Education Initiatives

ARTIST WHITNEY AGUIÑIGA offered a virtual tour of her works on display in Currents + FLUX, as well as a virtual talk and demonstration where participants were invited to create “pots in protest.”

Engaging the Community with California Art

While the Museum was closed for in-person visits during much of the year, the Education and Public Programs team rose to the challenge by developing creative and engaging virtual programs for students, families, artists, and the public of Monterey County and beyond. Our virtual school tours, offered free to Monterey County schools, were designed with California and National Core Standards for visual art and remote learning models in mind to support educators’ curriculums and virtual classrooms. From Virtual Free Family Fun Days, Virtual Artist Talks, and Color Duets Virtual Drop-In Workshops, to the Arts Access Digital Studio, programs enhanced patrons’ enjoyment of the arts and knowledge of important California artists and their works.

“I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this week’s virtual artist talk by Whitney Aguiñiga, featuring ‘Pots in Protest.’ I particularly enjoyed the hands-on presentation with Whitney and, in fact, have passed it along to some fellow art lovers. I hope you will continue to offer virtual presentations.”

NINA ELDRED

“I wanted to reach out to you because I thought you might appreciate hearing how helpful your online art resources have been for my family. Because my daughters’ school lessons are being offered remotely, I was looking for new arts and culture resources to use with them in addition to what their teacher provided, because I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I was able to find some really awesome ideas and activities because of your website. Thank you!”

ANDREA GOMEZ Education Highlights  MMA hosted its 3rd Annual Art of the State Symposium on January 9, 2021 with a theme of “Change = Action/Time” focusing on the generational activism of

Chicanx and Latinx artists in California.  MMA presented five Virtual Free Family Fun Days with art lesson plans, live virtual art workshops, and videos in English and Spanish; eight school tours serving 188 students, two in-person summer camps at MMA La Mirada; and weekly virtual programming by Erin Lee Gafill in conjunction with Color Duets.  The Great Pumpkin Drive at MMA La Mirada featured 63 pumpkin creations donated by the community and local artists as well as an ofrenda to honor loved ones. The 450 visitors filled two large food barrels to the brim for All-In

Monterey’s pantry.  The Museum participated in the All-In Halloween event at Seaside High School which served 1,500+ children and adults. MMA sketchbooks were distributed to 200 participants and donated pumpkins from the event were given to an animal shelter as feed for pigs and goats.  Gretchen Andrew served as Artist in Residence at MMA during her exhibition,

Future News, hosting virtual open studios and other public programming.

WHILE MMA'S DOORS WERE TEMPORARILY CLOSED, the Museum adapted key programs, such as its school visit program for K-12 classrooms, to a virtual format to ensure arts programming remained accessible.