The Shortlist: Museums and Artists
The Field Trip Newsletter #1
“I think it’s important for kids (or anyone, really) to see that the places we learn about in books or in movies are actual places that take up space on this planet. They are places that can be touched, walked on, and experienced in real-time. I think it makes those places more real or tangible. I want my children to know that the world is huge and diverse and that they exist in just a tiny portion of it. I want them to see that people are all connected despite different environments, backgrounds, languages, and upbringing. That things are just bigger than them,” Adrienne Brown David for Family Field Trip, Chronicle Books 2020. Adrienne is an incredible artist and homeschooling parent, based in Water Valley, Mississippi.
The world is bigger than us, and it’s our role as parents and educators to make sure that children understand this. I wanted to start with this quote from my book because as we head into Black History Month, I think it’s important to find ways to teach our children year-round how we are connected, yes, and also teach them that it’s a good thing that we are different. We can celebrate our differences and our varied history and use it as a time to learn and grow rather than something to fear. Because at the end of the day, it’s that fear that divides us.
So, how do we do that? I’ve rounded up several ways for us to celebrate the differences and history. At the same time, together with your children, find a vast number of connections, starting with museums and artists.
Museums: In this day and age, we have many museums at our fingertips through the internet. From exhibits to online classes to one-off activities, it’s a wonderful time to learn and grow through their resources. I can’t wait to add many of these to my list of spots to road trip to when the pandemic is over.
The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
The Whitney Plantation, Wallace, Louisiana
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, Selma, Alabama
The Studio Museum, Harlem, New York
The Negro Leagues History Museum, Kansas City, Missouri
Northwest African American Museum, Seattle, Washington
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Jackson, Mississippi
National Museum of African American Music, Nashville, Tennessee
Art: My goal with my son has always been to normalize art depicting Black people, share with him art made by Black people, and show him work that celebrates Black people. There are so many more artists that I could add to this list, but this list of twenty artists is a great place to start with your children.
Art activities: When I’m doing an art lesson with my son or in the past, in classes that I have taught, I discuss with the children the style of art we are looking at, the tools the artist used to create the art, and we talk about the emotions that the piece evokes.
Children must understand that there is no right or wrong answer when talking about their emotions and art. I like to have children look through an artist’s catalog of work and have them recreate a piece as it is or through their own style and vision of the work. I also like to ask children to draw the feelings that the piece makes them feel or where it transports them. Again, there is no right or wrong here.
When you are doing an art lesson from home, give them space to work on their piece over the week or even a month or two. A working artist doesn’t finish a piece in a day usually, so we shouldn’t expect children to either. Let them spread out and truly embrace the technique and get to know the tools. Allow them to study the work and understand the artist’s history as well. Knowing the why behind an artist’s work will help children understand the differences and similarities they possess with the artist, which is part of studying Black artists' work.
I will be creating two lesson plans as a bonus for readers of the paid newsletter. Sign up today if you would like to join in on the weekly conversation in your inbox.
Over the course of this month, I will be diving into food, nature, music, books, history, and travel, all surrounding Black History Month. This conversation won’t stop on March 1st, but it’s nice to kick off the first Field Trip newsletter to coincide with the first week of Black History Month 2021.
I’m so very excited to have all of you here and part of this community. Please share the link with your friends and family as well. The more lively this community is, the more engaging the conversations will be. I welcome your comments and feedback, too, for things you’d like to see in this space, ideas you’d like to share, and the general banter. - Erin