Palace Museum is a wonderland for the imagination

Tosee Art has collaborated with over 300 experts and artists, and 30 art institutions, including the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, Dunhuang Academy and Today Art Gallery, to launch art courses in these spaces for students aged 5 to 12.

Chen Keyi, founder of Tosee Art, says: "We act as a bridge linking high-quality art education resources with children who are curious about art. I believe that these lecturing artists' enthusiasm for their specialties will influence the children."

A graduate of arts administration at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the 27-year-old knows how important it is to see art in exhibitions and have a good teacher to explain and guide you.

When she was a primary school pupil in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, her art teacher drove them to the provincial museum in Changsha city to see an oil painting exhibition. This experience gave her an early, precious insight into art.

"That sowed a seed in my heart. I was astounded by the pieces and felt strongly motivated," she says.

Hence, when Chen took part-time jobs as an art teacher at training agencies during her college years, she often brought her students to museums and galleries.

She then found that many parents are enthusiastic about sending their children to learn about art at museums. But children, as any parent knows, have minds of their own and many just rush past the artwork without taking anything in.

As an art enthusiast, Chen felt a sense of responsibility to do something for families in need of an immersive art education experience at museums and galleries.

In 2015, Chen began to provide art education courses that lean more on using art as a way to perceive the beauty of the outside world and for people to express themselves rather than simply learning art-related knowledge and skills.

For instance, Chen says, when they bring students to see paintings displayed at a museum, instead of merely introducing the painters and the schools of art, lecturers would first ask them to observe the artworks with certain background music.

"The children then get exposure to multiple sensory experiences," she says.

To help children stay focused on class content, games have been integrated into the curriculum, such as treasure hunts around the Palace Museum to see how many statues of mythical animals they can find in certain areas. If they catch sight of a bronze crane, they insert a given card that introduces the sculpture into a handbook. In the game, which is also a learning tool, they try to find more animals and fill the book with more cards.

"Our team has designed various teaching aids according to the different themes of the exhibitions, offering children some kind of interactive learning experience," says Chen.

Chen's team organizes monthly informative tours to selected exhibitions in Beijing.

"We usually assess the level and quality of the exhibition, as well as the environment and location of the place that is holding it," she adds.

"Most importantly, we'll make sure that we have a passionate lecturer specialized in that field."

To reach out to more children, Chen says, an online audio course titled Hello, Forbidden City was released this year and has been subscribed to by over 100,000 families in 34 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China.

"I hope we can gather top-class art education resources in China and then benefit more children and parents across the country," she says.