International Certificate for SNG as Home of 21st Century Education
Educational activities of the Slovak National Gallery are gaining acknowledgement even at international level. SNG as one of the pilot institutions has received a certificate from the organisation Hands On! devoted to the position of children in museum institutions.
Home of 21st Century Education is a mark of quality created by the international organisation Hands On! dedicated to the position of children in museum institutions, with the aim to acknowledge museums as places of future education and to emphasise their potential to positively contribute to social changes.
SNG is one of the four institutions which have gained this certificate so far, and at the same time the only one whose principal target group is not children. Along children museums in the Czech Republic, Greece, and Lithuania, it is the first certificated institution to indicate the significance of museum education not only for children.
“I am very happy we have been awarded this certificate since it sends out powerful signals. On the one hand, it draws attention to what role could cultural institutions play in education, and on the other hand, it is also a certain indicator highlighting what is crucial at gallery activities”, says Head of Gallery Pedagogy Department Barbora Tribulová.
To gain the certificate, an institution must meet eight fundamental classification categories which evaluate the degree of openness and accessibility of culture, interactive encouragement to self-education, multi-sensory qualities, authenticity and flexibility, as well as connection of digital presentation and skills with physical objects and activities, but mainly creation of space for children and inter-generational experiences. The institution to be awarded with the certificate should be perceived as a place where families, children, and public can learn how to positively change the future by means of culture, art, and play.
SNG has proved to meet the above mentioned standards. Through constructivist pedagogy and approach to storytelling and permanent interactive space, both children and adult visitors acquire access to the world of art. By this approach, the SNG manifests its way to inter-generational museum work. As part of the assessment process, two selected projects were examined in more detail: regular family program for children from 1 to 4 years of age titled Small Wonders (Malé divy) and an interactive space Zone, which is particularly dedicated to series of educational animated videos Art Warm-up, and within which the visitors could join in creative workshops directly in the exhibition premises.
“A great contribution is also the evaluation report, which apart from positive evaluation contains also recommendations of how we could boost our ways of education. The certificate is valid for a period of two years and we believe we will be able to maintain it in the reconstructed gallery, too”, adds Tribulová.
Gallery Pedagogy Department of SNG
Gallery Pedagogy Department (Oddelenie galerijnej pedagogiky, OGP) works with educational potential of the SNG artistic collections and exhibitions. It prepares and carries out specialised educational programmes accompanying permanent expositions and topical exhibitions for children, families with children, school groups, young people, and all visitors of the gallery. The department's activities focus also on working with pedagogues in form of organising methodical seminars and workshops, creating methodical materials as additional teaching aids, or providing consultations. Moreover, it actively engages in creation of online gallery content – various instruction guides for creative activities for families with children, but adults, too, that are available at the platform of Slovak Substitute Galleryand the SNG Youtube channel. OGP is also part of the international platform Do you have a knack for art?, within which we have been organising an artistic competition for high-school students for 6 years already. Current team of OGP is Katarína Defeo Fiúza Siposová, Michaela Kováčová, Miroslava Mišová, Peter Pivoda, headed by Barbora Tribulová.