School profile

Elementary Art Schools are a part of fhe non-mandatory education. These schools are visited by talented children and by children who have special interest in a specific form of visual art. Admission to our school requires passing an entry exam in arts. The school expands knowledge, skills and abilities of students in following areas: Drawing, Painting, Graphic Art, Sculpturing and Material Art, Decoraiive Art, Photography for older kids, Selected chapters of Art History.
The school takes part in forming of esthetic senses of children, helps to acquire ethical norms and tries to provide them with the contents of the visual art. The youngest age of students is 6 (so called preparatory course). There are two regular courses: 1st Basic Grade Grade Course that takes 8 years and 2nd Basic course that take four years. There are courses for adults as well. After graduating the school, our graduates attend various types of high or university art schools where they further develop gained skills.
In Slovakia, the network of Elementary Art Schools is quite well developed. There is a common curriculum that represents the basics of the education, however, each school develops its specific profile.
The results do not depend on perfect mastering of individual subjects. Each good school should be aware that it is a part of a community. Our mission is not to bring up only professional artists, but first of all fully developed people with sensitive and non-conventional approach to life and its problems.
A part of our work is participation at visual art exhibits and competitions. They represent an opportunity to compare with others, learn how to manage public presentations and how to go through own or fellows successes and failures. Furthermore, exhibitions allow developing a responsible attitude to ones own work so that if represents not only the author, but also the school, city and the country.
We have organized exhibitions of students and their teachers in the Children Gallery with the goal of preparation to mutual tolerance in visual art. In 1991-1995 we had own exhibition space. This was an excellent preparation for presentation of art in other public places. Due to financial reasons we had to retreat to use the modest space in the building of our school. Bud the traditions of exhibits survived in a form of mini-exhibitions, where two teachers present art of their pupils in two-three month intervals. The adult group assists with adjustments and installations of their own work.
An annual highlight of joint effort of teachers and pupils is the final exhibitton,that is a combination of theory and practice with the realities of life. In an easy and practical way allow pupils to enter the realm of basic principles of public presentation and appearance. It helps to imprint into them the need of regular perception of visual artifacts.
Teachers do not prevent confrontation with the pupils perspectives on their own artwork. Regular exhibitions of teachers art allow them to understad own teacher also through the artwork, that is very good... Regular three day landscape painting courses in the field became a tradition for 1 st Grade graduates.
For high school students are organized regular site visits and excursions asa way to connect the theory of visual art with real art pieces.
And for the adult students, the course hours represent a regular contact with visual art theory and practice.
Mission of our school will be accomplished if we succeed in preparing young people for life so that they are able to address their problems in a creative way. So that they will actively and wisely spend their free time without different addicting habits, and they will live their lives with the permanent curiosity and with open view toward other opinions and people. So that they will be friends of environment and enemies of racism and intolerance in any form, so that they will respect others and be respectful towards themselves.

PaedDr.Radoslava Fullerova
Deputy Headmaster