The Great Art Quest Sponsored by GAM
Created on Friday, June 6th, 2008 at 12:57 pm.
Related to General
Children & the Arts is delighted to announce GAM’s sponsorship of The Great Art Quest 2008. With their generous support The Great Art Quest will introduce over 1000 children, from 16 primary schools across the UK, to the visual arts. For the majority of these children this will be their first experience of the arts.
The project will involve four art galleries: Graves Art Gallery (Sheffield), The Harris Museum (Preston), The Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge) and The Courtauld Institute of Art (London), each of which will form partnerships with local primary schools.
Children from these schools will visit their local art gallery where works of art will be brought to life for them by professional artists and storytellers, encouraging them to feel comfortable in a gallery setting and inspiring them to create their own masterpieces.
“I helped dream up The Great Art Quest a few years ago in the hope that it would help young people to get to know and love great pictures. I have always drawn pictures and I have always enjoyed looking at other people’s art too. The Great Art Quest will give the children involved a chance to do both of these things. I hope it will bring the galleries involved alive for children who might never otherwise have visited them or had chance to look at original paintings. Who knows….it may open a window onto a new world that will stay with those young people forever.” Quentin Blake, Ambassador of Children & the Arts and the supporter of The Great Art Quest
“We are excited to sponsor this programme which has the potential to make a real impact on many children’s lives. It echoes the cultural heritage of GAM and reflects our historically strong link to the arts.”Andrew Hanges, Chief Executive Officer of GAM UK Limited
Gilbert de Botton, the Company’s founder, was a well known patron and collector of contemporary art. He accumulated one of the world’s finest collections of Picasso’s late work and was close friends with Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud. In 1985 he became a Trustee of Tate and established the Tate Gallery Foundation and the International Council, which was instrumental in the genesis of Tate Modern. His widow, Janet de Botton is also widely renowned as a collector of contemporary art.