Statewide Teacher Workshops for All Ages

Spring 2013 Teacher Workshops for All Ages

You can book these VMFA Teacher Workshops at your location or at VMFA. Full-length (2.5-hour) workshops can also be scheduled throughout the year. The cost for these sessions is $150, which provides the workshop experience for up to 35 teachers (minimum of 15). Participants receive resource packets with background information, lesson plan suggestions, vocabulary, and CDs of images. For questions or to book a workshop beyond the Richmond Metropolitan area, e-mail jeffrey.allison@vmfa.musem or call 804-204-2671. In the Richmond Metropolitan area, e-mail twyla.kitts@vmfa.museum or call 804-204-2662.

First Hand: Front Line Drawings from the Civil War

Investigate the American Civil War as seen by the artists who were there. Through their folded, soiled, and stained sketches, we can gain insight into the evolving view of war from noble endeavor to human tragedy. These artists urgently captured battlefield moments to be reproduced for the masses of readers of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly Newspaper who craved the most immediate experience of the war possible.

Look at That! Critical Thinking + Art = Knowledge Retention

What in the world can you learn from just looking at pictures? This workshop provides resources for constructing new understandings of our cultural, social, and political history by discovering clues in works of art! After all, every work of art is a primary source from the era in which it was made. (Adaptable to a variety of subjects and grade levels.)

Symbols!

What do our symbols tell us? How did they evolve? Are they the same in every culture? Do they change over time? Using images from the VMFA collection, investigate symbols and signs in art from Egyptian murals to 21st century installations. The presentation and related discussion generate ideas for artwork inspired by the personal symbols of participants.