Art supplies are being donated to Bridgeport, Conn. area students to address online learning needs that have arisen as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Fairfield University Art Museum (FUAM) has begun distributing art kits to Bridgeport, Conn. area students in response to increased challenges for students who have transitioned to online learning due to social isolation mandates and school closures. Children benefiting from the donations include students of the Turnaround Art Schools, children of Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI) clients, and children of students at the Mercy Learning Center, which provides basic literacy and life-skills training to low-income women, and serves more than 1,100 families.
A scheduled field trip program to the Fairfield University Art Museum for 4th and 5th graders of the six Bridgeport Turnaround Art schools was cut short this school year due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the museum sought ways to supplement or continue that program, a liaison for the schools reported a great need for art supplies for the children to use at home.
“Arts learning can have a tremendous positive impact on a student’s school engagement,” said Carey Weber, executive director of the Museum. “These schools were closed so abruptly, that teachers were not able to send students home with any art supplies, and few of the children have access to them. We’re sending each of these students an arts kit which includes a copy of the recently published Kids' Guide to the Kress Collection, a set of crayons, pencil, and additional coloring sheets depicting works in the Museum, created by Fairfield University students.”
The museum has distributed 300 of the art kits, with 200 more being created and distributed in the coming months. The Kids’ Guide was made possible by a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
Additional Online Resources
FUAM is also is offering all children and families an online selection of exhibition-themed craft projects, which have been created and presented with easy-to-follow directions to download and create at home.
“These craft projects are normally presented at the Museum’s free, in-person monthly Family Day program,” said Weber. “Because those sessions have been suspended for the foreseeable future, we’re making the projects available for everyone on the Watch, Listen & Learn tab of the museum website.”
A museum coloring book also is available online and can be downloaded and printed for additional fun and enrichment.
