Teachers with artist Charles Zuill	Getting craft tips from Deidre Furtado	The colourful Gombey display	BUT members get down to work!	Creating crafts with Deidre Furtado

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TEACHERS GO 'BACK TO BASICS'!

The Bermuda Union of Teachers 22nd Annual Conference was held on November 7-8. The Bermuda National Gallery conducted a workshop, on November 7 for the Primary School teachers, based around the theme Back to Basics and used our Bermuda Collection: 350 Years of Arts in Bermuda as the inspiration for a truly educational and inspiring workshop.

It opened with Judy Wong, Education Officer, discussing the history of Bermuda’s Visual Arts and the key figures in it. Swiftly followed on by Ruth Thomas, who treated the teachers to a presentation that opened up a discussion on Bermuda’s identity and culture.

Then the teachers listened avidly to Mr. Gary Phillips and Mr. Irwin Trott, from the Warwick Gombeys, who talked, in detail, on the history of the Gombeys and the intricacies of the designs of the costumes. This was followed by a truly hands-on experience in which the teachers went from learning about Bermuda’s traditional crafts right through to contemporary art.

First, creating their own unique banana dolls, taught by craftsperson Deirdre Furtado, which then lead to an art workshop by one of Bermuda’s well respected contemporary artists, Charles Zuill, in which the teachers recreated a work of art in his style.