Art in a
Janet Payne
What is the best way to
approach professional
development for art
teachers? As I am an
instructional coordinator, I am constantly searching for substantive and
sequential learning opportunities
that excite and engage art teachers
K– 12 while infusing new learning
into their teaching.
Since I think different perspectives offer more opportunities for
meaningful learning, I actively
search for partners when it comes
to the development of professional
growth for art teachers. Our Stafford County school division’s most
enduring partner over the last decade
has been the Hampton University
Museum in Hampton, Virginia.
Located on the campus of a histori-
Museum Musings
cally black university, this museum
has extensive collections of African,
American Indian, and African-American art.
Art in a Suitcase
A recent partnership involved the
development of an educational outreach program titled Art in a Suitcase. Former museum director Mary
Lou Hultgren asked me to serve as a
consultant on the project, which was
made possible through a grant from
the Wyeth Foundation. The goals of
the Art in a Suitcase project were
to extend learning from art teachers to their students and to promote
the museum as a setting for regular
community visits. Hultgren was also
looking for a project that would tell
the Hampton University Museum
story while bringing local art teachers and
students
to the
museum.
Art in a
Suitcase is
a portable
resource used to encourage teachers
to come to the museum for orientation and then check out the suitcase
for use at school. The suitcase can
be custom packed, depending on the
needs of the teacher, and checked
out to use at school.
A variety of resources are available, including large poster reproductions, art cards, a resource guide,
videos/DVDs, and picture books.
The connecting theme of the
suitcase is “Children through the
Eye of the African-American Artist.”
All selected images depict images
of children and family particularly
relevant to K– 5 students and invite
rich discussion and personal reflection. We chose six African-American
artists and twenty images of their
work. The selected images also
presented an opportunity for strong
connections to be made between art
and the academic state-mandated
standards of learning.
teachers. After a year of research and
writing, a forty-four-page guide was
completed. A distinguishing feature
of this publication is the addition of
the role the museum and university
played in the development of the
featured artists. Each of the six featured artists has a special relationship with the university, either as a
student, a teacher, or as an artist-in-residence on campus.
Teacher Orientation
Since the completion of the project, seventy-five art teachers have
participated in the Art in a Suitcase
orientation. Teachers get to see the
actual artwork, respond to it, and
participate in reflective discussions
about the work.
At the first teacher orientation,
teachers met artist Greg Henry and
looked
Art in a Suitcase is a portable resource at the
used to encourage teachers to visit the original
illustra-
museum for orientation and then use tions from
the suitcase at school. his book
Chickens
Chickens. Teachers had the opportu-
nity to formulate and ask the artist/
illustrator/sculptor/educator ques-
tions about his development as an
artist and the influence the museum
and university had on his artistic
development. The workshop ended
with each educator developing a
plan for suitcase.
Reflections
Partnerships work best when both
partners benefit from the experience. In our partnership with the
Hampton University Museum,
Stafford teachers have received
new knowledge of an invaluable art
environment, as well as meaningful
resources to share with their students. The museum has developed
new contacts and goodwill ambassadors who will take the museum
message into their schools.
Teacher Resource Guide
As the author of the teacher resource
guide, I was challenged with the task
of designing an instructional tool
for use by both art and classroom
Janet Payne is art education consultant
and the former arts education supervisor
for Stafford County Schools in Virginia.
Jpayne22401@yahoo.com
