The annual Take One Picture exhibition opens at the National Gallery. This year’s free exhibition will run from 13 July until 8 October 2023.
Columbia Threadneedle Investments is proud sponsor for the sixth consecutive year of the National Gallery’s annual ‘Take One Picture’ learning programme and exhibition which opens today and continues through the summer. Take One Picture is the National Gallery’s countrywide scheme for primary students which uses one painting from the Gallery’s collection to inspire cross-curricular work in primary classrooms. The programme is also supported by Columbia Threadneedle’s charitable entity, Columbia Threadneedle Foundation.
Each year the National Gallery’s Take One Picture programme invites primary schools nationwide to focus on one of its paintings and respond creatively to its themes and subject matter, historical context or composition. The programme aims to put art at the centre of children’s learning, inspiring a lifelong connection with artists, museums and galleries.
This year the National Gallery has selected A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas (1773) by Claude-Joseph Vernet as the source of inspiration. Originally known as ‘Tempête’ (Storm) the painting depicts a rocky shoreline buffeted by a violent sea storm with the remains of a ship shattered against the rocks.
The exhibition features a range of works reflecting the richness of the children’s creative responses to Vernet’s painting. This includes creative projects from 40 primary schools across the country, ranging from tea-stained diaries to dramatic dance performances. Their projects make links between art and subjects across the curriculum such as history, science, geography and literacy.
Laura Cook, Head of Corporate Communications, EMEA & APAC, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments and Chair of Columbia Threadneedle Foundation, said: “We are pleased to be supporting this leading educational programme for a sixth year. Its innovative approach encourages children to develop their analytical skills through the interpretation of an artwork, skills which they will take forward through their education and future life. The programme also serves as a platform for celebrating children’s work and fostering a sense of belonging in the Gallery.”
Karen Eslea, Head of Learning and National Programmes at the National Gallery, said “These children are young artists who explore the world, and their own learning, through looking very carefully at one painting. Asking questions and investigating with others in their own community and beyond helps them to develop creative ways in which to respond. This exhibition illustrates the power of children’s ideas and creativity, and how they can help us all to think more deeply about the paintings in the collection, but also about our lives and the lives of others. Thank you to all the inspiring children and teachers who have taken part this year.”
