Bringing the Museum to the Classroom

The Art, Design & Architecture Museum is proud to boast its association with the UCSB Art History Education Outreach Program that is revamping this year. The Outreach is run by two graduate students in the History of Art & Architecture department at the University, Maggie Bell and Ashleigh Lynch. They have created a program that services local schools in the Goleta area to bring art history workshops to the classrooms and after-school programs. With the increasing public school budget cuts and other factors, exposure to art is not as much a priority in K-12 curriculum as is an ideal. This outreach wants to teach students about art in context and how to develop relationships with museums, while instilling the value of looking closely at art.

Ashleigh and Maggie work with six interns of the ADAM who share the same passion for teaching the younger generation about art. Together, the outreach team develops brief lectures and interactive art activities that engage the students with art in a historical sense as well as a craft. Ranging from Impressionism to origami, these workshops benefit the students and the interns. This year, the Outreach team has developed a close relationship with nearby school IV Elementary and their after-school program.

While the students are given the opportunity to learn about artists and get their hands dirty with water colors, the interns are learning how to become educators. Not all want to pursue art education after they graduate, but the skills they are learning such as public speaking, talking about art to children, and managing a room full of people will help them in their futures. The Art, Design, & Architecture Museum firmly advocates for student collaboration with the museum and with associated programs of the museum. It is this type of student initiated work that we strongly believe will develop the future curators, collectors, dealers, and even directors of the art world.

The Art History Education Outreach Program plans to continue fostering relationships with local schools and reaching as many students as possible. The link below is their website where teachers and administrators can browse workshops, learn more about the program, and even request a lecture. We are hoping that their outstanding efforts will lead to Goleta youth visiting our museum and other local museums more often. ADAM looks forward to this program’s continued success.

http://ucsbarthistoryoutreach.wordpress.com/

-Merisa Vertti, ADC and Education Intern