Art Educator Workshop

March 23, 2009

Art Educators Make Art & A Difference at Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning

CORNING, NY- As part of a teacher in-service day today, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art hosted 48 art educators from area districts for "The Art Teacher Connection II." The program was sponsored by GST Boces and included a full day of staff development workshops that earned teachers in-service credit hours.

Beginning from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. in the Museum's Visions the West Gallery, teachers heard from several different speakers - Ann Welles, Visual Arts Curator at 171 Cedar Arts Center, Tom Oberg, Arts in Education Coordinator at the Arts of the Southern Finger Lakes, Maria Driscoll-McMahon, Arts in Education Program Specialist at GST Boces, and Sheila K. Hoffman, Curator of Collections at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Each spoke on their perspective of art and education and how area cultural institutions can work together to use art as a means of expression and support art curriculum in the classroom.

Three rotating workshops gave art educators the opportunity to network together, share ideas, and learn more about the Rockwell Museum of Western Art's educational programming. The group of 48 was split into smaller groups and participated in three different workshops between 10 a.m. - Noon. Veteran Rockwell Museum docents, Stafford Lyons and Janene Cooper, led small groups of teachers through the Museum's second floor, stopping in the Remington and Russell Lodge and the current special exhibition gallery, [now on view: Remington's West & The Popular Prints]. Teachers were presented with the educational theory of Visual Thinking Strategies® the core concept and philosophy behind the educational programming at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Visual Thinking Strategies®, or VTS®, is a teaching method that uses facilitated discussion to engage students in a process of examination and observation and uses art to develop critical thinking, communication and thoughtful participation skills. After learning about VTS®, teachers were then given the opportunity to practice the strategy with each other, in hopes they will bring it back to their individual classrooms. Selections of the Museum's permanent collection and special exhibition were used as a backdrop for these discussions.

Mary Mix and Lori Rajsky, both of the Rockwell Museum's Education Department, presented a soon-to-be public drop-in activity called "The Art Trail," designed for middle-school and high school aged visitors. The drop-in activity will add to the very popular repertoire of daily drop-in activities designed for the young and young-at-heart. "The Art Trail" will be unveiled to the public this summer and was presented to teachers for feedback before the summer launch. Teachers discussed and remarked on the design and content of the program.

"I was happy to receive feedback from our area art educators. Their feedback is invaluable and I was pleased to present to them the activities we offer at the Museum and was pleased to hear that "The Art Trail" was received so favorably," says Mary Mix, School & Docent Programs Manager at the Rockwell Museum. "It is important to me that area art educators continue to be strong partners with the Museum to promote student learning through the arts."

Lastly, the groups spent time with Rockwell Museum Director of Education, Gigi Alvaré. Alvaré led the groups in an art making activity while discussing many of the educational programs and partnerships the Rockwell Museum offers.

"Today's art making gave the educators, who often don't have the chance or time to work on art, the chance to explore the creative process together," says Alvaré. "I was able to talk about the role in which the Rockwell hopes to play in our community and in the lives of our young students."

For more information on the Rockwell Museum's Educational Programming, please click here.

About the Rockwell Museum of Western Art

In these tough economic times, we recognize that the concept of "community" means so much. In response, we are offering free admission on Sundays now through April 2009. We invite you, our community, to the Museum and to be inspired by our vision, collections and programs. Kids & Teens are always FREE (19 & under).

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art is located in the center of the Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York Sate and in the heart of Corning's Gaffer District. The Museum is open to the public seven days a week; hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Membership to the Museum includes yearlong free admission. For more information, please visit us online at www.rockwellmuseum.org.

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