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Education

Schools Programme

These visits are designed to give primary students the full art experience - covering all four strands of the visual arts curriculum: practical knowledge, developing ideas, communicating ideas and understanding art in context.

Beginning with a tour of the gallery exhibitions, students learn about the art works on display and record some of their observations. Next stop is down to the studio where they have time for a brief snack break (bring your morning or afternoon tea snack), before the making begins! Here the children have the opportunity to learn from hands on experience.

All materials are provided. Minimum number of students is 12 max 32. Workshops are $5/student or $4/student with multiple bookings.

School Workshops - Term 1

15 February - 1 April

Marian Maguire Lithographic Prints - this exhibition plays with New Zealand's history combining Greek gods interacting with Maori chiefs and colonial figures. The resulting works present an intriguing picture of New Zealand and allow us to contemplate a very different history. Children will be amazed at the fine detail and content of these striking lithographs.

Google Murals - start off the year by creating a large-scale mural of your school for your classroom using technology and mixed media painting techniques. (Technololgy, Maths, English and Art)

Ancient Vessels - inspired by the imagery in the exhibition children will create a clay tile of an ancient vessel or urn and decorate it with ceramic stains to tell a story about our history. (History, English, Social Studies, Science and Art)

Pacifica Wooden Coasters - students will create a series of sketches using pen and ink from looking at Pacific carvings. Their best designs will be cut up and pasted onto a wooden coaster and sealed using a découpage technique. (Social Studies, History and Art)

The First Explorers - this class will encourage drawing techniques and story telling. Starting with sketching in the gallery the children will use their imaginations to dream up their own version of history as an explorer coming to New Zealand. Their finished illustration will use text and water colour crayons to finish. (History, Social Studies, English and Art)

School Workshops - Term 2

19 April - 1 August

Our Term 2 exhibitions include: The Adam Portraiture Awards - a selection of portrait paintings from all over New Zealand and Don Binney's Drawing The Waitakere Coast - featuring coloured pencil studies of our coast stretching from Titirangi to Muriwai.

Also, from 11 June - 1 August as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography Lopdell House Gallery presents Jessie Casson's series of photographs from her new book Champions: New Zealand Winners.

Classroom Snapshot - students will create a portrait of one of their classroom neighbours using fabric paints, fabric pens and collage. They will learn techniques to draw the face and have a lot of fun learning about skin tones. The finished works will be assembled together to create a large wall hanging for their classroom.

Photogram Portraits - students will learn about the 16th century Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo who created oil painted portraits of people out of vegetables, flowers and fish. Children will make a black and white photogram self-portrait and a frame to surround using potato prints.

Drawing on the Top Floor - using the spectacular view from the top floor of Lopdell House students will create a sketch of our local landscape. These will be transformed into colourful pencil drawings using charcoal and washes.

Teacher Portraits - students will get the chance to draw their teacher who will be required to wear some props. These drawings will be transformed into clay faces, which will be fired in our kiln.

Secondary Schools

Art in the City

This is a series of traveling art exhibitions put together as part of the Lopdell House Gallery Outreach Programme. Each collection explores a theme focusing on a distinct medium. Prominent New Zealand artists were invited to take part in the traveling exhibition programme. The exhibition categories are - painting, photography and drawing, each collection consists of six works in a specially designed traveling box. Please make the most of this fantastic resource, the only cost to schools is the courier fee...read more »

Waitakere City Secondary Schools Art Awards

The 2009 recipient of the Secondary School Art Awards was Kelston Girl's College Student, Christina Mounlath. Thanks to the Portage and Waitakere Licensing Trusts, Christina won $5,000 towards further study at a tertiary institution in 2010 and Kelston Girls College received $500 for their art department.

Open Studio

Hand painted ceramic mugs

Pop into the Lopdell House Studio between 10am and 2pm to decorate a mug. Suitable for children 5 years and older. The cost is $10/mug which includes materials and firing.

It will take about 30 minutes to decorate your mug.

Date/time Sunday 28 March, 10am - 2pm

Fee $10/mug includes stains and firing expenses.

Holiday Programme

Enchanted Worlds

Suitable for children 6 - 12 years.

Monday Mystical seascape mirror

Tuesday Ancient New Zealand découpage

Wednesday Mythological painting inspired by Avatar

Thursday Fairy house or a wizard's palace using natural materials

Friday Theatre of creepy crawlies mixed media diorama

Date/time 12 - 16 April, 10am - 2pm

Fee $40/day (family discounts available) morning tea provided

Bookings phone 817 8087 x201

Adult Programme

Pinhole Photography Workshop: Beyond the Decisive moment

A practical hands-on weekend workshop exploring the surreal world of pinhole photography. Looking at other photographer's work then making your own cameras through to honing your exposures in the darkroom. We will be celebrating the accident and looking at these cameras and what they do well.

Tutor Jenny Tomlin

Date TBC (10am - 4pm)

Fee $120 per student

Bookings Phone Jenny on 817 2734

Flowlines - life drawing at Lopdell

Nicky Hartley will be holding a series of tutored life drawing workshops to suit beginners and intermediate level. Followed on by an untutored life drawing session for those who wish to do their own independent artwork with a life model or to extend the previous lesson.

Date Starting Tuesday 1 September (tutored) 5.30pm - 6.30pm / 7pm - 9pm (untutored)

Fee Ttored $90 for 4 week course / untutored $20 or $10 for students on course / per class. All fees include model / snacks and basic materials

Bookings Phone Nicky 817 8151 / booking in advance is essential

Corner Titirangi & South Titirangi Roads, Auckland 0604
The gallery is open daily from 10am - 4.30pm, except Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, Anzac Day morning and during exhibition installation. Admission is free thanks to the support of Waitakere City Council.