Embodied Art Connection: Experiencing Art Through the Five Facets of Being
This was a presentation at the National Art Education Association (NAEA) conference in 2023. Here are the slides shared by presenter Cindy Ingram:
Shared Activities
Tour Break: Winter Solstice December Cross Currents 11.17.22
Here is the recording of the training for the December 2022 Cross Currents public tour, Winter Solstice:
Tour Break: Winter Solstice December Cross Currents
Here is the chat:
Chat for December Cross Currents
Here are the presentation slides, with the resources:
Tour Break_ Winter Solstice Cross Currents
And here are the best practices for engagement from guides who have given multiple Cross Currents tours, and some information and reminders about the tour format:
Best Practices for Cross Currents tours
Tour: Children’s songs and art
Docent Bill Wilson has shared a tour outline for a children’s tour focused on connecting songs to art:
Gender Power Workshop, October 29-30, 2020
From your colleague Jennifer Orton, an interesting free workshop through Northern Clay, 5:30 to 8:30 PM, October 29 and 30:
GENDER/POWER WORKSHOP WITH MAYA CIARROCCHI & KRIS GREY
Tour of Dutch Republic Art
From your colleague Linda Krueger, a detailed tour outline for the tour she developed entitled “Middle Class Takes Over Art World. Dutch Republic, 17th Century.” In this document, you will find loads of great information on the time of the Dutch Republic and how our art reflects that time:
Math and Art Study Group Tour Outline
Here is a generous tour-related document developed by the Math and Art study group, led by David Fortney.
Article on the Dollhouse
At Minneapolis museum, a tiny doll provokes a big conversation around race! See this article by Gail Rosenblum in the Star Tribune:
Star Tribune article on the Dollhouse
You be the Curator! tour and participatory activity
From your colleague Josie Owens, an idea for a tour capped by a participatory activity connected to Native American Art.
Josie says, “If anyone wants to use my supplies, I am happy to share them. They are all laminated and very nice. I shared the tour idea and a photo of the curatorial decisions reached with Jill who loved it.”
Here are the instructions:
You Be the Curator tour and activity
And here is a photograph that shows how the final layout looked:
Gallery activity ideas from the Getty…
Here is an article with some gallery activity ideas from a Museum Mashup that happened at the Getty. Enjoy!
Participatory Activities (color and storytelling)
From your colleague, Mary McMahon, two ideas for gallery activities:
“The instructor asked that we compare and contrast art from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa (no small task!!). I developed the theme of Blue used in art from ancient times to present starting with Egyptian Blue and ending with International Klein Blue (IKB). For Europe, we discussed ultra marine blue and how it differed from cheaper blues that faded over time focusing on the triptych Lamentation with Saint John the Baptist in gallery 342. For our next “object” I sent them to gallery 343 with the direction to find a painting with blue in it that they really liked and stand in front of it. I gave them a minute or two to decide then with each student, I asked what they liked about their painting or why they chose it. Then I asked them to describe the areas of blue and whether they thought cheap blue or ultra marine blue was used and why. It was a really fun exercise and the students really focused on their particular painting.”
“I wanted to share another participatory exercise from my tour today. My theme was about story telling through art, from fables and myths to the unknown. After talking about Lady Tashat and her biography drawn on the sarcophagus we went to the Female Figure from the Cyclades. I told the students where this figure came from and a little about the Cyclades but explained that we didn’t know her story or what happened there. So I asked the students to create the story. We sat on the ground, I was the transcriber, and the students took turns creating a story about the woman. Even giving her a name – the first group chose Rosetta, the second, Alythia. They were very creative and loved this exercise! I then gave them the story to share with their teacher. I would definitely do this again and all you need is piece of paper and a pencil.”
Trade routes tour outline and participatory activity
From docent Susan Arndt, a tour outline for school groups, focused on the importance of trade routes for exchange of goods and ideas. She also includes a great participatory activity for the kids, no props or extras needed for it!
Contemporary Art Tour/Activity
This self-guided activity sheet, developed by docent Ginny Wheeler, could also be used for a contemporary art tour for teens and adults by developing a theme and transitions that tie the works together. Here is a possible theme:
Contemporary Art: Finding Connections
This tour/activity is about connections…the viewer and the art, the artist and tradition, the artist and the past, the art and today’s world. How do we connect with art? How does the artist connect the past and present?