Editor's Letter: Contemporary Art

At the recent opening of the New Mexico Museum of Art’s major expansion, Vladem Contemporary, I discovered in one of the exhibits a children’s book titled What Is Contemporary Art? A Guide for Kids by Jacky and Suzy Klein (MoMA, New York, 2012). I immediately had to order a copy. What impressed me most was the way the book was organized into specific chapters that would be engaging for young students, such as “A Splash of Color,” “Light Fantastic,” “Going Round in Circles,” “Making and Breaking,” and “Drips, Dots, and Waves.” I highly recommend this book if you teach elementary students.

Art21 for Everyone
The internet, computers, smartphones, and digital technology have made access to contemporary art and artists much more available. One of the best resources (along with SchoolArts) for educating your students about contemporary art and artists is Art21. Art21 provides viewers with virtual access to artists’ studios, allowing them to see their work and creative processes firsthand. The organization’s mission is to educate and expand access to contemporary art through the production of documentary films, other resources, and public programs. Their vision is to inspire a more creative and inclusive world through the works and words of contemporary artists.

In October 2023, Art21 launched Art21 for Ever yone, an artist-focused program designed to advance the organization’s mission to expand access to contemporary ideas, artists, and art. Art21 has always made its continually expanding catalog of films featuring contemporar y artists freely accessible; this program continues that practice and allows the organization to launch brand-new initiatives.

This program premiered last October and featured a number of groundbreaking and engaging artists, including Amy Sherald, Oliver Herring, Julie Mehretu, Pedro Reyes, Aki Sasamoto, Eli Sudbrack, Azikiwe Mohammed, Laylah Ali, and Marcel Dzama.

Learn about this program and how you can share its content and videos with your students at Art21.org/Art21-for-Everyone. You can also sign up for the newsletter at Art21.org/Newsletter.

Davis Publications, publisher of SchoolArts, offers complimentary lessons, articles, and webinars for teachers on contemporary art and ideas at DavisArt.com/Webinars.

In This Issue
At the early childhood level, in Sue Liedke’s “Put-Together Patterns,” young students respond to artist Sean Scully’s work and collaborate to assemble painted, patterned panels.

In “Stamped Space Invaders,” Sara Ingraffia’s elementary students learn about the street artist Invader and integrate his ideas through printmaking.

Taking inspiration from the contemporary artwork of KAWS, Sunnylee Mowery shares her middle-school lesson “Tondo-Inspired Abstract Paintings,” through which her students explore the idea of adaptation.

Frank Juárez shares “Exploring Alternative Mark-Making,” in which his high-school students embrace experimentation, making mistakes, and accepting challenges as part of their ongoing artistic development.

Many thanks to James Rees, contributing editor for SchoolArts and art education consultant, for coediting this issue!