Last week, Alternative Route to Teacher Certification program students in the School of Education’s Kent MAT program enjoyed class at the Seattle Art Museum, where they participated in the museum’s “Educator Preview.” ARTC faculty Dr. Heather Curl and Dr. Jeana M. Hrepich organized the trip as part of their methods courses in social studies and English language arts, which focus on arts integration.
SAM offers free previews to new exhibits for educators as well as special events including musical performances, art workshops, and presentations by the special exhibitor. ARTC students enjoyed the exhibit “Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer.” SAM describes Gibson and his work: “A contemporary artist of both Choctaw and Cherokee descent, Gibson’s art draws on his Native heritage and reflects his own multi-faceted, multi-cultural identity. ‘It’s important for me to find the places where I’m not looking to adhere to cultural definitions around what it means to be Indigenous. Instead I’m looking to provoke an awareness of how meaning shifts from one context to another,’ Gibson states.” Watch the video. An image of one piece by Gibson is below, entitled “Birds of a Feather.”
Teacher candidates also enjoyed the multimedia exhibit “Lessons from the Institute of Empathy” which included compelling multimedia pieces. One in particular inspired student-centered lesson design among teacher candidates. Pictured below, ChimaTEK: Virtual Chimeric Space is by contemporary artist Saya Woolfalk and is now a part of SAM’s permanent collection.
Students also appreciated some of SAM’s other permanent collections, including Ancient, American, African and Native Art. ARTC teacher candidates came away from the event more inspired to share art and the museum experience with their students, and to create integrated curriculum as part of their graduate work.
