Summer Teaching Institute in Full Swing

Margaret Wilson (l) and Brittany Arnold (r)

Photo courtesy UW Art Museum

The Art Museum's Summer Teaching Institute is this week and sessions for Wyoming teachers are in their second day.  This morning, Dance Prof Margaret Wilson and student Brittany Arnold conducted a session of movement in response to Etsuko Ichikawa's installation, NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral -.  This summer’s Institute, Figurative Art as Story, Metaphor and Presence, explores the impact of figurative art in communicating ideas, action, culture and more.   In addition to the Art Museum and its Ann Simpson Artmobile exhibition, Go Figure!, other campus resources such as the American Heritage Center and Coe Library will engage participants in original art and strategic discussions to develop new skills in support of arts education in schools and in the community.

Summer Teaching Institute Featured on Laramie Live

Laramie Live, a new website that features information about events, restaurants, and a calendar for Laramie has been highlighting a lot of arts related activities, and recently posted an article about the Art Museum's Summer Teaching Institute. The article showcases some of the original artwork that will be used during the Institute, which is from the new Artmobile exhibition.

The article can be read online here and more information about the Summer Teaching Institute and how to sign up can be found by calling our education department at 307.766.3496.

Art Museum Education Department Wins Programming Award

Participants in the 2010 Summer Teaching Institute discuss their artwork.

Photo courtesy of the Art Museum.

Congratulations go out to the Art Museum's education team for receiving the EdCom Award for Excellence in Programming. This is a regional award given by the Mountain Plains Museum Association, which also places the Art Museum Education Department in contention to receive the national level award given by the American Association of Museums.

The award was given for Transforming Learning: Summer Teaching Institute, an annual summer program hosted by the Art Museum to help teachers, librarians, and community leaders learn about ways to incorporate original artwork into their teaching. This prestigious award is given for "exemplary creativity and innovation in museum educational programming."

To learn more about the great things that the education team is doing, or to tell them congratulations, give them a call at 307.766.3496, or email Master Teacher Heather Bender at hbender1@uwyo.edu.

Art Museum hosts Summer Teaching Institute

Sculptor Patrick Dougherty works with teachers, librarians, and community educators at the 2008 Summer Teaching Institute.

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

The UW Art Museum will be hosting its annual Summer Teaching Institute in Laramie, July 26-30. The Summer Teaching Institute is open to K-12 teachers, including arts education specialists, discipline specific teachers, general elementary classroom teachers, and special education teachers. It is also open to community educators, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, Parks and Recreation programs, senior centers, museums, libraries, and more.

The title of this year's Summer Teaching Institute is "Transforming Learning," and the focus will be on using original sources as inspiration for teaching and learning (including traveling exhibitions and trunks, local museums and libraries). Another focus will be on how to build school and community partnerships for art education.

Among the many topics to be covered at the Summer Teaching Institute, some include examining the Wyoming resources that are available to inspire creative and meaningful learning opportunities, how partnerships can be built to support art education programs, and how community educators can develop programming that incorporates meaningful creative learning strategies that engage students and audiences.

Featured speaker Dawn Ellis will host a workshop that explores developing partnerships for programs that use original art and other materials that are at the core of teaching and learning. She will be joined by educators, archivists, and librarians. For more information on Ms. Ellis, please visit her website. Studio time is included every afternoon for participants to explore new materials and ideas inspired by the original artwork, objects, and books encountered throughout the Summer Teaching Institute.

3 credits of PTSB certification or UW Continuing Education credit is available. Cost is $150 per person, which includes a non-refundable $50 pre-registration fee. Partners are also encouraged to sign up, which is $150 for the first partner, $125 for the second, and $100 for any additional partners. Partners must register together. Lunch and snacks are provided daily. Participants are responsible for their own breakfast, dinner, room and travel costs. There are a limited number of travel scholarships available, courtesy of the Wyoming Arts Council's Arts Access Program.

For more information, or to sign up, please contact Curator of Education Wendy Bredehoft at 307.766.3496 or wbredeho@uwyo.edu.