Visual Thinking Strategies
VTS is an art-based dialogue method that increases:
1. visual
literacy (observation skills),
2. critical thinking (discovering multiple
points of view) and
3. empathic connection (communicating
difference and identity).
This training is for facilitators (beginners,
intermediate and experienced) and consists of hands-on practice as
well as theory, to deepen the practice. See schedule below for more
details on the training program.
More about Visual Thinking Strategies: https://vtshome.org.
The VTS method is useful for people who work with people: teachers, therapist, mediators, caregivers, activists, researchers,
artists… to help establish flexible social, cognitive and creative connections, with oneself, with others and with the world.
This training coincides with a plein-air for painters at the Kintai Arts
Residence, and the idea is to collaborate closely with these artists
on site. The town of Kintai is uniquely situated on the Neringa lagoon and artists are invited here to explore their connection with
nature and to relate their creativity to the fauna and flora from the
region.This residence/training aims to establish a dialogue between
the artists and facilitators and to support creative thought
processes between them.
About Karen Vanhercke:
The trainer is: Karen Vanhercke. She has a background in Art History and has been working as an art educator for over 30 years. She started as a visual resources manager in the Art department at the University of California in Davis, where she edited learning content for Art History faculty and collaborated closely with the Studio Artists of the MFA program. Later she became an educational researcher in the Art and History museum in Brussels, where she piloted and developed several innovative educational programs for culturally diverse audiences. Most recently she worked as a curator at MO Museum in Vilnius Lithuania, where she started the first VTS training program for museum educators and staged a children’s exhibition (Lake full of Stars) centred around experiential learning. She is the founder of easel.world where she currently offers VTS training courses and educational programs based on the discussion of single artworks. Karen has trained numerous educators in different countries, from the Art & History Museum (Brussels), the National Gallery of Art (Vilnius), The FoMu (Antwerpen), The Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius), to MO Museum (Vilnius). Her weekly online art-based dialogues are ongoing since 2020 and are attended by people from all over the world. Currently she teaches at the Waldorf Green School in Vilnius where she uses VTS as a method to engage with beginning English students in active dialogue.
More about Art-based Dialogue: www.easel.world
Schedule:
- Friday, June 16th
5 pm: public lecture - “Stories are made from images” during the opening of 'Between Nature and Anthropocene " exhibition at Kintai Arts gallery
7 pm: Welcoming dinner - Saturday, June 17th
10 am - 12:30 am: VTS 1 - “Art, language and perception + 3 Questions”
2 pm: public session at the gallery - Sunday, the 18th:
10 am: VTS 2 - “Paraphrasing and active listening”
2 pm: VTS 3 - “Abigail Housen on aesthetic development” - Monday, June 19th
10 am: VTS 4 - “Image Selection for Art-based Dialogue”
2 pm: VTS 5 - “Hands on: trainees in dialogue with graphic art students” 5 pm: public lecture: "The theory behind visual thinking” - Tuesday, June 20th
10 am: VTS 6 “Framing: how to use images to become aware of biases”
Afternoon: free!
All the activities of the training will be presented in English
Sign up for the Kintai - VTS Facilitator training - 2023
Karen Vanhercke: karen@easel.world
Kintai Arts email: info@kintaiarts.lt
