In an environment where young people are bombarded by stimulus, the art world is one that can challenge youth while providing opportunities to explore a world full of ideas beyond their own.
The art programming directed at youth in Estevan has changed over the years in an effort to maintain relevance and provide a connection for young people.
Karly Garnier, educator and program co-ordinator at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM), noted they have changed in order to meet the varying needs of both children and adults and keep creative juices and new ideas flowing.
"You can learn about so many things through art. You can learn about different cultures, different places you've never been to, contemporary issues, gender issues, race issues, all of these different things," said Garnier. "Art evokes an emotion in you, so we want you to view (the gallery) as a place of comfort."
If children engage with art early on and throughout their adolescence, she said they are more likely to have a continued interest and appreciation for art. While fostering a passion for the arts is beneficial to a child's development, exposure and interest doesn't stop once adulthood hits.
"Keeping the mind active, we have people come here from care homes. There are people who lose their physical capacity but still maintain their mental capacity," Garnier said. "It can help through art therapy. It can help with depression, your mood. It can foster a sense of community and be social."
When it comes to experiencing something new and exploring emotions and ideas, the art educator noted there is more to it than simply appealing to the eye.
"There's an impression that art should be pretty and happy, and that's fine, but we also think people should expect something more interesting, something more challenging," said Garnier, who noted that with a full-time curator at the gallery, they can provide more variety. "It's nice to have our world expanded, beyond Estevan, and that's what art does. It takes you to a different place and makes you think."
And with younger students, she finds they will break down art and attribute meaning, providing their own interpretations of what they see and feel.
"Children will say the most insightful things, because they don't have that fear. They aren't intimidated. The point is for it to spark a conversation and kids absolutely engage in that discussion," Garnier said.
Though many don't have an inside view of how children interact with artwork, the art educator said the young people they have in the gallery take something away from each exhibit they host.
"I've never had kids come into the art gallery and not be into the art, and it is consistently impressive because you think kids have so much else to be interested in these days. They are always interested in the art.
"It never ceases to amaze me, the wows. They're blown away, and they're engaged with it. That's the importance in art in education for young children. Reaching them at a young age when they haven't developed that notion and that fear that if they don't understand it they'll look silly or stupid. They don't feel like they have to interpret it. They just appreciate it, and they have a response to it and ask questions freely."
The EAGM's children's programming has changed, even in the last five years since Garnier has been at the gallery. She noted the EAGM has adapted partially based on curriculum changes in schools across the province. When she started, a lot more teachers were bringing classes into the gallery, and some even brought their class in every month of the year.
That doesn't happen anymore.
"We've changed our programming to obviously accommodate those lost visitation numbers but also so we're offering kids, teachers or parents other options for them to be exposed to the artwork. The biggest thing for us is just being accessible to those kids, to seniors, to all the groups that we want to service at the gallery."
It isn't unique to Saskatchewan, but as part of the rural landscape it's natural that there is often more emphasis placed on sport than on art, said Garnier, who noted growing up in the province, art programs in the school ended at Grade 6 and wasn't an option at all after that.
"Art in education is very important. It's important to foster that creativity, to foster an appreciation of art. If you get kids in here at an early age, they don't develop the attitude that if they don't understand art, they don't want to engage with it. I think that comes from a lack of exposure," noted Garnier.
She said the EAGM, led by director Amber Andersen, is seeking to break down the barriers and impressions of art galleries that tend to keep people out.
"We want to create more of the impression that the gallery is a community space and less of this notion that it's this intimidating, prestigious space, where if you aren't engaged with it early on, you're less likely to participate in it.
"Art should be something that stimulates you and challenges you, but it is something that should bring you joy as well and fulfills you."
