This inspiring exhibition highlights a selection of artwork gathered from four and five year olds in the Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve programs throughout Nova Scotia. Art can act as a pathway to communicate powerful feelings when words are not enough. The artwork on display in this colourful exhibition reflects the imagination and creativity of very young artists as they express their cultural and personal experiences with energy and enthusiasm.
The art on display is also featured in a new publication, Kekina’masuti Nemitekemk Nktuey Mijua’jijk: Through Children’s Eyes:An L’nu Resource for Exploring the Visual Arts. This publication was developed as a result of a partnership initiative between Head Start programs, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Glooscap Heritage Centre with support from First Nations and Inuit Health Atlantic Region. It was designed as a resource, for early childhood educators in Mi’kmaw communities, to offer ways to connect culture with creative self expression in and through the arts.
The exhibition also includes two works from the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s Permanent Collection by First Nations artists Alan Syliboy and Dozay Christmas. These two images were used by the Gallery, during the in-service workshops for Head Start co-ordinators, to demonstrate how original artworks can be used to encourage the development of visual literacy in young children.
