The Vancouver Biennale BIG IDEAS Education Program is a cross-curricular, multi-grade, and inquiry based learning program. Taking students to Vancouver Biennale open-air museum injects a sense of real purpose into curriculum studies. BIG IDEAS is designed to nurture and encourage active engagement and inquiry based learning experiences through public art installations. Exploring curriculum topics via the community stimulates a sense of real inquiry for both teachers and students. Experiential learning focusing on students’ knowledge, critical thinking, skills and abilities is the core of the Vancouver Biennale BIG IDEAS education program.

Openness and Discovery: opening the mind to learning and the creation of understanding;

Learning to Learn: background to the art and artist, sculpture in public places, developing a curriculum challenge and the focus of a guiding question; and

Creation and Taking Action: students’ creation as an expression of learning and taking action to inspire positive changes in the community.

2012/2013 BIG IDEAS Arts in Action

The program aims to inspire and generate positive changes through the arts and neighbourhood learning communities. It is open to all BC elementary and secondary schools.

• Students participating in the project select one of seven Vancouver Biennale public art pieces as their inspiration for developing a ‘BIG IDEA’ or an issue, theme, cause or concern to focus on.

• The students’ ‘BIG IDEA’ is then used to inspire their own artistic creation involving one or more art forms (e.g. media, dance, drama, poetry, music, visual arts). Students can work in groups or as a class project

• Students will be required to develop and implement a specific action plan for putting their ‘BIG IDEA’ into practice. One of the action items is to include presenting their learning process, artistic creations and reflection to students at their own school and other participating schools

• Students from associate elementary and secondary schools within a community are encouraged to participate collaboratively on a joint ‘BIG IDEA’ and community action plan

Key Dates

November 16, 2012             Registration Deadline

November 24, 2012             Grant Award Notification

December 21, 2012             Artist School Assignments & Contracts Confirmed

January 9, 2013                    (tentative date) Program Teacher & Artist Workshop  

January – March, 2013        In Class Program Introduction

May, 2013                            In-School Student BIG IDEAS Arts in Action Presentations

Programs such as the Vancouver Biennale Teacher/Artist Collaboration of Take Action Matching Grants are available for selected applicants.

Registration information and 2011/2012 BIG IDEAS Performance case studies and videos are now available on vblearn.ca.