School Programs Fundraising Initiative
We know that field trips to art galleries and museums have measurable positive impacts on students’ creative and critical thinking skills, and, importantly, have been demonstrated to help students empathize and tolerate differences.
We believe that all students should have equitable access to this fundamental learning experience, without costs creating a barrier to participate. Kamloops Art Gallery is looking to raise $20,000 annually in support of offering fully funded field trips to the Gallery for elementary school children (grades K to 7) across all four school districts.
With your support, we can ensure that all children have the opportunity to participate.
Kamloops Art Gallery School Programs engage children from across Secwepemcúl’ecw (the Interior of British Columbia), serving students from School Districts 73, 74, 27, and 57, in addition to the home-schooling community, Thompson Rivers University, and regional daycares and early learning centres. New programs are developed for each exhibition, creating unique opportunities for classes to visit at least three times every school year. All programs incorporate core competencies and learning standards from the BC Curriculum and are accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide which supports pre- and post-visit learning. In 2025, the Kamloops Art Gallery facilitated 83 tours and art-making workshops for 1,841 children.
Facilitated programs at art galleries have been shown to support the development of students’ creative and critical thinking capacities and affect students in four measurable ways:
QUESTIONING // Students ask more complex questions
MULTIPLE INTERPRETATIONS // Students are more accepting of multiple interpretations
PHYSICALITY OF ART // Students are more likely to think about art in terms of its material properties
EMOTIVE RECALL // Students experience greater emotive recall of the program
Contributions of any amount are welcome. For every contribution of $250, one K-7 class will be able to participate in a guided 2-hour tour and workshop program at the Gallery free of charge.
$5,000+ // Fund 20 Classrooms, Impact 600 Students
$2,500+ // Fund 10 Classrooms, Impact 300 Students
$1000+ // Fund 4 Classrooms, Impact 120 Students
$250+ // Fund 1 Classroom, Impact 30 Students
Your contribution towards this program will have lasting impact on the children in this community. Thank you for your support.
IMAGES: Children participating in school programs at the Kamloops Art Gallery, November 2025. Photos: Frank Luca.
Your commitment to this initiative will manifest change. We look forward to hearing from you.
For more information, please contact:
Emily Hope, Executive Director, Kamloops Art Gallery
ehope@kag.bc.ca
250.377.2412
NOTE: We are now using Zeffy to process all online donations and memberships. This Canadian-owned organization helps not-for-profits like us keep 100% of the funds donors like you contribute by covering all processing fees, and not charging us anything - which means when you donate $100, we get $100 instead of $95.
What this means for you: you will see an OPTIONAL “tip Zeffy” function when you donate online. If you select “other amount” and leave the field blank, you will not be charged.