Under a new programme launched this week more than 300 children in Wānaka and Queenstown are getting the opportunity to work with leading local artists.

The Three Lakes Cultural Trust has spearheaded the Arts in Schools pilot programme, where professional artists work with local primary students to enhance their skills in an art medium which is new to them.

The pilot programme is running until November 11 and it kicked off this week at Holy Family Catholic School with all year 5-8 students taking part.

Next week the programme will head to Shotover Country Primary.

Three Lakes Cultural Trust general manager Jo Brown says the goal is to expand the programme to include all schools in the district.

“Students will learn that everyone has creative capacity – it simply needs to be developed,” Jo said. 

“Tamariki will get to forge their own path while developing their creative thinking processes. Arts in Schools has been designed specifically to demonstrate this.”

During the programme professional artists across four mediums spend 10 hours over five consecutive days with the students at each school.

This week Holy Family pupils worked with Arrowtown printmaker Sue Marshall, Queenstown sculptor Tony O’Keefe, Queenstown photographer Glen Howie, and Wānaka painters Sierra Roberts and Kym Beaton. 

Jo said part of the programme was teaching students about the wide range of careers available in cultural industries.

“Arts and culture are now more critical than ever – research shows that creativity and the arts are hugely beneficial for people’s wellbeing,” Jo said. 

“In the trust’s role as advocates and enablers, our goal is to encourage the next generation of innovative thinkers and we believe that the arts should have a prominent place in the New Zealand education curriculum.”

Arts in Schools has been funded by Youthtown, a national non-profit focused on empowering young people in New Zealand.

PHOTO: Supplied