Engage Scotland
Engage Scotland is part of engage, the professional gallery education association promoting access to enjoyment and understanding of the visual arts in the UK and internationally.
There are over 100 members of engage, representing over 40 organisations, artists and freelance gallery educators from across Scotland. Members include The National Galleries of Scotland; Glasgow Museums; The Travelling Gallery; The Pier Arts Centre, Stromness; Project Ability, Glasgow; Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen.
What is gallery education?
Gallery education is a new and changing body of practice that exists to broaden understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts, through projects and programmes that help schoolchildren and the wider community become confident in their understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts and galleries.
Many galleries and art museums around the world now have gallery education departments, and gallery education programmes organised and delivered by gallery education staff, working with artist-educators, artists, teachers, professional partners and community leaders.
Gallery educators work as:
- creative catalysts - working with artists, curators, and the community to create new projects to help people engage with practising artists
- audience champions - representing schools' and communities' needs and expectations in the gallery or museum
- access and education experts - understanding and planning for the needs of different users, including different learning styles and cross-curricular opportunities
- advocates and project managers - promoting and delivering projects and programmes.
Gallery education includes:
- promoting visual literacy - helping people develop the tools and vocabulary to experience and respond to art
- unlocking creativity - stimulating people to explore their own creative potential, to make art themselves, and to pursue careers in the creative industries
- cultural empowerment - building people's confidence with and understanding of artists, galleries, arts centres, art museums.
Gallery education can:
- help schoolchildren expand and enrich their learning about art
- give young people the chance to re-engage with art and culture
- enable people to meet live artists and develop careers in the arts
- reach out to community groups to build renewed contact with culture.
Contact engage Scotland for further information on gallery eduation in Scotland at scotland@engage.org