This resource provides a menu of self-directed art-making challenges, each of which relates to a work of art in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts collection. Give your students voice and choice as they investigate authentic works of art and work to develop a visual language, convey complex ideas, and solve problems creatively.    

On the front, students are offered a coloring page based on an object in our collection. On the back, through the lenses of "DISCOVER, IMAGINE, CREATE" students can learn a little about the object, think critically and creatively about the object, and do another related creative activity.

This is a list of links to help Creators on #GoOpenVA locate openly-licensed videos, images, audiofiles, etc. for using in their own creations.

This resource presents a variety of digital resources hosted by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts that students can use to explore the life and work of renowned African-American photographer Louis Draper.  

What does leadership look like? Explore VMFA’s African Art collection to see how different cultures define and visualize the qualities of a leader. This resource brings together selected works from VMFA’s collections that relate to the theme of Leadership in African Art. Suggested inquiry-based activities are paired with each object and can be used in the galleries or classroom to promote discovery, critical thinking, and authentic engagement with art.

Create a museum exhibit that will explore a specific historical time period or event through the display and analysis of historical artifacts and primary sources.

This lesson reviews citizenship expectations as students effectively communicate in small groups and the whole-class setting to prepare for a trip to the Science Museum! Students analyze and sort behaviors into categories, based on the attributes or actions described while reviewing vocabulary critical to a museum visit. Special thanks to the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts at Virginia Tech for their advisement and resource contribution to this lesson. 

Shared narratives can be found in art from many cultures and throughout time. Use this resource to encourage students to explore diverse narratives, discover their own personal narrative, and express that narrative through their own work of art.Using provided engagment strategies students are able to hone Critical, Creative, and Communication skills using works of art in the Virginia Museum of Arts collection. Discussion prompts and activities offer instructional oppotunities for building Collaboration and Citizenship skills. 

Shared narratives can be found in art from many cultures and throughout time. Use this resource to encourage students to explore diverse narratives, discover their own personal narrative, and express that narrative through their own work of art.Using provided engagment strategies students are able to hone Critical, Creative, and Communication skills using works of art in the Virginia Museum of Arts collection. Discussion prompts and activities offer instructional oppotunities for building Collaboration and Citizenship skills. Symbols that we find in literature and the use of figurative language to describe artworks go hand in hand.  Find two pieces of artwork that move you one in Virginia and one in an international museum and create multiple examples of 10 different types of figuative language.

Use this resource to help students explore the human experience across time and place, give voice to diverse perspectives found in art, and collaboratively reimagine a museum that presents a new story centered around our shared human interactions.