Interview

Q: How did the idea of Gallery start?

A:    The Gallery has been a project in the making for 3-4 years. The first was a Millennium Project that was held in conjunction with NB Museum.  The Millennium Project, like the Gallery will be, was a series of creative projects by students with the intensions of introducing a different kind of learning.  Many different projects such as models, songs, paintings etc. were included in the submissions. This school wide experience intrigued Mrs. McCarroll and Mrs. Woolsey, and since they have been actively encouraging the introduction of an Art Gallery to the community.

    The Art Gallery will be open to the entire community with the hopes of providing an exhibit space for students and local talent.  Along with an opportunity to display work, the art gallery will also provide a cultural space where people can go to experience the expressions of others.

    The concept of the Gallery was one that took a while to get into action.  Finding exhibit space was one of the biggest problems.  It was decided that Kennebecasis Valley High School would be the location of the new gallery.

Q: Who were and still are involved?

A: Mrs. McCarroll and Mrs. Woolsey, and various staff members such as Mrs. Lawson, Mr. Dunnett, McCaffrey, Mrs. Urquart, Mrs. Foster and others got actively involved with the Millennium Project.  These staff members are still the most interested and supportive of the Gallery.  However, it takes more then just school staff excitement to get a project like this into action.  Rod Campbell, the district superintendent, and Cathy LeBouthellier, director of education for district 6 were both very supportive of the idea. 

At this point they had all they needed to get it started except two main articles - space, and money. They applied and won an Innovations Grant and The Sheila McKay Dick Bursary .  An Innovations Grant is a competition within the province for teachers for funding their various ideas. The Sheila McKay Dick bursary is a bursary funding creative work. Of course the money was put towards starting the gallery, and space made at KVHS.

Q: When you first got the idea, what were your primary intentions?

 A:   First and foremost they wanted a gallery curated by the students, exhibits put on by the students, and to have professional works brought in to enrich the students. The ideal picture of the outcome was a workshop space for the student community to display their creative minds.

Q: Since the beginnings of the Gallery has been put into action, has their been any changes in the original plan?

A:    With the beginnings of the Gallery in motion, it became obvious to the creators of the Gallery that supervision was needed.  Of course the students were still doing the curation, but someone was needed to supervise what those students are doing.  At present time Mrs. Woolsey and Mrs. McCarroll are sharing the duty of watching over the Gallery, but it is hard for the two to find so much time.

Q: Do you think students in KVHS and other schools will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity you are providing for them?  How has the school you are working out of, KVHS, responded to the idea?

A:    Since the Gallery has not opened yet, all of the work that students have done for it has not been put on public display.  Keeping the work for a later exhibit is not easy either as storage in the school is limited.  The hope for the first exhibit is a theme of pilgrimage since with this project the school is on somewhat of a pilgrimage.  However, with the storage problem that is becoming difficult.  The students in this school are definitely taking advantage of the Gallery. However, without the first display available to raise awareness, interest and to provide space, it is hard for students and public outside the school to take advantage of the Gallery.

    Not only the school but the education community around the province are interested because lack of space in their respective communities. Mrs. McCarroll and Mrs. Woolsey would like to see this as a way of teaching.  A few students in KVHS have been working on organizing a Gallery for their Alternative assessment and are seeing first hang what it is like, from the experience they will have more life skills, better organization skills.

    The Gallery will definitely provide a good CO-OP experience in respect to running the Gallery in a professional manner and helping to develop the Virtual Gallery.  Developing the Virtual Gallery will involve working on  a web site to promote global awareness of how the Gallery is effecting this community.  It is hoped that the idea will be picked up by other communities as a way of teaching. 

    Mrs. McCarrol and Mrs. Woolsey themselves have been extremely involved since the beginning.  Both went to Oxford University in England to take a course in Humanities this summer. With this, they hoped to assist in their ideas of pilgrimage by going on one of their own. Training outside the region has proved to be very helpful to see a broader prospective. While in England they traveled to Canterbury Cathedral and Stonehenge, which are real life pilgrimage sites.

TO DO!(pictures: Mrs McCarroll and Mrs. Woolsey, school, gallery)