As part of a broader evolution of our K-12 programming, the Art Institute of Chicago transitioned our docent program into a newly designed Volunteer Program, a process that was informed by rigorous research, reflection, and evaluation of our engagements with students and teachers. This case study offers a perspective on designing a new structure…

Through a conversational form, we weave together our experiences of making curious and conscious encounters with a work of art in a gallery, while grounding our nonlinear understandings of our shared aesthetic experience on the works of Maxine Greene, Peter de Bolla and Arnold Berleant. Holding, as our conceptual framework, seeds a kind of…

Motivated by the discussion of modern and contemporary art in Dr. Seuss's (2019) "Horse Museum," the authors sought to determine if children's picture books about visiting the art museum include contemporary art. Moreover, if so, what messages about contemporary art are sent by these books? How can teachers who rely on picture books as…

Ar(t)chive, a retroactivist technique for queer worldmaking in art therapy, invites sexual, gender, and relationship diverse (SGRD) clients to engage with queer forms from history and construct a continuum of shared lived experiences across differences to challenge misinformation and discrimination, foster resilience, and build community. Phases…

Is inclusion in the arts just a myth? Research has shown there are few peer reviewed journal articles and books published about inclusive programs in community art centers for adults with disabilities. This qualitative single case study critically reviewed the inclusive programs offered at a Midwestern community visual art center. During the…

Schools in the United States have encountered substantial cuts to arts education, prompting them to partner with arts organizations to provide arts learning opportunities. Arts education advocates see potential benefits and drawbacks to these arrangements. While they can provide schools with valuable resources, such arrangements could further…

The current study, which uses a survey approach, aims to identify middle school students who visit BILSEMs (Science and Art Centers) in terms of their creativity and learning preferences and to look into the impact of various factors on these traits. In the 2021-2022 academic year, 214 fifth, sixth, and seventh graders were chosen using the…

This article examines how community art centers of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration served as a third space, one that was explicitly designed to be different from art museums at that time. Created to employ artists during the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, goals of FAP programs included…

Upon entering the gallery, we are met with directives, narratives, and impositions set forth by an authoritative presence. Please remove your backpack. Do not run. Do not speak too loudly. Do not touch. Do not stand too close to the artworks. The presence of security guards or invigilators enforce these instructions on how it is assumed we are to…

Reflection and Connections at the University of Oregon (UO) Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) like all educational offerings at the UO, moved online with just over a week's notice. Those associated with Reflections and Connections, recognizing the importance of this program to the social well-being of those participating, decided to maintain…

"Communities of practice" is a concept employed by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner (2015) to refer to "groups of people who share a… passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" (p. 1). In the museum context, a community-of-practice model provides educators the opportunity to…

In 1903, Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) opened a most personal museum in which the building, the collection and installations are the vision of one woman, at a time when few opportunities were available to her gender in America. In its 2019-2024 strategic plan, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum committed to becoming a more visitor-centric…

I am regularly asked, "What does this have to do with art education?" or "How is this art?" For instance, I like to do a project using the ongoing exhibition, do it, which is a curatorial project that started in 1993. At that time, Hans Ulrich Obrist invited 12 artists to submit a score, or set of instructions, that would then…

Museums and galleries have long welcomed, and long valued, visiting family groups, and many offer 'family workshops'. In practice, most workshops are primarily directed at children, and accompanying adults are left to observe. However, we suggest that in actively observing and also pitching in, adults too are engaged in learning. Using the…

Art museums around the world play an integral role in the formation and preservation of collective identity and national belonging. As part of wider efforts for social change, these institutions are being challenged to decolonize and confront racism with renewed and sustained focus. As such, they are thinking more deeply about how they engage…