LITTLE FRIENDS

With our age-appropriate offerings, we want to put the museum's myth of sublimity into perspective in a positive sense and finally abolish the myth of boredom that prevails from a child's perspective.

Works of art condense perceptions and thereby create experiences of openness, differentiation, ambiguity but also uncertainty in the viewer. A wealth of experience that unnoticed provides us with a wide range of help for our own everyday lives. As committed supporters of an art museum, we are very aware of the value of engaging with art - and the desire to pass this treasure on to a growing generation is familiar to many of us.

In times that are increasingly characterized by the rapidity of information and images, in which one's own senses are sometimes almost reeling due to the countless stimuli, the (training) of these senses seems increasingly important to us. For this conscious education of the senses, we need aesthetic education, which differs from conventional educational offerings primarily because of this sensory experience. Because only sensory experience is itself the original source of knowledge and insight. It enables us to develop imagination and a sense of beauty as well as the ability to express ourselves and judge.

It therefore stands to reason that nothing is better suited to aesthetic education than the receptive and productive engagement with art itself. The Little Friends' educational offerings are understood in this sense. In them, the reception of art is combined with one's own productivity and, where appropriate, fine art is also linked with its sisters, the other fine arts. The former is possible through very small groups accompanied by art educators; Fascinating collaborations can be realized through the good network of “friends”.

The program for ages 5-9 and 10-12 takes place in courses and is divided into trimesters based on school holidays. Each course is dedicated to a house in the Nationalgalerie and a selected topic that fits that house and the current exhibition program. In addition to the aesthetic education of the children, it is our wish that after a certain time the children see the National Gallery as “their” museum.

That's why it's not only important to have the program take place at all the museums, but also to personally get to know as many of the people who ensure that these wonderful museums exist. The events are structured so that children can take part without being accompanied by their parents. This is a welcome opportunity for parents to immerse themselves in the Nationalgalerie's diverse offerings and discover new things or revisit old favorites more often.