Museum Education Practicum Brochure

Museum Education Practicum

Contents

Program Description............................................................3 Museum Mission..................................................................3 Museum History...................................................................4 Curriculum...........................................................................6 Program Benefits.................................................................7 Admission Requirements......................................................8

Program Description The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and internationally and for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society, and as such, it is an institution vested in education. Our education programs provide a vital link between the permanent collection and exhibitions and offer a unique blend of perspectives, designed to foster inquiry and dialogue.

The Museum Education Practicum provides an in-depth look at museum education from the guidance of the Studio Museum’s knowledgeable educators. This course is designed to provide emerging museum and arts educators with an intensive training program. The curriculum includes Seminar and In-Gallery Lab sessions, professional talks and presentations, as well as opportunities to observe an array of education programs. Participants also gain firsthand experience facilitating tours and workshops. In addition to exploring both theory and practice, participants will enter into a very specific conversation around artist of African descent, contemporary art practice, and programmatic strategies.

At the Studio Museum, we believe that behind every transformative educational experience is a seasoned educator.

The Museum Education Practicum is an eight-week program offered twice a year and is aligned with the academic semester.

Museum Mission The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and internationally and for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.

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Museum History The Studio Museum in Harlem was founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists, and philanthropists who envisioned a new kind of museum that not only displays artwork but also supports artists and arts education. The Museum was originally located in a rented loft at 2033 Fifth Avenue, just north of 125th Street. In 1979, the New York Bank for Savings gave the Museum the building located at 144 West 125th Street. Renowned architect J. Max Bond Jr. led a renovation that adapted the building into a two-level exhibition space with offices and space for rental tenants. In 1985, the Museum began excavation of an adjacent vacant lot at 142 West 125th Street, leased from the City of New York. Over the following two decades, the Museum, in partnership with the City, completed additional renovations to the building and lot, and added additional gallery and lobby space, a theater and a flexible outdoor space. The Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 1987, when it became the first black or Latino institution to gain this recognition.

The Studio Museum is internationally known for its catalytic role in promoting the works of artists of African descent. The Artist-in-Residence program was one of the Museum’s founding initiatives, and gives the Museum the “Studio” in its name. Alumni of the program include David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley. The Studio Museum serves as a bridge between artists of African descent and a broad and diverse public.

Museum exhibitions expand the personal, public and academic understanding of modern and contemporary art by artists of African descent. The Studio Museum is a leader in scholarship about artists of African descent, publishes Studio magazine each January and July, and regularly creates award-winning books, exhibition catalogues and brochures. A wide variety of programs bring art alive for audiences of all ages—from toddlers to seniors—through talks, tours, art-making activities, performances and on- and off-site educational programs.

The Museum’s permanent collection includes nearly two thousand works of art dating from the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum’s Acquisition Committee facilitates the growth of the collection through donations and purchases. Artists in the collection include Romare Bearden, Robert Colescott, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Chris Ofili, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, and Hale Woodruff, as well as many former artists in residence. The Museum also is the custodian of an extensive archive of the work of photographer James VanDerZee, the quintessential chronicler of the Harlem community from 1906 to 1983.

The Museum does not have a permanent exhibition of work from its collection, but frequently shows selections in temporary exhibitions.

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Curriculum Seminar The seminar involves reading and discussing critical texts across art and pedagogical theory. Participants develop the tactics and strategies needed to discuss and dissect artworks in such a way that it can be appropriately accessed by adult, school, youth and family audiences.

Through the understanding of critical texts and artworks of artists of African descent, participants of the Museum Education Practicum will learn how to thoughtfully engage with audiences of all ages, understand the Museum’s role as a site of learning, develop skills for curriculum building, and ultimately possess the tools to design, facilitate and teach a successful education program.

The semester will also include professional talks from Studio Museum educators, curators, public program coordinators and more.

Critical Texts Productive Information: Contextual Knowledge in Art Museum Education, Olga M. Hubard If You Don’t Stop You Don’t See Anything, Rika Burnham The Art of Teaching in the Museum, Rika Burnham & Elliott Kai-Kee Art as a Conversation: An Interview with Thelma Golden, Khephra Burns Introduction from Freestyle (catalog), Thelma Golden Draw it with your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment, Paper Monument (ed.)

The Multiplicities of Multiplicities, Nana Adusei-Poku Museum Politics: Power Plays at the Exhibition, Timothy W. Luke And Various Essays In-Gallery Lab The In-Gallery Lab/workshop creates a space for experimentation.

Participants are introduced to a number of in-gallery strategies and activities, and are also expected to workshop and develop their own.

Participants engage in a number of mock tour exercises and try out artmaking workshops on the rest of their cohort.

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Program Benefits Teaching experience in a museum setting Museum experience, including leading tours and workshops Access to museum professionals, leading curators, scholars, and academics Opportunity to be a part of the next generation of scholars and educators Opportunity to earn academic credit Curriculum building Logged observation hours of education programs

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Admissions Application Requirements Applicants must be enrolled in or have completed a bachelors or masters program, preferably in, but not limited to the following fields: Art History, Arts Education, Art Criticism, Museum Studies, Museum Education, Master of Fine Arts, or Africana Studies.

Please submit the following: Resume Statement of Intent A link to your portfolio OR a writing sample from the past six months [maximum 2 pages]

Please complete the following short answer questions: [400 words or fewer] 1. Describe your interest in the museum as a site for education.

Why are you interested in the museum versus other educational models (i.e. classroom, etc.)?

2. Please specify your areas of interest and their relationship to the museum’s mission, collection, and programming. How will you contribute to your cohort and the museum as a whole?

3. What are your career goals and how can this program help you accomplish these goals? Please discuss an example, from your academic or professional career, which illustrates these goals.

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Image Credits Front Cover Carrie Mae Weems The Tate Modern, 2006 Courtesy the artist Page 5 David Hammons Untitled (African-American Flag), 2004 Gift of the artist Page 7 EJ Hill Surrendered (A Harrowing Descent), 2016 The Studio Museum in Harlem Photo: Adam Reich

The Studio Museum in Harlem 144 West 125th Street New York, New York 10027 studiomuseum.org @studiomuseum