Learning Through Art 2011

In 1998 the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao adapted the arts program to the needs and interests of Basque public primary schools. The project is a collaboration between the Museum and the Basque Department of Education's Office of Innovation in Education, with sponsorship from the BBK.

Learning Through Art has been operating as a successful education and art program in the Basque Country since that time. Over the years, LTA has reached more than a thousand schoolchildren and a hundred teachers from all stages of primary education.

Method
Schoolchildren learn in many different ways: by listening, observing, talking, acting, and creating. They do all of these things in the course of the creative process while also learning to think critically and to plan and develop a project from start to finish. The program breaks down barriers between school subjects and academic disciplines and encourages schoolchildren to see the world in a creative and personal way. Art becomes a tool for discovering, exploring and interpreting reality. They also develop writing and language skills, as well as building appreciation for their own work and the work of others. Since schoolchildren are more receptive to learning through artistic activities, the workshops are highly effective with students who have difficulties following traditional learning methods. The workshops offer a wide range of disciplines: photography, painting, sculpture, video, events, theatre, music, digital art ... The program is conducted in 90-minute sessions once a week at the school over a period of 20 weeks.

Teachers
After the teachers identify the objectives they want to achieve, and the skills and attitudes they want to consolidate, artists and Museum educators work together to design a series of workshops integrated into educational units. Each program is unique and custom designed to develop the interests and skills of the schoolchildren and to reinforce any area of school curriculum. Collaboration between artists and classroom teachers is essential since the two mutually support the endeavours of the other.

In 2011–11 thirteen teachers opened their classroom doors to Learning Through Art: Esther Abad, Lutxi Alonso, Mª Jesus Casajú, Azucena Corro, Mª Pilar Fernández, Feli Gómez, Mª José Gómez, Simona Izquierdo, Rosa Jusué, Raúl López de Munain, Karmele Paz, Isabel Ruiz, and Nagore Unanue.

Artists
The role of the artists is fundamental. They are the ones who pump energy and life into the children's work, helping them to link conceptual thinking to artistic creation and apply them to specific subject areas.

Elssie Ansareo, Nadia Barkate Naia del Castillo, Ibon Garagarza, Iñaki Gracenea, Joxerra Melguizo, Manu Muniategiandikoetxea, Jorge Rubio, and Ibon Sáenz de Olazagoitia are the artists who visit the schools and share their ideas. But the true protagonists in this creative adventure are the children themselves. With their endless excitement and energy and their unfailing ability to surprise, they are the ones who inevitably reinvent the initial ideas put forward to come up with unexpected solutions all their own.

The artists know that their role is to propose journeys whose final destination only time will tell. Every year Learning Through Art embarks on a new adventure.

Students
The schoolchildren become explorers in unchartered territory while at the same time discovering the joy of creating unique objects of art. They also take great pleasure in putting their creations on display for other people to enjoy. In addition, the workshops give the children the opportunity to learn the importance of teamwork and communication.

In 2010–2011 nine schools with a 196 students participated in the program: the 6th grade class at Zuazo in Barakaldo; 6th grade at San Lorenzo in Ermua; 4th at Pío Baroja in Txurdinaga; 3th at Juan Ramón Jiménez in Cruces; 5th at San Ignacio in Bilbao; 5th and 6th grades at Mendiola in San Sebastian; 5th y 6th at Ramon Bajo in Vitoria-Gasteiz; 5th at Samaniego in Vitoria-Gasteiz; 1st and 2nd at Zabaleko in Amurrio.