CCS Bard Announces Professional Development Workshop Series

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—This spring the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) and PBS’s Art21 present a three-part workshop series designed for visual arts educators as well as those interested in learning how to look at, see, and make sense of contemporary art with both students and colleagues. “Teaching and Learning with Contemporary Art” takes place on the Bard College campus on Wednesday, March 25, 4–7 p.m.; Friday, April 24, 5–8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 17, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The fee for the three- part workshop is $120. For more information call 845-758-7874.

The “Teaching and Learning with Contemporary Art” series is designed for visual arts educators as well as teachers interested in learning how to incorporate contemporary art into other areas of academic study. The series will include specific workshops on meaningful ways to explore contemporary art, strategies for utilizing web and video content in the classroom, and creating content-driven curricula that addresses big ideas and themes.

The first program in the series, “Workshop 1: Learning about Contemporary Art (Object and Media-Based learning),” will be presented on Wednesday, March 25, 4–7 p.m., in conjunction with In a Room Anything Can Happen, an exhibition of the Marieluise Hessel Collection. Starting with an introduction to the materials, methods, and sites where contemporary artists are working today, this workshop will focus on ways to explore contemporary art in a museum or gallery context,  as well as strategies for bringing web and video resources into the classroom and methods for actively engaging students in video and online resources for research.

The second workshop in the series, “Workshop 2: Media-based Workshop,” will be presented in the CCS Bard Library and Archives on Friday, April 24, 5–8 p.m. This workshop introduces a media-based approach to teaching and learning about contemporary art using Art21 video and web resources in the classroom. Participants will explore some of the ways theses messages are created and the different roles that producers and audiences play in interpreting media and visual art.

“Workshop 3: Merging Form and Content” will explore how artists utilize particular materials, technical skills, and working processes to convey big ideas. The program takes place on Sunday, May 17, from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Using the Art21 series as a starting point, the program will explore the work of a number of different artists as well as examine specific works of art and online resources to inspire curricular ideas for teaching. Participants will explore how to create content-driven curricula that addresses big ideas and meaningful themes, as well as ways of teaching technical skills, choosing materials, and utilizing formal art vocabulary with students. Renowned Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson will be at CCS Bard for this workshop to discuss the inauguration his new work, the parliament of reality, a new, permanent, outdoor installation created specifically for the Bard College campus.

About The Center for Curatorial Studies and Hessel Museum of Art

The Center for Curatorial Studies and Art in Contemporary Culture at Bard College (CCS Bard) is an exhibition, education, and research center dedicated to the study of art and curatorial practices from the 1960s to the present day. In addition to the CCS Bard Galleries and the Hessel Museum of Art, the Center houses the Marieluise Hessel Collection of more than 2,000 contemporary works, as well as an extensive library and curatorial archive that are accessible to the public. The Center’s two-year M.A. program in curatorial studies is specifically designed to deepen students’ understanding of the intellectual and practical tasks of curating contemporary art. Exhibitions are presented year-round in the CCS Bard Galleries and the Hessel Museum of Art, providing students and the public with opportunities to engage with world-renowned artists and curators. The exhibition program and the collection also serve as the basis for a wide range of public programs and activities exploring art and its role in contemporary society.

About Art 21

PBS’s “Art21–Art in the Twenty-First Century” is the only series on television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists in the United States. The ongoing goals of this project are to enlarge the definitions and comprehension of contemporary art; to minimize the intermediary positions of curator, gallery, and museum as arbiters of taste and value; to offer viewers, teachers, and students a straightforward experience of the artists and their work without interpretive mediation; and to encourage viewers and students to participate in interactive and outreach programs. The Art21 web site provides information about the series, the artists featured, lesson plans and materials, and resources for further art education through professional development. “Art in the Twenty-First Century” has received prestigious awards, extensive press coverage, and critical acclaim, including an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Artistic and Cultural Programming,” CINE Golden Eagle Award, Gold Hugo Award from the Chicago International Television Competition, Gold Award from Aurora Film Festival, and Bronze Remi Award from World Fest Houston International Film Festival.

About Olafur Eliasson and the parliament of reality

The parliament of reality is Olafur Eliasson's first major permanent outdoor installation in the United States. The work, which is sited on the north end of Bard's campus, consists of a circular pond approximately 135 feet in diameter surrounded by a ring of 24 planted trees. Nestled in the center of the pond is a circular island, paved with individual stones that inscribe a twelve-point pattern derived from the meridian lines of nautical charts and the compass. Conceived specifically for the Bard campus with the life of the College in mind, the parliament of reality is inspired by the Althingi, or Icelandic Parliament, the oldest national democratic institution in the world. Founded around 930 AD and held outdoors on the plains of Thingvellir until 1798, the Althingi’s center was the Lögberg, or “Law Rock,” a stone outcrop from which the lögsögumaður, or “Lawspeaker,” could address the crowd and direct events. Eliasson envisions this project for Bard as “a place where students, teachers, and visitors can gather to relax, discuss ideas, or have an argument. The parliament of reality emphasizes that negotiation should be at the core of any educational scheme. It is only by questioning what one is taught that real knowledge is produced and a critical attitude can be sustained.”

Born in Denmark in 1967 to Icelandic parents, Olafur Eliasson presently divides his time between his family’s home in Copenhagen and his studio complex in Berlin. He attended Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Arts from 1989 through 1995. He has participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide and his work is represented in public and private collections including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Deste Foundation, Athens; and Tate Modern, London. In 2003, Eliasson became internationally known for The Weather Project, a gigantic artificial sun and mirrored ceiling installed inside the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. His recent exhibitions include solo shows at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Malmö Konsthall, Sweden; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Kunsthaus Zug, Switzerland; and MoMA, New York City.

For more information contact:

Art21 Contact:

Joe Fusaro, Senior Education Advisor, Art21

[email protected]

(914) 450-1356

CCS Bard Contact:

Jaime Henderson

[email protected]

This event was last updated on 03-30-2009

Back to Top