Coast Salish Art in the Classroom
June 19, 2015
A new web resource, Perpetual Salish: Coast Salish Art in the Classroom, launched by the University of Victoria’s Legacy Art Galleries offers cross-curricular lesson plans to elementary school teachers and engages students with valuable lessons about Coast Salish culture and art. It will help teachers meet the requirements of the current grade four curriculum to enrich their classes with Aboriginal culture and art.
The web-based site is based on UVic’s recent exhibition Perpetual Salish: Contemporary Coast Salish Art from the Salish Weave Collection, curated by Coast Salish artist lessLIE. Legacy Downtown, UVic’s free public art gallery, hosted free educational tours of the exhibition for grade four classes in the fall of 2014.
Over the past five years, George and Christiane Smyth have helped the University of Victoria become an established centre for Coast Salish art, through their support of the artist in residence program and donation of over 20 pieces of art. The Smyths also generously supported this exhibition and curriculum, helping UVic bring this educational initiative to a wider audience.