A new generation of artists could be in the making if the Image Factory Art Gallery has its way. Today the Factory launched an art manual which will be distributed to all schools. It shows instructors how to teach art to primary schoolers using simplified techniques and affordable materials. Gilvano Swasey says that with this, children's appreciation for art should be developed at an early stage.
Gilvano Swasey,
"We tried to work with projects that were very economic, things that are being recycled, things that you can find in the yard, in the beach and so forth. And so we looked at all those aspects; creating the art and using specific material. We basically formalized a manual that has all these aspects and it is in a gradual stage, it is not just jumping straight at art. It is like starting with drawings, understanding your tools, your pencils, your brush, and so forth, and at the end of the book you learn about different cultures and you also learn how art will help you in other projects.
What we had done is not just take it from a visual perspective but also from an intellectual perspective. There has been art in schools being taught already but not really in a structured sense or maybe in a developmental stage, meaning art was just seen as a little extra to distract the kids from the everyday class. So I think in this format where it is in a developmental stage when you learn, and also too its designed in a sense where it has already been researched so the teacher doesn't have to spend time worrying they will do the next day. It is already there. It has already been tested with these actual teachers so it is going to be very easy. It is kind of like a reflection of what we had gone through with the workshop but also it is also like an assistance to them and basically structuring the kids and looking at school work and also understanding their culture."
