Gallery Ready: Handy Hints for Heading to the Gallery with Students

Congratulations! You’ve booked an art gallery excursion, organized transport, and completed the risk assessment. Now you’re ready to think about the whole reason why you’re visiting the gallery… student learning!

Taking a group of students on an excursion to an art gallery or museum, regardless of their year level, is an exciting experience. For many students, this might be their only exposure to gallery spaces and a variety of different art forms. For others, it’s a chance to engage with a space through an educational lens. Despite the thrill, gallery spaces can seem daunting and intimidating. Oftentimes, we worry about student behaviour, capacity for learning, or worst of all… will they accidentally knock something over? These are normal concerns experienced by all educators. Here are some handy tips to support your trip to the gallery with a group of students, before you’ve even left school.

Getting the Basics Right

Taking students on any type of excursion is no easy feat; it requires detailed advance planning and for teachers to be sharp and dutiful on the day. Take some of the pressure off and front-load your thinking by researching logistical requirements in advance.

Contact the gallery to ensure you have information on what entrance schools use. Some galleries have separate school entrances, helping them to manage pedestrian traffic flow, while others allow entry for schools through their main entrance. Knowing where to go from the outset will alleviate any confusion. Learn more about the gallery’s cloaking process and, where possible, consider encouraging students to bring less. In most instances, even small backpacks require cloaking, and when this happens for 30 students, the time can add up.

Ensuring you have adequate break times during your visit and knowing where to take these will help you have a successful day. Ask the gallery staff where students can eat their lunch and, better yet, if there is an outdoor area for them to stretch their legs. If you have multiple gallery programs in one day, this is an essential activity that can help revive student (and teacher) energy.

Communication is Key

When booking an excursion to a gallery or museum, more often than not, the booking inquiry webpage will ask for an outline of student learning requirements. Providing adequate information on the needs of the majority of the group and any specialized requirements helps support gallery staff to support you and your students. This information informs everything from the content discussed, resources your group might benefit from, to the walking route we take around the gallery. Any information about your group is always greatly appreciated and supports a smooth gallery experience.

But Why?

There have been countless moments when I’ve asked visiting groups, ‘Do you know why you’re here today?’ only to be met with blank stares and shoulder shrugs. Before a gallery visit, a simple way to prepare students is to share with them the purpose behind why they’re going to the gallery. Perhaps it links to your literacy work, maybe you’re going to explore VCE concepts, or even to explore the wider collection at the gallery. Being explicit with the group so they are aware of the purpose behind their visit and what program they’re attending provides a sense of ownership and deepens their appreciation of the gallery visit within the context of their studies.

Putting Knowledge into Context

Attending a gallery is one thing, but understanding some key information about the space itself allows students to gather a holistic understanding of the space, placing their new learning into context. Encourage students to research some facts about the gallery; this could be anything from when it opened, how many artworks it houses, and any past, current, or future exhibitions. This could take up part of your classroom program or could be set as a homework task for students to report back on.

Gallery Etiquette is for Everyone

As with any other public place, priming students for the space is essential. While galleries and museums are unique spaces, the crux of the message is the same: keep yourself and others safe. It goes without saying that students need to stay in the line of sight of teachers and parent helpers. For younger students, establishing transition guidelines between spaces is essential or, alternatively, setting up buddy pairs helps students stay accountable.

Gallery rooms can be large and echo, but can also have smaller, more intimate pockets. Prime students so they’re aware that when inside with members of the public, they need to walk carefully, look where they’re going, and use an appropriate noise level.

While some contemporary exhibitions include interactive artworks, it’s best to err on the side of caution and assume nothing, including blank walls and plinths, is to be touched unless otherwise instructed. Communicate this important point to students so they’re prepared on the day. It’s one vital way to keep the artwork and students safe.

Naked Truth

Admittedly, one of the funniest things I experience with student groups on the gallery floor is when younger students exclaim in shock and horror, ‘That person is nude!’ While one tactic to manage student expectations is not to draw attention to the nudes in a gallery, it’s more likely than not that they’ll walk past one anyway. Getting on the front foot with this can often mitigate any surprises on the day.

From experience, drawing a parallel between the work of doctors and artists is a reasonable and universally accepted approach. Would you want to see anyone but a doctor when you’re sick? Doctors have studied the human body to help people stay healthy. Artists have studied the human body to create realistic paintings. If artists didn’t know about the skeleton, the muscles, and the skin that holds everything in, how can we expect them to create accurate artworks? Just like doctors, artists need to understand the human body so they can do their job.

Gift Yourself Grace

Many of my amazing colleagues have brought their students in for a gallery visit. Often linked to a wellbeing curriculum, school city camps, or historical units of study, it is such a joy to spend time with amazing individuals I once worked with. Despite all my encouragement, there have been times when I could read the fear in their eyes and sense the stress of being in this new environment. Over the past 15 years, gallery spaces have changed tremendously. Long gone are the days of silent spaces, echoing footsteps, and shushing security guards. Galleries and museums have evolved to cater to a range of audiences and no less, to groups of students!

Have faith in the way you’ve set up your behaviour expectations and the support of gallery staff to make your visit a successful one.