Contemporaries and associates
Contemporary arts and museum education at the Paks Gallery
MúzeumCafé 33.
The Paks Gallery has been involved with museum education since 2007. At first the artists Ágnes Szabics and Zsolt Keserue, and later art teacher Judit Zirczi worked with the town’s nursery and primary school children. There were six or eight groups attending every month. In 2009 museum educator Eszter Göttinger also got involved. The most important aim was for as many nursery, primary and secondary school children as possible to participate regularly, without charge. For this it was essential for teachers to be familiar with the museum education programme. During the 2009–2010 school year about 900 children in approximately 40 groups visited the gallery and this number has not changed since. The gallery established agreements with the schools which are renewed each year, expanding the range of museum education being offered and accommodating the groups’ wishes. Nursery groups and others from small communities book sessions a year in advance, while for primary school classes the period is six months. The most important aim is for every child to be able to participate in museum education activities at least once a month. These are connected with the temporary exhibitions, which change every six-to-eight weeks, as well as the works in the permanent collection. Each session lasts 90 minutes, bearing in mind that the attention span of different age groups varies. The first part is aimed at developing communication and passing on knowledge appropriate for each age group about works of art, artists and art history. The activity leader poses relevant questions, thus the presentation involves continuous interactive communication. The gallery provides the space for teachers to engage in further training in methodology.