FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2008

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director, 617-727-3668 x343
or Rob Watson, Communications Coordinator, 617-727-3668 x268

MCC Institutes Immerse Teachers in Art Masterworks
Arts Immersion Teacher Institutes Will Advance Quality of Arts Instruction in MA

(Boston, MA)… The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) today announced funding for three new Arts Immersion Teacher Institutes designed to pioneer instruction in the arts in Massachusetts.

The $25,000 grants to three Massachusetts cultural organizations fund in-depth arts learning for teachers and multi-disciplinary integration of the arts into other subject areas, including history, science, and language arts. The institutes take place this summer and are open to all teachers in Massachusetts. The grants are part of MCC’s Creative Minds initiative to expand arts education and creative learning experiences for students statewide.

Each institute will focus on an “anchor work,” providing educators the rare opportunity to explore the contexts and meanings of an exemplary work of art in depth; engage in criticism and art-making; and transfer their experiences to their classrooms. The institutes chosen for funding are:

• Crewdson’s North by Northwest: An Exploration of Narrative, Berkshire Museum (June 30 – July 3 & July 10, 2008): Grade 3 – 12 teachers will explore contemporary photographer Gregory Crewdson’s Untitled (north by northwest), focusing on his innovative approach to visual narrative. Teachers explore the idea of creating meaning with a single visual image of a single moment in time, through in-depth discussions with the artist, hands-on artmaking in photography, and study with scholars to develop new skills and understanding of the anchor work.


• Elizabeth Clarke Freake and Baby Mary, Worcester Art Museum (August 11 – 15, 2008): An intense examination of the painting Elizabeth Clarke Freake (Mrs. John Freake) and Baby Mary will give teachers a view into the economic, social and religious context of 17th century America. This oil painting by an unknown artist is considered the most important painting created in colonial America in the late 17th century.


• Looking at Galileo: A History Play for Our Times, Underground Railway Theater (August 11 – 15, 2008): Teachers explore Bertolt Brecht’s play Galileo, using Underground Railway Theater’s production as a point of departure for exploration of scientific questions: How does scientific discovery affect our everyday lives? How do we know what we know (or think we know)? How does this play reflect our world today? The institute marks 500 years since Galileo built the first telescope and pointed it to the sky.

During the summer institutes, each participant designs a five-lesson curriculum unit based on the knowledge and skills acquired, which she or he implements in the classroom during the fall. Each institute then reconvenes participants to discuss their experiences, share student work, and evaluate the success of their units.

“Arts Immersion Teacher Institutes help Massachusetts stay on the leading edge of arts education,” said MCC executive director Anita Walker. “These institutes provide educators with an opportunity they can’t get anywhere else, and give them new tools and ideas to take back to their classrooms to develop the creative minds of the future.”

The Arts Immersion Institutes program grew out of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) pilot project which developed the arts immersion professional development approach. For Institute schedules and registration information, visit www.massculturalcouncil.org/creativeminds.asp

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the state’s economic vitality.

MCC is a state agency committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.