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.    

Artists across all times and places take advantage of local materials and resources to craft their work. At the same time, the local habitat influences and inspires artistic decisions. Broken into six thematic lenses, this collection of objects lets students use art to expand their own thinking about the complex relationship humans have with the natural world. What ideas about humanity, habitat, and creativity do these objects spark for them?

A focus object is featured for each thematic lens and is followed by other objects for extended thinking and consideration. As students investigate, encourage them to document their thinking by using the prompts and strategies provided.

Use this resource set to guide young learners as they explore and interpret a diverse group of six artworks from the Virginia Museum of Arts collection.

Under the "suggested activities" menu next to each artwork, you will find link to an educator-led "Little Eyes Look" video. Using an inquiry-based approach that fosters curiosity and creative thinking, educators introduce viewers to vocabulary related to both art-making and the subjects depicted in the artworks. Students consider artistic intention and decision-making and are supported by factual content about artists's lives and art-making practices. 

Three open-ended engagement activities are also suggested with each work. These simple exercises can be used to foster extended thinking about each piece.

This webinar and presentation is a previously recorded session, Resources from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.Webinar Description: Join VMFA educators to learn about the new opportunities, resources, and supportive measures developed by Museum staff members in response to the challenges faced by teachers, students, and parents for the 2020-2021 school year. Learn about the major exhibition Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities, and find out about fall opportunities for online Professional Development, distance and digital learning options, remote access to VMFA’s encyclopedic collection, and more.

In the first part of this session, Jeffrey Allison from VMFA On the Road will share works and educator resources from the traveling state-wide exhibition: A View from Home: Landscapes of Virginia. The paintings, photographs, woodblock prints, and engravings from the museum’s permanent collection represent various styles and periods. The second part of the session will focus on strategies for developing deeply engaging units for K-12 visual arts education using the exhibition as a starting point for deeper exploration. This presentation and collaborative workshop session will highlight project-based and place-based learning approaches to visual arts education.

Explore objects from Ancient Rome and discover how Romans portrayed themselves and wished to be remembered. This student-facing resource includes text, images, maps, as well as interactive exercises that call invite students to closely examine authentic objects from Ancient Rome.

The first three activities provide close-up views with guiding questions and background information. What will you learn about the connections between power, status, citizenship, and images in ancient Rome? How do these objects relate to identity and how people are portrayed or remembered? Who is represented and who is not?

The next three investigations offer pop-up hot spots on selected objects to reveal intriguing information about Roman culture, gods, goddesses, and mythology.

How do these objects relate to what the Romans thought was important?