JENN DEMKE-LANGE PHOTO
A child explores Inuktitut Syllabics in the Discovery Zone.
In my role as an art educator at the Esplanade, I work alongside children and get to observe them in their process of creative thinking. It has me constantly thinking about the value of nurturing our creativity as adults. I think creativity can be one of our greatest assets. We so often limit the idea of creativity to elements of art-making and to individuals who pursue careers or interests in the arts, but a creative-thinkers tool box encompasses so much more, regardless of a person’s chosen career path.
You know who are really great creative thinkers? Children. They are intuitive, instinctual and unedited in their approaches to art-making and exploring new ideas. They are distracted from being self-conscious. They are curious, ask questions, take risks and know how to play! The value in this observation is that creativity is inherent in all of us right from the start. We just seem to lose our confidence in creativity as we get older: we dismiss our abilities and tend to limit our approaches, especially when we don’t regularly engage with the process.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job at the Esplanade has been to develop the hands- on activities in the Discovery Zone. This is a new space at the Esplanade where ideas and curiosity remain at the centre of the experience and where people of all ages can play, create, observe and try something new. The featured activities are an extension of ideas explored in current exhibitions and provide adults and children an opportunity to explore and create together, learn about art, and to discover artists’ processes and inspirations.
Our current activities in the Discovery Zone are inspired by the recently-launched exhibition, Kenojuak Ashevak: Life and Legacy. Match Maker explores the artist’s process of creating drawings and related prints through a game of memory and observation. Inuktitut Syllabics introduces us to the language of the artist, Inuktitut, through a small selection of vocabulary with connections to Ashevak’s artwork – Arctic animals and colours.
The Discovery Zone also features a Reading Library – host to a curated collection of books about art, creativity, culture and community ready for readers to explore.
To come and experience these hands-on activities and the Reading Library, visit the Discovery Zone located in the Esplanade gallery foyer, open Tuesday through Saturday, 12-5 p.m.
Jenn Demke-Lange is an Arts Instructor at the Esplanade
