100 Languages in the Museum Studio Classroom

Cara Lovati clovati@imamuseum.org

Coordinator of School Collaborations

Indianapolis Museum of Art

54,000 Objects

130 Years

152 Acres

275 Staff

414,000 Visitors

About the IMA

2 Historic Home Estates

Art, Nature, Design

Audience Engagement vs. Education

Project Beginnings

The Hundred Languages No way. The hundred is there. The child is made of one hundred. The child has a hundred languages a hundred hands a hundred thoughts a hundred ways of thinking of playing, of speaking. A hundred Always a hundred ways of listening of marveling, of loving a hundred joys for singing and understanding a hundred worlds to discover

They tell the child: to discover the world already there and of the hundred they steal ninety-nine. They tell the child: that work and play reality and fantasy science and imagination sky and earth reason and dream are things that do not belong together. And thus they tell the child that the hundred is not there. The child says: No way. The hundred is there.

a hundred worlds to invent a hundred worlds to dream. The child has a hundred languages (and a hundred hundred more) but they steal ninety-nine. The school and the culture separate the head from the body. They tell the child: to think without hands to do without head to listen and not to speak to understand without joy to love and to marvel only at Easter and at Christmas.

So, what did we do?

Our Muses: The Portland Children’s Museum

Draw a picture or write about what you made today: My Sculpture is a summary of when you really want something and you finally achieve it even though it was risky you were able to overcome many obsticales during trying to like my mouse he got the cheese and got past the pit of snakes and hes happy! 9-23-12 Iseyda L. Age 10

Our Muses: The Portland Children’s Museum

Our Muses: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Playscape Gallery

Our Muses: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Playscape Art Studio

Our Muses: The Opal School

Portland, OR What can cardboard and tape do?

What stories live inside of these materials?

Our Muses: The Opal School

Portland, OR

How can you capture the feeling of wild using line, pattern, shape, and texture?

What happens when lines meet on paper?

What might happen with these colors today?

IMA Studios (on a good day)

Learning Environments

Classroom Art Room IMA Studios

“Home Base” where students spend most

of their day

Students make things here, and usually visit

once a week

Drop-in art making, classes, field trips,

camps, project prep, for everyone

Personal spaces for students (desks), display of work

STORAGE (materials and projects), display

areas, flexible furniture

Options for every type of program

~25 ~25, per class period 25-60

Grade level Grade level, per class period

Many

6 hours, 30 minutes 30-55 minutes 30 minutes- 7hours

Many Art Art and more…

Probably Hopefully Nope

GOALS:

• Clean and organize

• Display student work

• Inspire curiosity about materials and the process of making

• Start a larger conversation with my colleagues

Phase 1: Small-scale, low cost

IMA Studio Displays (Before and After)

Before After

IMA Studio Displays

Viewfinders School Program Makeover

Before After

Viewfinders Activity Prep

Viewfinders Activity Prep (aerial view)

After

Viewfinders Activity Prep (student work space)

GOALS: • Bring more natural materials into the studio

spaces (space renovation, update furniture) • Create a rotating and ongoing display of student

work • Develop consistent, supportive studio language

guide for IMA staff and Teaching Artists • Bring Reggio Emilia inspired spaces to the

galleries • Bring Reggio Emilia inspired spaces to our

grounds and gardens

Phase 2: Things to come

Documentation and Display

What shape tells your story?

How would YOU describe YOU using shape, number, word?

Inspiring Questions

What are the opportunities of open-ended questions?

How might questions inspire your students’ curiosity?

What stories will our students tell, if we ask?

Our Muses: The Opal School

Portland, OR

How can you capture the feeling of wild using line, pattern, shape, and texture?

What happens when lines meet on paper?

What might happen with these colors today?

Questions?

Artist Statement: I felt some kind of music sparking in me that went along with the painting and I just painted along with the song. I put lots of pictures in my head with a big orchestra song thing. Fase to Fase (Face to Face) by Hattie, Grade 2