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Program Overview |
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Since 2001, Dia has worked closely with the Beacon City School District to develop an in-depth and extensive Arts Education Program (AEP) for the students of the Beacon City schools. Together, the organizations have created an educational program that uses Dia's expansive collection of artworks to create an art experience and awareness that is not typically a part of the students’ curricula. The Arts Education Program began with a pilot course taught at Beacon High School during the 2001-02 school year, and has since developed and expanded to reach a larger and more varied audience. Since its initial foundation the program has evolved to engage all levels of education, establish partnerships with local cultural and educational organizations, and implement a series of professional development workshops and an education resource website.
Dia’s AEP is not a didactic methodology but an open laboratory for exploring creative and effective ways of engaging students to elicit a more profound appreciation of contemporary art. The teaching methods of Arts Education Program are progressive and wide-ranging while covering many of the standards of the New York State learning system.
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Elementary School Program |
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The education program outlined for elementary schools targets second grade students from elementary schools of Beacon (J.V. Forrestal, Glenham, Sargent, and South Avenue), for the duration of six weeks. A visiting artist partners with second grade classroom and art teachers to teach a series of lesson plans based on Dia’s collection. The students visit the museum twice as a part of this program.
In order to provide a basic framework for teachers and students to use when exploring Dia’s collection, it is suggested that all lesson plans focus on a simple and fundamental question: “Is this artwork a ‘mirror’ or a ‘window’?” In using this model teachers are able to easily incorporate Dia’s collection with their standard lesson plans so that they can begin exploring this theme as an endless resource of artistic creation and daily activity.
The students in the elementary school program engage in discussions about the artworks and question whether the works of art open ‘windows’ into a world beyond or whether they act as ‘mirrors,’ reflecting the people or objects around them. Artists working in these fields serve as facilitators and assist the teachers in developing original lesson plans about the artworks and artistic themes. This year, Dia is working with artists Huma Bhabha, Katherine Feighery, Kirsten Mosher, and Stephen Spaccarelli.
For May 26 through 29, 2005, works produced by the students in the elementary schools program will be celebrated with an exhibition at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon. An opening reception takes place on Thursday, May 26 from 5 to 7 pm. The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main Street in Beacon.
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Middle School Program |
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This program designed for Dia and Rombout Middle School involves a total of eight sessions, including two field trips to Dia: Beacon. For the program a visiting artist collaborates with the seventh grade writing teacher Tery Udell to complete a syllabus and activities, designed to satisfy class requirements while focusing on the artworks displayed in the museum.
The students, teachers, and visiting artist research ancient and contemporary monuments to draw parallels between the monuments and some of the monumental artworks on display at Dia. The students then record their research and discussions in personal journals, and an art project as well. Based on the theory that a knowledgeable observer is a more proficient writer, students explore the connections between social studies (myths and ancient cultures), language (poetry and short stories), and art (illustrated by the field trips to the museum).
For their final project, the students will select a site or pre-existing structure in the town of Beacon and propose their own monumental project for this site. The final projects and the students’ completed research will be exhibited at the Middle School. For the completion of this program the students will receive complimentary passes to Dia:Beacon so that they can bring their families and serve as honorary “docents” for family tours.
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High School Program |
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In 2004, Dia’s AEP program at the Beacon High School included a ten-week workshop with video artist Kathleen Sweeney, a local artist currently based in Cold Spring, New York. This program was specially designed to take advantage of the high school’s television studio. Kathleen Sweeney joined the high school video instructor Mike Gersh and art teachers Diane Mikula and Cynthia Petrovits to lead a workshop where students conceived, recorded and produced a video based on Dia’s collection. Through the camera lens, students explored the way people physically react to the challenges of the artworks on display in the museum and how the viewer’s space is modified by the installations. Additionally, the students composed an original soundtrack for the video by recording the haunting and pervasive sounds that echo in the art galleries.
Based on the success of this project, the same team of artists have worked with the students involved in the 2005 High School program to create a video work. On Saturday, May 14, 2005, a public screening of the video will take place at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main Street, Beacon, from 3 to 5 pm. The videos will be used as informative resources for pre-visit education in surrounding schools.
Dia's education department is actively formulating activities and lesson plans developed by school groups visiting Dia: Beacon. If you would like to share them with other school teachers and Dia’s visitors, please contact mhernandezcalvo @ diabeacon.org.
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Outreach Program |
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Dia is currently partnering with art organizations in the Hudson Valley to reach a more diverse and extensive audience. This year the organizations collaborating with Dia include I SEE Center in Beacon (link here) and the Children’s Media Project (link here) in Poughkeepsie, who will meet with the school groups enrolled in this program before and after each visit to the museum. In the classroom teaching artists will develop activities designed to heighten students expectations, incite conversation and review the artworks displayed at Dia:Beacon. Additionally, the artists will instruct and suggest ways for teachers to incorporate Dia’s collection into the standard curriculum. If you are interested in the Outreach Program please email mhernandezcalvo @ diaart.org.
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Internship Program |
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Dia is expressly interested in creating educational programs for students in all levels of schooling. In addition to the programs associated with the middle and lower schools of Beacon, New York, Dia runs an internship program with Vassar College and Marist College in Poughkeepsie and with the State University of New York in New Paltz (but recruits interns from other institutions as well).
The internship program at Dia:Beacon’s Education Department focuses on museum education, addressing it on two levels: Docent-work (for which the students are trained to lead tours for schools visiting the museum) and Education Proposal Development responsive to the museum’s collection, geared at K-12 (for which the students are engaged in an ongoing discussion of pedagogical issues).
To inquire about internship opportunities within the arts education program, please email mhernandezcalvo @ diabeacon.org.
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Professional Development Series |
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The Professional Development Series at Dia:Beacon is a program targeting teachers from all levels of schooling, in which art historians, art educators and artists present talks on artists at the collection, educational resources, or successful experiences in working with students and contemporary art. These talks take place the last Monday of each month from March to May of 2005. Talks are free but reservations are required. For further information please contact mhernandezcalvo @ diabeacon.org
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Guided Tours |
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If you would like to schedule a school group visit to Dia:Beacon, please contact the Education department (845-440-0100 ext.33) or send an email to eductours @ diabeacon.org with the following information:
a) Name, fax, and phone number of the school
b) Two possible dates and times for your visit
c) Number of students
d) Number of chaperons
e) Teacher contact info
f) Please, indicate if you want a guided or unguided tour
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Funding |
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The Arts Education Program at Dia:Beacon is made possible through the generosity of the Dyson Foundation, Entergy Foundation, The Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Karan-Weiss Foundation, Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.
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