Visual Arts

Campus Kindergarten is committed to supporting children’s expression through the visual arts. By supporting children’s expression through the visual arts we are able to validate their thinking, the theories they develop and essentially their richness as people. Giving children lots of opportunities to express themselves through the visual arts is essential.

At Campus Kindergarten we support children’s expression and creativity through providing access to a range of mediums. Children are empowered if they are able to make choices and this includes making choices about expressing oneself.

“Big Art:Small Viewer”: a unique project of community collaboration.

In 2002 the Campus Kindergarten community embarked on a significant project with the University of Queensland Art Museum. The culmination of this unique and exciting collaboration was the art exhibition, “Big Art: Small Viewer”. The project involved small groups of children from Campus Kindergarten visiting the Art Museum to view contemporary art works. The pieces of work chosen by Campus Kindy teachers and Art Museum staff were by Australian artists and incorporated a range of media and diverse subject matter. From April to August, the children visited the art museum, developing their own creative interpretations of the adult art. The children were encouraged to revisit their art-work back at Campus Kindergarten. Many of the “small viewers” developed their works over a number of days or weeks, referring to digital photos of the adult art and talking to teachers and other children.

The children’s ideas and input was valued and as such the Big Art:Small Viewer project evolved. Throughout the project the teachers and children have documented the processes involved and captured some of the thinking that has occurred.