Educational programmes for secondary schools

What is music? Does it express something? How does it affect us?
In his painting Jazz, artist Zdeněk Kirchner managed to depict subtle and energetic jazz music. This programme featuring music, movement and art activities introduces students to the close relationship between music and art and how they can influence one another.

Do we notice the people around us? Are we capable of recognising when they are happy or sad? What is charity? And what is the soul?
The artist Pavel Brázda explored the human soul and created colourful portraits of people. As we explore his painting Mrs. Charity, we will look for ordinary situations, identify big and small experiences, try to estimate interpersonal relationship and talk about colours.

Can we communicate without words? Without writing? Without telephones? What might we use to replace usual means of communication?
In her work, Adriena Šimotová depicts people and the human body using distinctive techniques. In this programme, students explore everyday gestures and moments while experimenting with how to communicate without words.

Who are the people that Josef Čapek captured in his paintings? Why did he paint them? Why do the figures look like they have been composed from geometric shapes?
In this programme, we will work with Čapek’s Organ Grinder to introduce students to the world of geometric shapes and people who have been less fortunate in life than others.

What can we learn from the monuments that we encounter on our city streets?
Ladislav Šaloun is best known for his monument to Jan Hus on Prague’s Old Town Square. By looking at the wide range of Šaloun’s works in the GASK collections, students will learn about art in the public space, try to interpret some of his sculptures, put themselves in the shoes of historical figures and express all this through their own sculptures.

We will use the paintings of Zdeněk Sýkora to explore his artistic development from realistic painting all the way to works of geometric abstraction. Students will learn how to create paintings in unconventional ways and will engage in activities that introduce them to the world of structures and lines. Working in groups, participants will use both chance and a predefined order to create works of their own. These activities promote the imagination and the no less important ability to cooperate with others.

How did the events of 1989 change the lives of Czech artists? How did they affect their work? What exactly is resignation? How can it be expressed in a person? And in society at large?
Students explore the labyrinth of events stretching from 1968 to 1989 and learn how they affected the life of painter Květa Válová. Through her works and their own creative activities, they come to realise how every person can influence their path through life and how an active approach by individuals and their collaborative effort can lead to victory for all of society.