Diverse works showcase Dia's Arts Education Program. On Wednesday, June 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., Dia Center for the Arts opens its fourth annual exhibition of works created by students in Dia's Arts Education Program. The exhibition features a variety of works by New York City junior-high students affiliated with the program.
Diverse works showcase Dia's Arts Education Program
On Wednesday, June 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., Dia Center for the Arts
opens its fourth annual exhibition of works created by students
in Dia's Arts Education Program. The exhibition features a
variety of works by New York City junior-high students
affiliated with the program. On view on the fifth floor of 535
West 22nd Street, the exhibition remains open to the public
through June 10, 2001.
The works on view draw on the students' visits to Dia
exhibitions as well as on their classroom studies. Included
are an inflated sculptural piece created in response to
Panamarenko's "Orbit"; a collaborative mural, which will be
permanently installed at the Clinton School, in Chelsea, that
expands on the paintings of Bridget Riley; a video project that
both refers to Diana Thater's installation "Knots + Surfaces"
and draws on the students' study of Hispanic culture; and
sculptural works that join Jorge Pardo's "Project" with Spanish
language lessons and considerations of architectural space.
Dia and Arts Education
Dia Center for the Arts, which was founded in 1974, plays a
vital role among visual arts institutions nationally and
internationally by initiating, supporting, presenting, and
preserving art projects in nearly every medium, and by serving
as a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism.
One of Dia's primary goals is to foster art appreciation among
young people. The Arts Education Program, initiated in 1993,
offers students direct experience with the art of our time,
both through exposure to major works and exhibitions, and
through hands-on experience.
The program introduces teachers and students to contemporary
visual arts and poetry through museum visits, lectures, and
studio workshops with artists. In 2000-2001, this year-long
program reached eight junior-high teachers and their students
from public schools within Dia's vicinity. Providing direct
support to teachers through training workshops and
collaboration with teaching artists, the program aims to
integrate art education into diverse curricula, including
Spanish, math, and the humanities. The students, many of whom
have little experience with contemporary art or museums as
institutions, gain exposure to art through observation and
hands-on creation, inspired by repeat visits to Dia's galleries
and cooperative work within the classroom.
Participating schools include the Clinton School, the High
School for Environmental Studies, Manhattan Academy of
Technology, New York City Lab School, P.S. 137, SALK School for
Science, the School of the Future, and the School for the
Physical City. Artists who participated in teacher workshops
this season include Jorge Pardo, painter Nina Bovasso,
new-media artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, sound artist Steven
Vitiello, and poets Marie Ponsot and Quincy Troupe.
Exhibition hours during the 2000-2001 season are Wednesday
through Sunday, 12 noon to 6 p.m., through June 17.
For additional press information, please contact Jeanne Collins
& Associates, tel. 646 486-7050; fax 646 486-3731; e-mail:
info@jcollinsassociates.com.
For more information about Dia Center for the Arts, the public
is invited to call 212 989-5566 or visit Dia's website
Dia center for the arts
542 west 22nd street new york new york 10011
212 989 5566 fax 212 989 4055