SMBC Aviation Capital Schools Programme at the National Gallery of Ireland

My Primary School is at the Gallery is a residency project designed to make meaningful, long-lasting connections between local primary schools and their National Gallery. Supported by SMBC Aviation Capital, the initiative aims to work collaboratively, flexibly and sensitively to the needs of DEIS schools, often managing substantial educational barriers, to actively broaden access to the arts.

From Tuesday 30 September to Thursday 13 November 2025, third class students from St Audoen’s National School were resident at the Gallery for one day each week, as part of the My Primary School is at the Gallery programme, learning and exploring all their subjects through art. Facilitated by the Gallery’s Schools Team, the pupils attended a series of workshops linking the national curriculum to art and creativity, bringing the national collection to life. 

The Gallery’s relationship with St Audoen’s NS began in 2023, with their participation in the local Schools Network, and the Gallery delivered Your Gallery at School in their school campus. The SMBC Aviation Capital Schools Programme is integral to facilitating the development of these relationships, growing trust between schools and the Gallery through multiple levels of programming, and maintaining close connections once they are established. 

The My Primary School is at the Gallery residency programme has been designed around the needs of DEIS primary schools to support the Gallery as a space for all students. St Audoen’s NS is a DEIS Band 1 primary school, meaning that the school faces the highest concentration of educational disadvantage in the country. The residency structure is linked with the visual arts curriculum for primary level, with children taking part in art-making workshops, and exploring temporary exhibitions such as Creatuir na Cartlainne: Tails from the Archive and Picasso: From the Studio. The Schools Team collaborate with other departments in the Gallery, letting the students work on the Gallery floor, but also delving behind the scenes into areas not usually accessed by the public.

Jules Breton (1827-1906), The Gleaners, 1854. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland

In the Gallery, the students looked to Jules Breton’s painting The Gleaners for their English class, using their creative writing skills to create diary entries inspired by its depiction of rural life.

The children stayed on the Gallery floor for their history lesson, studying the story of Strongbow and Aoife from Daniel Maclise’s masterpiece in the Shaw Room. They created and acted out a mini interview scenario, taking it in turns interviewing Aoife about how she felt about her marriage. 

The students had a treasure hunt in the Gallery to find the different elements that contribute to the safety and security of paintings, from glass coverings to ropes, our Museum Security Officers and alarm system. The children also learned about painting conservation, and were able to experience “conserving” their own version of Jack B. Yeats’ Liffey Swim. 

A sketching tour of the Gallery engaged the students in learning how to interpret the paintings they saw in their own individual way. They took this knowledge back to the Education Studio, looking at a number of paintings and interpreting their style. They studied the impressionists and their lines of colour, creating woven pieces inspired by their works. In their science lesson about chromatography, students used primary colours to mix and create all the other colours of the rainbow, and used this knowledge to create paintings inspired by the abstract art they saw in our galleries dedicated to Modern European art. 

Sketching the Collection. Photo © Jack Caffrey, The Pimlico Project

Visiting the Gallery’s Library & Archive, the students learned about the materials the Gallery holds in the archives. The vast quantities of sketchbooks, photographs, journals, books and other ephemera fascinated them, and led to a deeper understanding of how information on artists is collected and studied. They were pleased to hold Jack B. Yeats’ Olympic medal from 1924, a highlight of the programme for many of the children. Another favourite lesson was maths class. The students explored the Gallery’s unique architecture and recreated the 3d shapes they saw using cocktail sticks and marshmallows. 

The six-week residency concluded on Thursday 13 November, with the installation of their Open Studio. The students had the opportunity that day to show off the work they created to their proud families and friends. They shared their newfound knowledge of the Gallery with pupils from fourth class in St Audoen’s NS, furthering the impact of the programme to the wider school community. The studio opened to the public on 14 and 15 November with over 920 visitors, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from visitors.

Annabel Fitzgerald, SVP ESG and Corporate Affairs, SMBC Aviation Capital, and Kim Smit, Director of Collections and Research, National Gallery of Ireland, exploring the students work at their Open Studio. Photo © Mark Stedman.

The My Primary School is at the Gallery programme is always a formative experience for the student participants, emboldening young people to fully embrace the Gallery and inspiring their future creativity. “I learnt that art is not always perfect. It’s ok if it’s imperfect.” 

My Primary School is at the Gallery is supported by SMBC Aviation Capital, Schools Partner.