Teacher Programs

Bringing contemporary art into your curriculum

Through an annual Teacher Open House and workshops, the ICA offers K-12 teachers opportunities to broaden their knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, while discovering ways to creatively engage students in arts learning that builds visual and critical thinking skills across disciplines.  The ICA's permanent collection and the Poss Family Mediatheque—a digital space where one can learn more about the artists, their work, and key concepts in contemporary art—serve as resources for teachers seeking to integrate art into their curricula.

ICA TEACHER NEW MEDIA WORKSHOPS
Exploring Contemporary Art Through New Media
February 2 and March 1, 2008

Identity and Portraiture
Saturday, February 2, 10 am – 4:30 pm
Instructor:  Eric Gottesman

What does a work of art reveal about the human subject of the work?  How does an artist create or manipulate an object or an image to describe someone’s identity?  In this class, we will examine the link between portraiture and identity in relationship to the works of Rineke Djikstra, Cornelia Parker, Kelly Sherman, and Ambreen Butt.  Following our gallery discussion we will return to the Digital Studio. There you will use Photoshop to make a diptych portrait based on an object and a photograph that you will have selected to bring with you. 

Animating Objects and Ideas
Saturday, March 1, 10 am – 4:30 pm
Instructor:  Kevin Driscoll

How do artists animate a space, objects and ideas?  How do narratives emerge from pared down visual information, or new meanings from objects?  We will look in-depth at Cornelia Parker’s Hanging Fire, an evocative sculptural installation, and draw connections to two digital animation works in our Permanent Collection.  Drawing on ideas of animation and transformation, you will learn a few animation techniques to create your own piece in Flash Animation.

Teacher New Media Workshops are designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of ideas and processes in contemporary art through the experience of digital technology.  Each workshop begins with a gallery discussion of selected works in our permanent collection.  In our Digital Studio, teachers will then learn to use Photoshop or Flash Animation to create original works that explore the ideas and techniques of the artists discussed.  No prior experience in new media is required, and each workshop may be taken separately. 

Workshop Fee:  $60 per workshop ($55 for ICA members).  Each workshop offers six PDPs.

 For more information call Ena Fox at 617-478-3130 or email efox@icaboston.org.

  Registration form

The ICA's K-12 education programs include Teacher Programs, Group Tours, and The John Hancock Teen Education Program which includes: Artist Encounters, Wall Talk, Teen New Media Classes, Teen Arts Council and Teen Nights.

Teen programs are made possible by significant support from John Hancock Financial Services.  

Additional support of K-12 education programs is provided by the Boston Foundation for Architecture, The Boston Globe Foundation, The Clowes Fund, The Fuller Foundation, The JP Morgan Chase Foundation, the Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation, the William E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and the Wallace Foundation.