Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Growth in Education Programs and New Paid Internship
Milwaukee, WI, November 27, 2007— The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce continued growth in its Education Programs. A commitment to presenting art as a vital source of inspiration and education lies behind the numbers illustrating the Museum’s expanding service to area schools and communities. A new paid teen internship program has been made possible by the Museum’s continued success with exercising its educational mission, and an important Museum program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, as well.
Program Growth
60,000 student visits in FY 06/07-up from 22,646 in FY00/01
Schools Served
745 schools send their students to the Museum each year.
493 schools in Metro Milwaukee brought their students to the Museum in FY 07.
122 MPS schools came to the Milwaukee Art Museum in FY 07.
MPS Schools Served
59% of MPS schools visited the Museum in FY 07.
122 MPS schools served FY06/07-up from just 66 schools in FY01/02
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s role as educator becomes all the more essential as schools continue to face diminishing budgets. The Museum’s school programs and resources are designed for elementary through high school students and teachers. These programs introduce works of art and methods for teaching with objects, explore interdisciplinary curriculum applications, and support State and/or District Model Academic Standards.
80,000 students participate in Museum education programs annually, both on- and off-site. “Our goal,” notes Senior Director of Education and Programs Brigid Globensky, “is for every school in the seven-county area to participate in at least one Museum program every year. We are making progress towards that goal every day.”
New Paid Teen Internship Program
Five Milwaukee Public School teens have initiated the Museum’s new Teen Internship Program this fall. The success of the Museum’s highly visible Satellite program, which lists among its graduates a director of development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an Ecuadorian who has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, a New York fashion designer, a restorer of frescoes in Italy, and the chief preparator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, established the demand for this professional development program.
The students selected each semester will be afforded the unique opportunity of working one-on-one with Museum staff while gaining valuable work experience in one of seven areas: curatorial, graphic design, marketing research, membership, store marketing and events, and studio art education.
In addition, students will explore other museum careers, participate in Museum programs, and learn about educational opportunities in the arts. Interns can expect to deliver gallery talks, assist in the development of a teen mini-site on the Museum’s website, and take part in a Teen Council assigned with planning a community-wide teen event at the Museum. The internships are paid and require a ten-hour commitment each week.
Milwaukee Art Museum teen programs are supported by the Palmer Foundation, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Mayor Barrett’s Summer Youth Internship Program, the City of Milwaukee Arts Board, the Wisconsin Arts Board, and Milwaukee Public Schools Partnership for the Arts.
Historic Milestone for Museum Writing Program
As the new teen program gets off the ground, this year also marks the 20th Anniversary of the annual Young Authors Conference that John Hallagan, a 4th grade teacher at Magee Elementary School in Genesee Depot, has coordinated with the Milwaukee Art Museum since 1987. This school program draws 500 students a year, and was recently expanded to a state-wide program with the inauguration of Wisconsin Writes in August 2005.
The Young Authors Conference is a one-day young authors and artists conference held at the Museum every year, promoting enthusiasm and competence in written and visual expression using the Museum’s Collection as inspiration. Open to Wisconsin students in grades 3-12, participants are selected and sponsored by their local school or school district. All participants attend a general session and breakout sessions guided by teachers during the conference. Each author produces a written manuscript and each artist produces one work of art that is published in an annual Young Authors Conference book.
The purpose of the conference is to encourage students’ involvement in the creative process; improve students’ abilities in writing or drawing, listening and sharing; and to recognize the accomplishments of young authors and artists.
Available upon request:
- Complete statistics on Museum Education Programs
- Interviews with Senior Director of Education Brigid Globensky
- Statements from Satellite Program alumni
- Digital images of Museum Education Programs
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