SchoolArts - April 2011

Paints for all!

Preschool Elementary High School Professional

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Continued from page 16.

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MUSEUM MUSINGS

An Invitation to The Dinner Party

Continued on page 71.

16 April 2011 SchoolArts
InJuly2010,wepackedourbags, readassignedarticlesontheplane, andfoundourselvesinKutztown, Pennsylvaniaforamind-expand-
ing week in a summer institute called,
An Invitation to
The Dinner Party.
Co-sponsored by
the National Art
Education Asso-
ciation and Kutz-
town University,
in partnership
with Through the
Flower, a non-profit
organization founded by artist Judy
Chicago, the institute engaged us
in active exploration of history, the
accomplishments of women, gender
stereotypes, feminist pedagogy, and
deep, substantive curriculum plan-
ning. The Dinner Party, the acclaimed
artwork by Judy Chicago was the cata-
lyst for the Institute content.

Delving into The Dinner Party We were excited to meet people and delve into something new. Director Dr. Marilyn Stewart explained that we would investigate The Dinner Party and its implications for K– 12 curricula. We also would explore feminist pedagogy.

The highlight was our visit to the
Brooklyn Museum where we had a
private tour of The Dinner Party with
Judy Chicago and shared what we had
researched about women “seated” at
the table. Museum educators demon-
strated lively ways to involve students
with the art work.

Curriculum Encounters

We explored K– 12 “encounters” found online in The Dinner Party Curriculum Project, and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Professor Nicole Romanski led a simple activit y that prompted heated and poignant discussions. We separated toys into piles according to who would play with them—boy, girl, or both. One participant said that girls don’t play with LEGOS; others adamantly opposed her statement. One classmate shared her devastating story about a brother who wanted pink fairy wings and how he was ridiculed for wanting “girl toys.” We were reminded that ideas about gender are deeply ingrained.

We were next asked to take five minutes and list women ar tists. Even the most informed and committed art teachers had a problem coming up with ten, shocking us to our core. We had an “ah-ha!” moment realizing that who or what we leave out might be more impor tant than what we teach. Admitting the difficulty in finding classroom resources featuring women ar tists, we discovered that many artrooms fail to represent women artists well.

The notion of the table was used as a metaphor for all types of individuals coming together. In another activity, we all offered names of women whom we felt could sit at the table, but could select only those meeting the original criteria. These and other curriculum encounters inspired our own lesson plans.

Breaking Professional Boundaries We learned that excellent professional development breaks new ground, challenges beliefs, creates conversations, and makes you uncomfortable enough

Roni Rohr and Stephanie Morris

Excellent professional
development breaks new
ground, challenges beliefs,
creates conversations, and
makes you uncomfortable
enough to consider
others’ views.

Working in small groups, Institute participants sort toys and engage in lively discussions about society and gender. Photo by Dolores Eaton.

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We questioned our teaching concepts and actions and found that we intuitively teach in a feminist way. The Dinner Party Curriculum Institute gave us something juicy and substantial to stand upon and use immediately when our year began.

Inspired by The Dinner Party Curriculum Kutztown experience, we condensed our week-long immersion into feminist pedagogy into

a workshop for the New Mexico Art Education Association conference. We highly recommend this and other professional development opportunities as a way of learning and sharing.

An Invitation to The Dinner Party Summer Institute will be held at Kutztown University, July 10–15, 2011. See www.kutztown.edu/academics/visual_arts/arted/ programs/ smrinst.asp for more information, or e-mail Dr. Marilyn Stewart at stewart@kutztown.edu.