WORKS OF WONDER

STEAM Education

In the lower floor of Holstebro Kunstmuseum - surrounded by the art which have been a source of inspiration – WORKS OF WONDER originates. The work has been created; concluding and celebrating a special kind of study course. With the participation of 268 students from Holstebro Gymnasium og HF (the local high school), Holstebro Kunstmuseum has been a space of learning and expression for two years as part of a new way of teaching which connects science and art: STEAM.

Experiments and learning in 
the field between art and science

STEAM education is a new initiative that is based on a holistic approach to learning, where subject boundaries are dissolved and connected. Most often, science and art are taught separately, but the STEAM approach makes it possible to connect them and challenge traditional ways of thinking and learning strategies.
The course at Holstebro Kunstmuseum has been based on works by visual artist John Olsen (1938-2019). The artist’s works were chosen because of his investigative, wondering and experimental practice, which embraces the field of natural sciences.
During the course, the students delved into John Olsen’s practice and draw different natural science perspectives into visual arts education.

A joint work with many threads

WORKS OF WONDER is woven of the students’ own process-oriented sketches, works and experiments, where they have tried their hand at techniques such as embossing, dehydrating and bleaching. These experiments have given rise to a lot of material, which has been collected, tied together and shaped by visual artists Jens Ardal and Sara Holm Strandby in the room next to John Olsen’s Cabinet of Wonder. 
Interwoven with the students’ own productions - and as a nod to the course’s other home base – are selected objects from Holstebro Gymnasium og HF’s exceptional natural science collection, including from beetle collector and former teacher, Ole Mehl.