ArtWorks

ArtWorks student's interpretation of Grant Wood's Young Corn

ArtWorks enriches school curriculum by teaching third graders how to view, appreciate and discuss architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts. Learning Leaders’ volunteers conduct four in-class sessions — in every third grade class at a school — in which they discuss each art form and view slides of works that will be seen on a subsequent guided class trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or Brooklyn Museum. The program concludes with a fifth classroom session, which often features a discussion, art project or writing activity that connects directly to the museum visit. Each student receives a pass to visit to the museum with their family.

Classes were broken into groups of 4 to 6 students to facilitate in-depth and personal discussions, with each group led by a trained ArtWorks volunteer. This level of intimacy is highly unusual in museum visits. Alice Whitridge Schwarz, Associate Museum Educator at the Met, observed that hosting ArtWorks is a “win-win situation for the museum…the program brings public school students who are trained to understand the art work they see but who would not ordinarily visit us into the Met.”

Volunteer Dorothy Manso (left) and ArtWorks Coordinator Marion Pomeranc.

Learning Leaders’ rigorous training curriculum includes art history, appropriate teaching techniques, and detailed presentations on the specific works to be covered. This year, new program volunteers received three 2-hour training sessions at either the Learning Leaders central office in Manhattan or at schools in Queens and Staten Island. Volunteers then attended one training led by program coordinator, Marion Pomeranc, at the Metropolitan and/or Brooklyn Museum to familiarize themselves with tours on which they would lead students. Returning volunteers are encouraged to participate in refresher workshops to increase their knowledge about art education and to explore any changes in the ArtWorks curriculum.

To join ArtWorks, call 646-519-8369 or email artworks@learningleaders.org.