The Junior League of Seattle's Northwest Art Collection introduces children, educators, and the community to the rich production of Northwest artists through their highly respected collection of Northwest art. Since its inception in 1960, the Northwest Art Collection has toured schools in the greater Seattle and Eastside area, exposing children to some of the region’s most prominent artists. The Collection includes works by Northwest masters Guy Anderson, Dale Chihuly, William Cumming, Morris Graves, Fay Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Phillip Levine, Sherry Markovitz, Alden Mason, Norie Sato, and many others.
The Art of Discovery Project is developed and presented by the Junior League of Seattle and brings arts learning directly to the classroom through traveling art exhibits and training for educators and PTSA docents. Participants are equipped with inquiry-based lesson plans and activities to support multi-dimensional arts learning. Trained educators and docents then return to their schools to teach in the presence of the original artwork. Through informal and intimate discussion of thematically organized exhibits in the school setting, students learn critical thinking and communication skills. This unique and innovative program enables students and teachers to experience an art museum in their own school setting.
THE ARTWORK
The Junior League of Seattle loans thematically organized exhibits from their Northwest Art Collection to the participating schools. Each school will have the artwork for two and a half to three weeks, and aims to expose students to as many works as possible in that time. Touring exhibitions drawn from the Junior League of Seattle’s Northwest Art Collection are rotated each year.
THE PTSA ART DOCENT WORKSHOP
Experienced art educator Halinka Wodzicki leads Northwest Art Project Training Workshops for each exhibit. This workshop is designed to prepare educators, arts specialists, volunteers, and PTSA docents for the program, and provides necessary information and inspiration to conduct inquiry-based art experiences in a school setting.
In the morning, we will cover the logistics of the Northwest Art Project program, introduce you to the unique artworks in your exhibit, and provide an overview of the curriculum and activities. After lunch, we will dive deeper into hands-on art projects and concrete lessons that will more fully explore specific pieces, processes, and artists.
Please contact the Northwest Art Project Chair at art@mannptsa.org if you wish to join the team at Horace Mann Elementary. There are limited training spots available for this session, but there will be a later training session at Mann once the art has arrived.
For more information, please visit The Junior League of Seattle's Northwest Art Project webpage.
