National Art Education Association
Museum Education Division
Designing for Transparency
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
8:30 am – 5:30 pm, followed by a wine reception from 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Chicago, IL
Host Museums: The Art Institute of Chicago; The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
What language do you use to communicate your goals, programs and offerings?
How do your audiences feel about art museums? What do they want from your institution in the future?
Do your institutional peers and audiences understand our approach to art museum education?
How can you effectively share and reflect on ideas and experiments within the art museum education field?
What are your communication tools for building transparency?
Art museum educators innovate. The start of the 21st century has ushered in massive changes in the role of technology, our audiences and institutions are growing and changing rapidly, schools now focus on developing skills, and visitors expect a certain degree of participation during their visits. The field’s focus has often remained on how we can adapt art museum education in response to the current trends, to remain relevant. While art museum educators are effective communicators when it comes to teaching, are we great communicators when it comes to being more transparent about the work of museum education?
Our preconference will be an opportunity to consider how we as art museum educators listen, communicate, and collaborate in a clear, effective manner. Tuning our ears to the experiences of our audiences as well as our colleagues, we will spend the day using Design Thinking as a framework to strengthen our transparency and relevance within and beyond our institutions.
Different Schedule for 2016
In response to the evaluations from the 2015 NAEA Museum Education Preconference in New Orleans, the Development Committee has reworked the schedule for the 2016 Chicago Preconference, including opportunities to gather practical frameworks and tools for application in our own work and hearing from others outside of art museum education.
The day will begin at the Art Institute of Chicago with registration and a brief introduction. Next, participants will map shared and divergent perspectives in your department and museum-wide during a two-hour, intensive workshop, Designing for Transparency: Using Design Thinking to Foster Communication.
During the extended lunch break, participants will have time to explore the Art Institute’s galleries while also strongly encouraged to participate in group discussions with colleagues about what you’re good at, as well as learn new things you want to incorporate into your work. These topics will build on “Preconference Reader” blog and Peer to Peer Hangout on Air that will launch in February 2015--stay tuned for more details! The time at the Art Institute will wrap up with demonstrations and discussions about teaching in the galleries.
In the afternoon, participants will travel by bus to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Museum Educators will have time to explore the galleries and/or networking. We will all convene again for the moderated Panel Discussion: Listening as a Transparency Tool with 21st Century Museum Visitors, followed by closing remarks by NAEA leadership and tips for making the most of your 2016 NAEA Convention. The day will conclude with a wine reception at the MCA Chicago and optional dinners with colleagues.
VIEW: PROGRAM SCHEDULE | SPEAKERS | BROCHURE
About the annual NAEA Museum Education Preconference
The NAEA Museum Education Preconference brings together art museum educators, students, consultants, and researchers to build community, generate new insights into issues and practices affecting the field of museum education, and leverage the knowledge of the group as well as the expertise of partners and specialists in other disciplines to strengthen museum education practice.
»Preconference enrollment is limited to 300 participants, so please register early to reserve your spot!
Registration Fee:
Convention Attendee: $99; Non-member: $125; NAEA Student/Preservice Member: $75
Questions? Please contact:
Michelle Grohe, NAEA Museum Education Division Director-Elect
(617) 278-5149 or mgrohe@isgm.org