ArtLab Week One

ArtLab is a professional development opportunity for Joplin-area public art teachers. I created this workshop in response to the lack of unique, collaborative art education programs in the area. It's going well, and I might publish it somehow.

The mission is to explore art beyond the classroom with my community.

K-12 art teachers make non-traditional art in non-school settings alongside and in cooperation with 1-2 of their own classroom students. The lessons were developed during the Missouri Fine Arts Academy for high school students, but have been adapted for K-12. These sessions provide outcomes that include hands-on learning for the art teacher, an intentional mentoring opportunity for 1-2 of their students, networking between art teachers, and a high degree of motivation for their field that is not provided in their current district professional development framework.

This first week, teachers and students came to MSSU gallery and drew from the African art collection. The goal was to collect a series of drawings to use as content for later sessions. This exposes the collection to the public and utilizes the MSSU gallery as a learning space.