Norval Foundation’s Education Programme works hard to ensure that every child, whether homeschooled or attending private or public school, visits the Norval Foundation at least once in their primary school or high school careers.

Research has proven that art education plays an integral part in the holistic development of a child. It has been shown that children who have been exposed to art are:

• Imparted with values such as sharing and perseverance.
• Able to improve motor skills.
• Able to create art that they are proud of, which improves their self esteem.
• Better prepared for honing critical thinking skills, which improves their academic performance.

Norval Foundation’s Education Programme facilitates learning about art and artmaking through specially designed classes that emphasize direct engagement with artworks. In particular, the Programme aims to create greater awareness of the meaning and history of modern and contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, while also sharing principles of art making. An emphasis is placed on learning with artworks, so that knowledge is not just communicated to learners, but is co-created with them through participatory activities. We believe that this educational approach aids in the development of a learner’s critical thinking and interpretative skills—something that is backed up by studies undertaken by major policy institutions and universities. In turn, these skills better prepare learners to navigate the complexities of our contemporary world as they become adults, speaking to the contribution that Norval Foundation aims to make to South African society.

We welcome learners aged eight to eighteen from all demographics regardless of the school or NGO they are visiting from and encourage their participation in our Education Programme. Our Education Programme realises a central part of Norval Foundation’s mandate, which is to facilitate the South African public’s learning about the visual arts and inspire the next generation of artists. We do this through free public tours, classes for learners, audio guides, accessible interpretative materials, exhibition catalogues, publications for children, talks, workshops and symposiums. These activities are either directly aligned or broadly compliment the artistic programming that the Foundation has undertaken, including our exhibitions, commissions, screenings and site-specific installations in our sculpture garden. All of these initiatives, including our Education Programme, are intended to empower visitors to develop an understanding of the visual arts that is based in enquiry and inspired by curiosity.

We encourage corporates to contact us if they wish to participate philanthropically in this dynamic and innovative Education Programme.

For any additional information please contact us on learning@norvalfoundation.org.

Please feel free to download any of our free worksheets:

 Interested in bringing your class for a tour of the museum?

Our education tours lasts 2 ½ hours and offer a comprehensive walkabout of the exhibitions on display.

Topics discussed are linked to CAPS and integrate various subjects such as history and language.

The fee for children and teachers participating in the tour is R120, while the general public can purchase tickets at the front desk for R135 (except for NPO-affiliated schools, who receive complimentary admission).

The Sculpture Gardens amphitheatre is a lovely spot for visitors to enjoy their lunch. For paid school tours, please note that lunches are not included. However, it is possible to pre-order lunches from Skotnes.

Tours cost R110 per learner. Free for teachers. Non-teaching staff who accompany the groups would require a day pass or annual membership.

For bookings and further information please contact learning@norvalfoundation.org

Our Education Programme is committed to making quality art education accessible.

We recognise that not all schools have the same financial and logistical resources, making the participation of some learners a challenge, so we offer assistance for learners visiting from non-fee paying schools in quintiles 1, 2 and 3. It is for this reason that we developed the Art & Knowledge programme to raise funds for the cost of a learner’s transportation and food (learners often miss their school lunch when they visit Norval Foundation due to timing). We also waive the standard fee we charge learners for educational programming. In limited circumstances and on a case by case basis, we also waive the standard fee we charge individual learners from fee paying public schools in quintiles 4 and 5, if their families are unable to afford this cost. Learners from private schools are charged a small fee to cover the Foundation’s costs in undertaking this Programme.

While the majority of our initiatives are focused at bringing learners to Norval Foundation so that they can engage with artwork directly, we also recognise that some learners may not be able to reach us due to a number of different reasons. This is why our two volume educational publication, Making Art History, undertaken with Sanlam, sought to expand the reach of the Education Programme by sharing our educational materials in a condensed format with learners outside of the museum. The first volume has been distributed to 6000 learners across the Western Cape and the second volume is currently being distributed.

If you represent an NGO or are interested in arranging a free museum tour for children, from non-fee paying schools in quintiles 1, 2, and 3, please contact learning@norvalfoundation.org.

Donate

The Norval Foundation is dedicated to providing access to the arts among underprivileged school children. Herein our outreach programme aims to:

• Establish relationships with community leaders in surrounding communities.
• Arrange outings for schools in surrounding communities including transport, snacks, tours and art activities.
• Accommodate 1000 learners per month in our outreach programme.
• Arrange teacher training workshops for teachers in surrounding communities to improve their art education practice.
• Host afternoon holiday workshops with NGOs working with children in surrounding communities.
• Establish the activity room as a safe space for learners in surrounding communities to do their homework or create art

Weekend and Holiday Workshops

As part of our drive to make art education and creativity even more accessible to all ages and abilities, we have weekend creative workshops for children and adults and school holiday classes for children taking place throughout the year.

Please follow our Norval Foundation social media accounts for regular workshops announcements and updates.

Bookings can be secured via Webtickets