Generation ART: Young Artists on Tour | Saturday 19 March – Saturday 7 May 2016 | West Gallery, Quay Arts.

Gallery opening times: Mon - Sat 10am - 4pm

Generation ART: Young Artists on Tour is a touring exhibition of children and young people’s artwork aged 5 – 18, supported by the Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring programme the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Helen Jean Cope Charity.

The exhibition opened at Turner Contemporary, Margate in summer 2015, and at the start of 2016 it toured to New Walk Museum and Art Gallery and Soft Touch Arts, Leicester, and is now showing here, at its final stop, at Quay Arts.

The aim of Generation ART is for children and young people to be involved in a high quality exhibition at every stage, as curators, artists, audiences and champions. By profiling high quality artwork by children and young people, Generation ART strives to raise the aspirations of schools, teachers, children and young people, and inspire them to create excellent artwork.

The exhibition includes a total of forty artworks by children and young people aged 5 to 18 years old, four of whom are from the Isle of Wight; William John Morris, Oliver Bonner, Megan Smith and Max Snudden. Visitors are invited to add to the exhibition by creating their own artwork at the ‘drawing station’ and displaying it on the ‘drawing wall’ in the gallery.

In addition, visual artist Lisa Traxler has been commissioned to create a new exhibition responding to the touring show and young people’s work. Her exhibition titled 'Cloud Collecting', is an installation of printed paper and stitched thread, connected by restraints of thread within the Curve Gallery. For more information please visit http://www.quayarts.org/event/cloud-collecting/

In March and April Quay Arts will host a series of free family drop-ins and workshops led by artist educators for schools across the Island inspired by the exhibition, to encourage local audiences, especially families, to get involved.

Free Family Drop-Ins, 10am – 1pm: Sandown Library with Hannah George, Tuesday 29 March. Ventnor Exchange with Joanna Kori, Saturday 2 April. Quay Arts with Ian Whitmore, Monday 4 April. Ryde Library with Hannah George, Tuesday 5 April.

More to come! After the 'Cloud Collecting' exhibition, St George’s School will create a new ‘response’ exhibition in the Curve Gallery with Island artists Hannah George and Ian Whitmore, which will open on Saturday 23 April. Coinciding with the opening, Red Tie Theatre will perform a new piece of live theatre to celebrate the Generation Art project in the West Gallery.

Generation ART: Young Artists on Tour is supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic touring programme, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Helen Jean Cope Charity. Generation ART is run by engage, the National Association for Gallery Education, working in partnership with Turner Contemporary, Margate, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery and Soft Touch Arts, Leicester, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight, The Spark Arts for Children, The Mighty Creatives, Artswork, the Contemporary Visual Arts Network, the National Society for Education in Art and Design, Expert Subject Advisory Group for Art and Design and the Audience Agency.