A Year with Children 2009

A Year with Children 2009 showcases art by students participating in Learning Through Art (LTA), an artist-in-residence program of the Guggenheim Museum. LTA places professional teaching artists in New York City public elementary schools, where they collaborate with classroom teachers to develop art projects that relate to the school curriculum. The program encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and ongoing collaborative investigation, while immersing students in the artistic process. At the beginning of each residency, LTA provides each student with a sketchbook and an artist’s apron, and throughout the program, teaching artists actively seek to expose students to the same artistic practices and explorations with which they themselves are engaged.

This year's exhibition will feature a variety of works including both process pieces and final projects, and will illuminate how LTA strives to transform classrooms into studios and students into artists. As they worked with their teaching artists this year, students examined topics including community, identity, storytelling, peace, and the environment. They also investigated questions such as, “What makes an ideal community?”, “How can art tell a story?”, “What is change?”, and “What is worth standing up for?” In response to these topics and questions, students explored a variety of materials as they created their art. Works on view will include drawings, prints, photographs, clay and found object sculptures, acrylic and watercolor paintings, assemblage pieces, and collages.

Students’ investigations were also inspired by the exhibitions they saw at the Guggenheim during the 2008–09 school year, including Catherine Opie: American Photographer, theanyspacewhatever, and The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860–1989, as well as galleries featuring the Guggenheim’s permanent collection. When viewing art, students engaged in inquiry-based discussions encouraging careful observation and interpretation.

A Year with Children 2009