Molcan (pictured) said it is a great feeling to see the excitement the children have when they practice printmaking. Photo courtesy of the Nanaimo Art Gallery

For over 25 years the Nanaimo Art Gallery has offered their Artists in the Schools program, but now they are fundraising money to pay off a deficit.

The Artists in the Schools program brings professional artists from the central Vancouver Island region to teach students in the Nanaimo Ladysmith School District, Qualicum School District and the Cowichan Valley School District. The artists teach various disciplines including art, dance, music and theatre. The program is offered from kindergarten to grade 12.

CHLY spoke to Aisha Hamis the director of engagement and learning at the art gallery. She said when the program first started there were only three artists apart of the program and now there are 14.

She said the program offers several learning opportunities for students.

“It's a chance for them to do a hands-on activity led by a professional working artist, which is really exciting to be able to meet people who are working in different ways,” Hamis said. “It can really expand their creativity and expand their idea of what an artist is. It just gives them a chance to do something [they've never done] and use materials they might not normally get to use in the classroom.”

She said some artists may only run one workshop while others run up to five different workshops. Schools can sign up to have an artist come into their classroom or take their students to the art gallery for a tour of the current exhibit with an art activity afterward.

The program can run for an hour or an hour and a half and costs between $100 to $125.

“The majority of that goes straight to the artist and to the materials,” Hamis said. “So it is a subsidized program, subsidized by the gallery for schools because we just really want to have these opportunities for students to learn.”

However, the art gallery said that the reduced rate they offer the program has led to an average deficit of $5,000. A deficit they are now having to fundraise to pay off.

Hamis explained that before they used to have the program sponsored which would help cover the financial costs of running the program. But now without a sponsor, the gallery is looking for a new sponsor or grant opportunities to help cover costs. In the meantime, they need to fundraise.

“In the meantime, we're gonna keep doing the program so any donations help,” Hamis said. “We are a nonprofit so it's always great if people want to support children's learning in the arts.”

Mary Anne Molcan is one of the artists who has been taking part in the program for about four years. She is a printmaker and teaches a styrofoam block printing workshop.

“They were looking for a printmaker to teach young children printmaking because it's a different art form. It's one of the original art forms that human beings have ever done,” Molcan said. “You've probably seen handprints on cave walls, well, that's a form of printmaking. So it's a really neat form of reaching children and having children understand that there are different ways to make art.”

Her workshop is for students in kindergarten to grade seven. She said it is a great feeling to see the excitement the children have when they practice printmaking.

“One of the things I'd like to do is I like to teach them if you look at printmaking one of the most exciting things for a printmaker is it's called the reveal,” Molcan said. “So I make them think ‘Okay, now it's time for the reveal.’ They pull up the paper and they are absolutely amazed they feel accomplished they've made something–they've created art. So that's a great feeling.”

She said it brings her joy to teach children new artistic skills.

Since the start of the program, Artists in the Schools has run in 19 different schools and taught more than 2,000 students.

The Nanaimo Art Gallery is taking one-time or recurring monthly donations on its website.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.