Bring VMFA Into Your Classroom with the Evans Distance Learning Program
Video-conference with a museum educator for a facilitated experience in the galleries exploring on-view works of art. Now available to all 3 - 12 and college classrooms.
VMFA Distance Learning
How it Works
Scheduling
Most sessions last 45 mins and are designed to include pre-visit preparation activities and post-visit classroom extensions.
How to Connect
DLP sessions may be booked individually or as multiple-visit thematic units.
Equipment
A robust internet connection, projector, computer, web cam, and an echo-canceling microphone are recommended.
Units and Sessions
Ideal for use at the beginning of a unit, Global Inquiry sessions are designed to get students curious about global and historical societies they will explore in the classroom. Students consider art through a global lens and emphasis is placed on an interactive experience that is inquiry-based and student-centered, providing the opportunity to sharpen critical and historical thinking skills.
Global Inquiry: Examining Art for Context has 8 sessions
Africa is a continent with myriad forms of artistic expression and a centuries-long history of global interaction and exchange. Like many other parts of the globe, imperialism and colonialism left an indelible mark on Africa, and this imprint can be found on numerous artworks made by cultures across the continent. In this session, students will carefully and thoughtfully examine artworks from Sub-saharan Africa to open lines of inquiry about this legacy and consider the ideas and aesthetics of their originating cultures. ...
Spending time to look carefully at the expressions, body language, and contextual clues presented in figural works of art can help students consider ideas about identity and community. In this session, students are invited to look thoughtfully and carefully at works of art produced at the beginning of the United State’s nationhood. They are able to hone historical, critical, and creative thinking skills as they unpack the complex ideas these objects present about the civic, social, and cultural landscape of the new Republic. ...
As the United States entered the 20th Century, its changing population experienced the era through many lenses. Industrialization, war, racial disparity, immigration, and migration gave rise to a diversity of perspectives on American life that was captured in the art of the era. In this session, students are invited to examine examples of this work and think creatively and critically about the ideas each presents. They may hone their historical thinking skills while expanding their understanding of the United States during the first half of the 20th Century. ...
Artwork that depicts the landscape can offer insight into how humans think about their relationship with the Earth. As habitation of the United States has shifted and expanded, American artists have chronicled human interaction with and attitudes toward the natural world. In this session, students will spend time carefully and thoughtfully examining examples of 19th and 20th Century landscape art to expand their understanding of the United States history. ...
As a thread in the fabric of a particular moment in history, art can evidence crucial societal shifts. Artwork produced between World War I and II offers clues to the social, political, and economic landscape of Europe between the wars. In this session, students closely examine and interpret artwork by French and German artists, opening lines of inquiry into the ideas of each creator and their intended audience. ...
Carefully examining the attributes of any artwork can spark curiosity about the motivation and inspiration behind its creation, opening a window into the ideas of the object’s maker and intended audience. In this session, students carefully examine the expressions, body language, and contextual clues in Romantic Era figural art to expand their understanding of the social and cultural landscape of late 18th and early 19th century Europe. ...
During three centuries of rule (1526-1858), the Mughal Empire established a lasting artistic legacy in India which evidences a synthesis of Islamic, Hindu, and European cultures. In this session, students closely examine examples of painting and architecture to open lines of inquiry about the cultural contributions of Mughal leaders such as Akbar and Shah Jahan. ...
Art is often about making ideas and beliefs visible. For centuries, religions across the globe have used images to represent complex and abstract ideas about humankind's place in the cosmos. In this session, students examine early Buddhist and Hindu sculpture to open lines of inquiry about the cultural landscape of India and consider how art can communicate sacred and profound ideas. ...
Students hone creative, critical, and reflective thinking skills while looking at and engaging with art. Emphasis is placed on an interactive experience that is inquiry-based and student-centered. Most sessions can be customized to include art from any one of the VMFA's collections.
Looking to Build Skills has 4 sessions
Strong scientific and rhetorical thinkers observe, make inferences, and find evidence to present ideas and make claims. Students can practice these skills as they interpret and connect to works of art. In this session, students will closely examine works of art, to generate ideas about materials and techniques, artistic intention, or cultural context. They will be invited to activate creative and critical thinking as they articulate and back up their ideas with visual evidence. ...
Artworks can offer the opportunity to think about things from a different perspective. Spending time to look carefully at the expressions, body language, and contextual clues presented in figural works of art can help students consider ideas about identity, belonging, and community. Similarly, carefully examining the attributes of any artwork can spark curiosity about the motivation and inspiration behind its creation, opening a window into the ideas of the object’s maker and intended audience. In this session, students intentionally explore artworks and become ins ...
Spending time with a work of art can be an opportunity for thoughtful inquiry and ideation. For students of business, documenting their ideas as they work to interpret an artwork offers the chance to generate, develop, and communicate new ideas. In this session, students are invited to build their interpretation of an artwork step by step while gaining insight into the way they are processing their observations and forming their ideas. ...
All visual art communicates ideas. When students carefully examine art for the messages it may convey, they can be inspired to express their own. In this session, creative and critical thinking work in tandem as students interact with works of art and use them as inspiration for dramatic or written creative expressions of their own. ...
Students explore ideas about art making and communication. Emphasis is placed on an interactive experience that is inquiry-based and student-centered.
Media and Visual Literacy has 4 sessions
Artists throughout time have come to their work with stories to tell, concepts to explore, and puzzles to work out. Asking "What's the Big Idea?" about any art object can be a valuable exercise. Even if we can not draw absolutely clear conclusions about an artwork's meaning, carefully noting what is visually before us can open fruitful lines of inquiry, spark curiosity about the original context and audience, and lead to consideration of multiple perspectives. In this session, students are invited to think creatively and critically about art objects, unpacking visual c ...
Modern and contemporary artists often draw upon the visual vocabulary, ideas, and techniques of preceding cultures in their own works of art. In this session, students are invited to consider work by two contemporary artists who reference and integrate historical imagery into their own work in order to provoke new conversations about history and identity. ...
In today's media rich world ideas are developed and shared across a myriad of visual platforms. Artists also utilize the capacity of specific media to visually broadcast ideas and concepts. In this session, students are invited to carefully and thoughtfully examine artwork with a critical eye to become attuned to the complex ways information and ideas can be visually communicated. ...
As is the case with all things produced by human hands, art objects can be examined by considering their component parts. The elements of art and the principles of design work in tandem to convey meaning and express ideas in works of art. In this session, students are invited to playfully explore the interplay between visual elements, and to consider ideas about artistic process and intention. ...
Students use art as a catalyst to practice scientific and mathematical thinking. Emphasis is placed on an interactive experience that is inquiry-based and student-centered.
STEAM at VMFA has 4 sessions
How might available technology drive artistic production? What new techniques might artists employ as they embrace these technologies to use materials in unique ways? In this session, students are invited to carefully examine artworks for clues to how they were made and consider how the creative process guides the development and presentation of artistic ideas. Sessions can be customized to include art from any one of the VMFA's collections. ...
Artists all over the globe depend on mathematics to organize and convey ideas about the world in which they live. By considering how artists employ geometric concepts in their work, students are able to look at math from a different angle, and connect classroom learning to authentic objects. ...
From the advent of substances like bronze and glass to the inventive reimagining of found materials, innovation has been at the heart of artistic production for millennia. In this session, students carefully examine artworks to consider how artists apply flexible and adaptive thinking to their creative processes. ...
Essential concepts that make coding a creative endeavor also have a home in the art world. In this session, students explore the ideas behind algorithmic thinking, loops, and iteration by uncovering analog examples in the world of art. ...