Aldrich Museum Media Contact: Emily Devoe , edevoe@aldrichart.org, 203-438-4519 ext. 140
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 8, 2017)—The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Fairfield University are pleased to announce the beginning of a partnership with the creation of the inaugural Summer Institute — Text and Context: Teaching and Learning through Contemporary Art and the Written Word . Summer Institute is a professional development opportunity for K-12 educators and creative professionals, presented by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Fairfield University that will take place at The Aldrich, June 27 to 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. The cost for Summer Institute is $400, which includes all workshop supplies.
With contemporary art as core content, participants will discover innovative strategies for integrating the arts across disciplines in this four-day institute led by Aldrich and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum teaching artist, Jeff Hopkins, MEd, and Fairfield University faculty in the English Department, Professors Sonya Huber and Carol Ann Davis, and Fine Arts Department, Professor Jo Yarrington. Participants will investigate the text-based exhibitions on view at The Aldrich and session leaders will draw from the ideas posed by the exhibiting artists, while exploring the work in the galleries and leading activities and conversations that question the roles of introspective observer and critical commentator regarding both society and self. The program will draw connections between creativity and learning, and strengthen visual literacy skills and inquiry-based teaching methods. Participants will also have the opportunity to recharge their imaginations through a range of participatory art-making and writing activities.
Each day, participants will engage in an on-going mixed-media project with Jeff Hopkins, laying the foundation for arts integration. This exercise will be complemented by exhibition-inspired sessions led by Fairfield University faculty who specialize in cross-cultural and social justice studies, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Additionally, participants will engage with regional experts in the arts who will showcase best practices in museum teaching pedagogy. Throughout this innovative program, there will be the opportunity to connect with colleagues across grade levels and disciplines.
“The Aldrich is thrilled to establish an educational partnership with Fairfield University. This collaboration is an expression of our shared commitment to highly effective, multi-faceted teaching and learning. We are particularly excited to engage with the University’s English and Art Department faculty, who share a like-minded interest in developing innovative strategies for cross-disciplinary thinking,” says Alyson Baker, executive director, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
“Fairfield University is excited to enter into an educational partnership with the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield,” said Christine Siegel, interim provost. “Our first joint-venture draws on strengths in innovative teaching and learning that characterize both of our institutions, and we look forward to the many programming opportunities that our collaboration with such a forward-thinking and creative institution as the Aldrich, will provide.”
For more information and to register, please visit: http://bit.ly/2mCQweY
Posted On: 03-16-2017 03:03 PM
Volume: 49 Number: 138
Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.