Art School of Northern Helsinki provides basic teaching of the visual arts for children and young students of the Northern Helsinki area. The age of the students vary from 4 to 20 years of age.
The aim of the teaching is to provide practical skills together with a further understanding of the visual arts. The teaching is planned each year according to the age and capabilities of the students.
In the summer time and throughout the school year there is a wide range of short-term courses to attend.
The Art School of Northern Helsinki was founded in 1985. The school is supported by Northern Helsinki Art School Board, the City of Helsinki and the Finnish Ministry of Education.
350 students attend the Art School of Northern Helsinki annually.
TERMS AND FEES
The school year starts at the turn of August-September and ends some time in May depending on the duration of the chosen course. The duration of the school year as a whole is 33 weeks.
The school fee is to be paid beforehand for one semester at a time.
List of school fees:
- Elementary studies (4-6 year olds ) 140 e
- Basic studies (7-11 year olds) 140-160 e
- Site specific/architecture studies 160 e
- Periodic workshops and Specialised studies (12-20 year olds) 180-210 e
The entrance fee for beginners/newcomers is 6 e
Main school and office:
Itä-Pakila, Ohrahuhdantie 2 B, 00680 Helsinki
Office, tel: 09-75 44 586, Fax: 09-72 83 538
Rector, tel: 09-75 79 2830
Teaching in Malmi district:
Malmitalo, Ala-Malmin tori 1, 00700 Helsinki
HOW TO APPLY
The annual period of application is 15 April - 15 May. Application forms are available at the main school in Pakila and at Malmitalo and also in the libraries of Paloheinä, Oulunkylä and Maunula.
If there are more applications than vacancies on the courses to attend there is a lottery as to which applicants are selected.
Those chosen will be notified before mid August. The rest of the applicants will be put on a waiting list. Because there may be cancellations in the middle of the school year, the applicants on the waiting list may get a chance to start their studies throughout the school year.
The school offers a few vacancies annually for so called free students. These have to be applied on a separate form.
STUDENTS AND TEACHING
An art course consists of 8-13 pupils.
-Teaching takes place once a week/a course, 2-4 academic hours (45 minutes) at a time.
-The teachers are either art teachers or visual artists with educational interests.
Elementary studies (4-6 year olds)
1-2 lessons once a week
-The learning process is based on the ways in which a child tends to play.
-The aim is to activate imagination and to widen the ways of perception.
-The teaching consists of drawing, painting, pottery/ceramics and constructing together with experimental use of various materials.
-The focus of the teaching is to encourage the creativity of the working-process rather than to aim at a goal. The learning is to take place in experimentation, play and the act of creation.
Basic studies (7-11 year olds)
2-3 lessons once a week
-The learning consists of drawing, painting, the basics of graphic art/printing, ceramics/sculpting and construction work. The children are provided with the basic knowledge and skills of creating a visual image. They are taught the grounds of composition, colour, anatomy and perspective.
-The aim of the comprehensive studies is to guide the child into the richness and plurality of the world of visual images. The aim is to widen the child’s personal creativity by encouraging him/her to experiment and to look at things from various angles and to enhance the ways of perception.
-In the site specific and architectural comprehensive studies the main interest lies in developing the child’s sense of space, enriching the ways of perceiving constructed environment and learning how to work with three dimensions.
Periodic workshop (12-14 year olds)
The school year of this workshop is divided into several 6-8 weeksí periods during which the students are taught different skills by art specialists.
The topics of the periods are roughly the following: architectural studies, animation, cartoon drawing, ceramics, painting, printing, photography. It is recommended that 12-14-year old children should attend the periodic workshop for two years before moving on to the more advanced workshops.
Specialised studies (13-20 year olds)
3-4 lessons once a week
After the periodic workshop there are several specialised workshops out of which the student may choose the one he/she prefers. The range of the workshops varies annually according to the needs of the students.
The specialised workshops aim to deepen the student’s knowledge and skills of the chosen art form (ceramics, cartoons, painting, sculpting, etc.) The aim of the specialised studies is to enrich the student’s personal ways of expression and creativity.
”Ateljee” workshop (16-20 years olds) is meant for those students who has been studying for several years in specialised studies.