The National Gallery of Canada will re-open to onsite visitors on July 18, 2020. Learn more
Distance Learning
Whether you are too far away to visit the Gallery in person or whether you would like to prepare your students for an on-site visit, the Distance Learning program connects students from across Canada with artworks in the Gallery’s collection.
Interactive programs, delivered via FREE webinars, get students discussing a range of artworks while exploring curriculum-linked themes.
To participate, you’ll need access to a computer, webcam, microphone, speakers, projector and a wired Internet connection.
Offered free of charge, Distance Learning webinars are available Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm ET (8 am to 8 pm ET on Thursdays) starting Monday, September 23, 2019. Webinars must be booked at least four weeks in advance. Registration begins on Monday, August 26, 2019.
Please note that preference is given to schools located outside of a 50-km radius of the National Gallery of Canada.
Register for a Distance Learning webinar
Grades K–3 | |
| People and Relationships | How can people speak to us without saying a word? Discover the role of body language and facial expression in relating stories in artworks. |
| Spaces and Places | How does the setting add to the story? Explore different environments in artworks, from interiors to landscapes. |
Grades 4–6 | |
| People and Relationships | How can people speak to us without saying a word? Discover the role of body language and facial expression in relating stories in artworks. |
| Spaces and Places | How does the setting add to the story? Explore different environments in artworks, from interiors to landscapes. |
| What and Why | Why do people make art? Explore influences, the role materials play and how we can interpret artists’ choices. |
| Art in Canada | What have artists here been doing for the last five thousand years? Discover the long and fascinating history of Canadian and Indigenous art from thousands of years ago until today, and explore how it is interrelated and how it tells our stories. |
| Indigenous Perspectives | “Kwey Kwey!” Explore Indigenous art! Discover masterpieces by First Nations, Metis and Inuit artists, past and present. Gallery Interpreters discuss unique protocols designed for some of the works, explain appropriate terminology and give context to Indigenous art before and after Canada was formed. Now including works of international Indigenous art from the exhibition Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel. |
| Photography in Canada | What is photography? How are photos made and what do they do? Discover the remarkable collection of the National Gallery of Canada. 160 years of photographs tell the fascinating story of the evolution of this diverse and powerful art form. |
Grades 7–12 / Sec I–V | |
| Gallery Highlights | What is a masterpiece? Discuss the notion of originality and how to interpret and evaluate an artwork. |
| Signs and Symbols in Art | What does it mean? Analyze how artists use symbolism, imagery and iconography. |
| Art in Canada | What have artists here been doing for the last five thousand years? Discover the long and fascinating history of Canadian and Indigenous art from thousands of years ago until today, and explore how it is interrelated and how it tells our stories. |
| Indigenous Perspectives | “Kwey Kwey!” Explore Indigenous art! Discover masterpieces by First Nations, Metis and Inuit artists, past and present. Gallery Interpreters discuss unique protocols designed for some of the works, explain appropriate terminology and give context to Indigenous art before and after Canada was formed. Now including works of international Indigenous art from the exhibition Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel. |
| Photography in Canada | What is photography? How are photos made and what do they do? Discover the remarkable collection of the National Gallery of Canada. 160 years of photographs tell the fascinating story of the evolution of this diverse and powerful art form. |
Watch a video of Distance Learning in action: