Summer at the Museum may be missing the sights and sounds of school students on tours, but the education team kept busy hosting educational, interactive conferences, workshops, and events. Including the Teaching with Primary Sources Unconference (TPS), a two-day workshop on East Asian art, and a celebration of classical Indian arts. While each was different from another, all were essential in propelling the education department forward.
More than 165 archivists, librarians, and educators from across the country came to the Museum on July 25 for the Teaching with Primary Sources Unconference. An unconference is a collaborative, informal, interactive experience. At the Portland TPS Expo, people learned about a new digital archive of Jewish perspectives on the Holocaust from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a local history project created by the Brooklyn Public Library, and teaching social justice with visual art from the Museum. Participants also dealt with topics such as “Using primary sources to teach recognition of ‘fake news'” and “Incorporating multicultural perspectives into teaching.”
The TPS Unconference was free of charge, timed to coincide with the 2017 Society of American Archivists annual conference, and sponsored by the SAA Reference, Access and Outreach Section and Digital Public Library of America (and their rich education resources).
Bienvenidas, Chicas! For the third consecutive year, the Portland Art Museum welcomed 65 girls from the Adelante Mujeres Chicas Summer Camp for a fun-filled day of arts engagement. Subashini Ganesan, Founder and Director of New Expressive Works and Artistic Director of Natya Leela Academy, introduced the campers to Bharathanatyam, a form of South Indian Classical dance. Local artists Veronica Guzman and William Hernandez led a bilingual painting workshop inspired by works in PAM’s collections and the girls explored those objects firsthand during a tour with Museum docents. This event is part of our mission to use our collections and exhibitions as a foundation for learning and encouraging conversation around global and community issues.
Adelante Mujeres provides holistic education and empowerment opportunities to low income Latina women and their families to ensure full participation and active leadership in the community.
Additionally the Museum held a successful, two-day teacher workshop on East Asian art. The University of Oregon’s Center for Asian and Pacific Studies developed the program through a U.S. Department of Education grant and invited the Museum to co-host the event. Forty K–12 teachers from across the state participated in the workshop. Curator of Asian Art Maribeth Graybill and Asian Art Curatorial Fellow Sangah Kim guided them through the Chinese and Korean galleries. Hana Layson, Manager of School and Educator Programs, introduced teaching techniques with Indian and Japanese works. Attendees also heard lectures by University of Oregon professor Akiko Walley, toured the Japanese and Lan Su Chinese Gardens, and participated in a studio workshop.
In August, as part of the Miller Family Free Day, the Museum celebrated classical Indian arts in conjunction with the John Yeon exhibition—recognizing his expansive collection of Indian art. The Indian paintings in John Yeon’s collection are part of an artistic tradition that integrates visual art, dance, poetry, and music. The program was coordinated by Subashini Ganesan, Founder and Director of New Expressive Works and Artistic Director of Natya Leela Academy.