a Then and Now Tour of areas where activities and important events took place
Toro, Jenna Packer
Exhibition: Solo exhibition, Jenna Packer
Curriculum Links: Visual Art
Dates: 28 October – 01 December (Term 4 Week 3 - Term 4 Week 7)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Jenna Packer’s work looks to the various structures that shape the lives of people – social, political, religious and economic – and the tension that occurs within or between them. In this exhibition she looks back at over a decade of utilising the bull as a symbol, one commonly associated with free market economics: the logos of financial companies, the bull statue at Wall Street, or the term ‘bull market’. Packer’s work incorporates this symbol as a literal structure; as monoliths built by speculative future societies, or as totems encountered in an imagined past. It alludes to the power that symbols also have in shaping societies, and how they accrue meaning across time and context.
Tūhura | Explore The symbolism in these works used to present alternative social and colonial histories
Ako | Learn How to create metaphors for things that are important to us, through a series of activities
Waihanga | Create A sculpture that reflects the personal metaphor created
Pāua Play, Jane Venis
Exhibition: Pāua Play, Jane Venis
Curriculum Links: Visual Art, Music, History
Dates: 28 October – 01 December (Term 4 Week 3 - Term 4 Week 7)
Time: 60-90 minutes
For this exhibition, Jane Venis has hand-built a variety of instruments that incorporate the culturally potent material of pāua shell. Both the ukelele and pāua have been historically devalued within the Pacific – sold as cheap and kitschy tourist souvenirs, which has exploited their status as taonga for their respective cultures. Here, Jane combines the two to produce contemporary Kiwiana, and along with other instruments, forms an ensemble that evaluates where the line might lie between trinket and treasure.
Tūhura | Explore The history of paua and ukelele as taonga
Ako | Learn About Pacific sound and the features of instruments
Waihanga | Create Musical instruments to play as a class band
An Iconography of Doubt: Paintings of Collective and Private Disaster, Esther Deans
Exhibition: An Iconography of Doubt: Paintings of Collective and Private Disaster, Esther Deans
Curriculum Links: Visual Art
Dates: 28 October – 13 December (Term 4 Week 3 - Term 4 Week 9)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Esther Deans’ thesis exhibition is an accumulation of ideas and imagery from four years of study towards her PhD through the Auckland University of Technology. This research was a personal investigation into her experiences and preoccupations, including ideas about eschatology, time, literature, art history, memory, and nature. In these works she draws on novels, films, and everyday structures to create an iconography that responds to personal and collective disaster.
Tūhura | Explore The push and pull of paint and space combined with muted colour palettes in these works
Ako | Learn Develop painting techniques and learn about principles of art
Waihanga | Create A still life painting on canvas
Bridging the Chasm - 150 years of Ashburton District Railway
Exhibition: Bridging the Chasm - 150 years of Ashburton District Railway
Curriculum Links: History, Technology
Dates: 13 November 2024 – 02 March 2025 (Term 4 Week 5 - Term 1 2025, Week 4)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Arriving in August 1874, the Great Southern Railway opened Ashburton to the world. The station became the arrival and departure platform for thousands of people coming and going over the next 128 years. It was, in its heyday, the central hub for our community. A railway trip was a day out at the beach or to the city. Soldiers left for war, many never to return. Immigrants arrived for a new life, a chance to start afresh, and the all-important goods and mail delivery via the railway was a lifeline to the wider world.
Tūhura | Explore How the railway transformed the way people moved around the district and enabled businesses to grow
Ako | Learn About the invention of the steam engine and how it revolutionised the world as we know it
Waihanga | Create A 3D card model of a steam train
Lost Luggage
Exhibition: Lost Luggage
Curriculum Links: Social Sciences, English
Dates: 04 December 2024 – 16 March 2025 (Term 4 Week 8 - Term 1 2025, Week 4)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Curious about the items that end up in Lost Luggage at a railway or bus station? This exhibition will display a selection of ordinary and not so ordinary items that people have lost, and explore what lost suitcases and bags have contained.
Tūhura | Explore The items that people have taken with them on journeys and how their loss may have impacted their lives
Ako | Learn How to create an impactful visual and written story
Waihanga | Create A model suitcase and a diary excerpt about the suitcase owner's journey
Falling if not Flying, Michael Greaves
Exhibition: Falling if not Flying
Curriculum Links: Visual Art, Classical Studies
Dates: 09 December 2024 – 07 February 2025 (Term 4 Week 9 - Term 4, Week 10)
Time: 60-90 minutes
Falling if not Flying builds on the last four years of Michael Greaves’ painting practice, from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the limits of extremes, failing memory and interpretation. Using the parable of Icarus, Greaves projects the unsureness of boundaries, complex systems, and faith.
Tūhura | Explore The visual cues in the artworks and their connections to the artist's intention
Ako | Learn Compare and contrast varied interpretations of the artworks to develop a fresh perspective
Waihanga | Create A painting on linen in the style of the artist
Permanent programmes
Domain Tales
A tour through the Domain using a map from 1937 and photos from our collection to compare and contrast the changes and develop our navigation skills.
Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Gardens
Learn about the Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden site and glimpse inside this amazing piece of history that gives insight into both Chinese maket gardening opertaions, as well as providing a social history of settlers who migrated to New Zealand, how they lived, contributed to and integrated into New Zealand society.
Hakatere Ashburton History
A great introduction to our local geography and history.
Living on the Land: Tākata Whenua o Hakatere
Learn about the area as it was used by tākata whenua. Explore mahika kai, tools and aspects of living.
The History of Irrigation and Agriculture
Water has had a huge impact on all aspects of the Canterbury Plains Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha. Learn about and explore how water has moved throughout the district and enabled agriculture to grow.
Exploring Drawing
Charcoal | Pencil | Pen + Wash
Taking inspiration from artworks in our collection such as Trees, Kakahu River by D. Waddington, explore a variety of drawing mediums and techniques.
David Elliot Style Illustration
Watercolour
Learn about how David Elliot’s animals and fantastical creatures come to life on paper with imagination, expressive strokes and
subtle colour combinations as we see here in Cover illustration - 100 New Zealand Poems for Children by David Elliot.
Exploring Printmaking
Intaglio | Woodcut | Screenprint | Lithograph
A selection of prints from our collection, including Many Uncoded Factors by Michael Armstrong which showcase and highlight different types of printmaking. Start a printmaking journey making monoprints. This can lead on to printmaking workshops.
Experimenting with Paint
Oil | Acrylic | Watercolour | Mixed Media
Experiment with various painting approaches and media through looking at paintings from our collection like Rain Man Over Ashburton by Euan Macleod.
Tell us your interests
Do you have an idea for a learning programme at Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum?
Our educator can design a creative learning experience tailored to the needs and interests of your early childhood, primary and secondary school groups. Simply, contact us with your idea and we will work together to create a programme for your students.
Planning a visit
Materials:
All materials for workshops at the Gallery and Museum and at schools will be provided unless stated otherwise. School visits will require schools to provide a projector and full classroom space.
Ratios:
For visiting the Gallery and Museum, we recommend organising an adult to student ratio of:
– 1:5 for Years 0-3
– 1:8 for Years 4-8
– 1:15 for Years 9-10
– 1:30 for Years 11-13
If would be helpful if teachers are able to carry a class register in the case of an emergency.
Arriving at the Gallery and Museum:
The Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum is located on 327 West Street. The Gallery is situated on the first floor and the Museum is on the ground floor. If you are planning to arrive before 10:00am, please inform a Gallery and Museum staff member so they are able to let you into the building. The doors automatically open at 10:00am. For everyone’s enjoyment please ensure that students demonstrate respect to our other visitors.
Help us protect the exhibitions at the Gallery and Museum:
If possible we would advise leaving bags at school, however, if necessary bags can be left in the Learning Centre on arrival. Food and drink are not permitted in the Gallery and Museum spaces. However, food can be consumed in the Learning Centre area if needed. No pens or sharp objects are allowed in the Gallery and Museum spaces. Please let the Gallery and Museum staff know if you wish to photograph the artwork, teachers are more than welcome to take pictures of their students in the Gallery and Museum spaces and Learning Centre. Please emphasise to students the importance of not touching any artworks or objects on display. We don’t mind talking and noise in the Gallery and Museum but for safety reasons, we do not allow running in the foyer or exhibition spaces.
Risk Assessment and Management (RAMs):
Please download and read.
Publicity:
Gallery and Museum staff love documenting school visits so please advise us if your students do not wish to be photographed.