Every Saturday morning, kids from the Yorkton area are logging onto Zoom to take part in art lessons.
These lessons are being presented by the Dean Godfrey Art Gallery and being taught by Shirley Hart and her daughter.
Jeff Morton, the director and curator of the art gallery, said that these classes are made possible thanks to funding from a local organization.
"We were fortunate late last year; we sent in a proposal to the Yorkton and District Community Foundation for a little bit of funding for a virtual learning studio," he said. "We are using a Zoom call to connect with children age six to twelve with our teaching working in our virtual learning centre."
Over 100 kids participate in the classes that have featured workshops like drawing, painting, sculpting, and much more.
"The kids will be able to share their artwork with us at the end of May, and we are going to include them in our local artist show in June," said Morton. "We will be able to show the community all of these adorable art pieces that the kids have been making."
Morton said that these classes are essential as they give children a way not to feel isolated.
"One of the reasons for doing this in the first place was in response to the pandemic and just knowing that so many people, especially kids, are feeling isolated. They are not in their usual school environments, and there is a mental health cost," he said. "These classes are one way that we can help in that respect by giving people a sense of social engagement, inclusion and activities to share. The local artist show and presentation of these artworks ties into this too because we want them to feel like they are engaging with one another and sharing these artworks with each other."
Morton added that the next slate of classes begin in May, with registration opening in April. Parents are encouraged to contact the gallery if they are interested in signing their kids up and should do so as quickly as possible as March's classes were complete in less than 24 hours.
