MUSEUMS AND COMMUNITIES NEWS



APRIL/MAY 2016
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee, WI

The Milwaukee Art Museum Teen Satellite Internship is a semester-long program that fosters both hard and soft skills in Milwaukee-area high school students through multi-disciplinary activities and projects. Interns receive career skills training and complete cross-disciplinary art activities. 

Museums and Communities News is our roundup of stories demonstrating the myriad ways AAMD member museums serve their communities.  

AAMD Museums: We Want Your Stories! If you have a story you'd like us to consider for Museums & Communities News please contact Alison Wade.

Autism Programs at AAMD Museums
Access Parrish, a new program at Long Island's Parrish Art Museum developed with the Flying Point Foundation for Autism. Image courtesy of the Parrish Art Museum
April is National Autism Awareness Month. Many AAMD museums offer special programs for children with autism and their families. 

  • The Parrish Art Museum's Access Parrish programs includes a program for visitors with developmental or learning disabilities createded in partnership with the Flying Point Foundation for Autism. "Access Parrish is designed to provide a positive, shared experience among varied needs youth and adults, their caregivers, and Parrish educators," said Cara Conklin-Wingfield, Parrish Education Director. 
  • The Plains Art Museum's Autism and Art program provides the opportunity for children with autism and their families to socialize and create art in an environment designed specifically for their needs.  "It is really great. It is so inclusive, it is so welcoming, and it's so edifying and educational," participant John David Berdahl said. Read more at Valley News Live.
  • The Denver Art Museum is piloting a before-hours program for families with children on the autism spectrum. "We will open our doors before public hours to welcome families who prefer to explore the museum in a less sensory-stimulating way," according to DAM Access Programs Coordinator Danielle Schulz. "Loud gallery sounds will be turned down or off, attendance will be limited, and there will be numerous hands-on activities and artmaking projects for children and their families to enjoy." Learn more on the Denver Art Museum website.
Milwaukee Teen Interns Boost Creativity and Career Skills
Teen interns drawing in the Milwaukee Art Museum's Windhover Hall. Photo by Emry Brisky
The Milwaukee Art Museum Teen Satellite Internship is a semester-long program that fosters both hard and soft skills in Milwaukee-area high school students through multi-disciplinary activities and projects.

This past fall semester, 16 teen interns explored social engagement and collaboration through writing, drawing, photography, and music. This approach helps the teens communicate with each other "in different languages, and encourages the development of empathy and the ability to speak thoughtfully," according to MAM Teen Programs Coordinator Helene Fischman.

Activities included a behind-the-scenes hard hat tour and drawing activity while the museum was under construction; leading elementary school students on exhibition tours; creating collaborative, improvised drawings; and interpreting collections in the museum's new Collaboratory gallery.

The Teen Satellite Internship also offers a career skills component. To become interns teens "have to apply, go through an interview process, they have to get a bank account, and they become staff at the museum. It's all job readiness," says Brigid Globensky, MAM Senior Director of Education and Programs.  "We talk about college, and write and edit resumes," Helene says. At program completion, the teens receive a certificate of excellence for completing the internship as well as professional copies of their resume.

Read more and view video of the Interns' final project: Program Spotlight: Milwaukee Art Museum Teen Internship Program

Community Partners Map
Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Nashville, TN

Each dot on the above map represents one of the over 350 school or community partners that the Frist Center serves throughout the state of Tennessee. Click through to view more detailed maps and lists of all community partners. 

In a partnership with the Frist, students from Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School raised awareness about driver and pedestrian safety through collaborative art-making, including stenciling, spray-chalking, and stickering several downtown intersections.
Young artists celebrate the opening of Stop. Take Notice! at the Frist Center in front of their artwork,Nobody Cares, with teaching artist Michael Lapinski and Oasis Center staff member Vanessa Laz�n 
Director Susan Edwards on how the museum uses their community partners map:

"Thanks to Andy Finch's efforts, we have detailed maps indicating education and outreach partnerships within each Nashville Metropolitan Council district. 
The maps also indicate the location of vendors. 
We use the maps when calling on council members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. 
All trustees have copies of the maps and assist staff in hosting council members at events when organizations located in their districts are featured at the museum, e.g., an exhibition in the community gallery, the Mayor's art show, and performances. 
Colorful visuals tell impressive stories in a glance, while prompting a second look. "


Mapping is available free of charge to all AAMD member museums! If you are interested in having your museum mapped contact AAMD Director of Policy Andy Finch. 
Georgia Museum of Art Joins Museums for All
Young visitors to the Georgia Museum of Art
The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is the first museum in Georgia to commit officially to serving low-income families through the Museums for All program. 

Through Museums for Alll, museums offer reduced or free admission to visitors who present an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. The Georgia Museum of Art already offers free admission to all visitors, thereby removing the need to present a card or an ID. About 15 percent of families living in Athens-Clarke County, where the museum is located, have incomes below the poverty line.

Museums for All is an initiative of the Association of Children's Museums and IMLS.
 

Five other AAMD museums that have demonstrated their commitment to serving low incomie families by joining Museums for All: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Oakland Museum of California; the Clark Art Institute; the Flint Institute of Arts; and the Taft Museum of Art. A full list of participating institutions is available here.


Columbia Museum of Art Receives IMLS Medal
Congratulations to the Columbia Museum of Art! The Institute of Museum and Library Services has named the CMA one of 10 recipients of the 2016 National Medal for Museum and
St. Lawrence Place children enjoy a tour of the CMA galleries.

Library Service, the nation's highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to their communities. 

The museum, the only art museum to win the Medal for 2016, was awarded based on their outstanding community partnerships with organizations such as St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing community, the Gonzales Gardens public housing complex, and First Steps Richland County, which focuses on school-readiness.

"This incredible recognition as a National Medal winner is a testament to our investment in the South Carolina community and our dedication to reaching students who have historically been left behind or had little access to learning through the arts," said CMA director Karen Brosius.

"Participation in the arts makes a significant difference to students from low-income backgrounds, and this essential program is able to fill the gap for our homeless children and teens, providing them with an engaging and safe environment where they can be comfortable expressing themselves and creating works of art without fear of judgment or criticism," St. Lawrence Place CEO wrote in support of the CMA's nomination.


Read more on the CMA website: Spectactular News for the CMA

Family Day at the Westmoreland Museum
On March 26, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art hosted a free family day for their community. 

The family day, a free event generally offered twice a year, featured art activities such as paper collage quilting, finger puppets, paper plate panoramas, and make your own abstract art, as well as an art scavenger hunt and special shop discounts. See more photos from the Westmoreland's Family Day on the museum's Facebook page! 
Veterans Art on View at Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Click the photo to view WGRZ's news story about the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's veteran art exhibition. 
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is curently showing artwork created in their Veterans Connecting Through Art program, a partnership with  Veterans One-Stop Center of WNY. 

The Veterans Connecting through Art program welcomes veterans and spouses, or caregivers, to explore the museum's collection through discussion and artmaking. 

"Art is a form of therapy for a veteran that's struggling with the transition from military to civilian life. It's a very therapeutic tool. It allows them to express themselves where words may not otherwise exist," said Michael Shurmatz of the Veterans One Stop Center of WNY. 

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