Discover Accessible, Meaningful Art

Has “guided tour” become a dirty word? Perhaps.

Yet not all tours are created equal!

Any visit to Ottawa, Ontario—Canada’s capital city—usually includes tours of the national museums. But how many guided tours can students handle? Tours meet curriculum guidelines, yet also strive for more.

At the National Gallery of Canada, students discover the best collection of Canadian art through the National Collection, including the reinvented Canadian and Indigenous galleries. Tours of these galleries are a highlight experience for students because, at their core, tours of the National Gallery are about making art accessible and meaningful.

To be meaningful, tours need to be tailored to the students’ interests—in other words, a wide variety of themes to match a wide variety of interests. Want to know how it’s made? Explore identity through participation in a photography exercise? Decode the visual language of signs and symbols in art?

And go deeper still! Get hands-on and make your own art, the best souvenir.

New this year, students can get creative with a sketching session, developing their capacity for artistic expression while reinforcing looking skills. Because visitors have a range of abilities and learning styles, customizable programs such as Stimulating the Senses engage those who are visually impaired.

Don’t accept “met expectations” as a description of your experience. Discover the remarkable stories that have shaped the country through visual art at the National Gallery of Canada.

In Ottawa this fall? Check out the Teacher’s Information evening on October 11, 2018.

Courtesy of Helene Donaldson, Tourism Marketing Officer, National Gallery of Canada.

Photo courtesy of National Gallery of Canada.