Milliken Attends 2015 Teacher Institute on Art of the Renaissance at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Post date: Oct 02, 2015 7:47:1 PM

Chris Milliken, an educator at Wells Junior High School, was selected as one of only 51 participants of the 2015 National Gallery of Art Teacher Institute on Art of the Renaissance held in Washington, D.C., in July and August of 2015. The six-day seminar brought together teachers of art, English, history, math, and related subjects from 25 states. The program emphasized the social and cultural context of Renaissance art in Italy and Northern countries between the 14th and 16th centuries.

The term Renaissance, meaning “rebirth,” refers to the humanistic revival of classical culture and learning with its underlying belief in the creative potential of humankind. Participants studied works by leading Renaissance artists as represented in the Gallery’s permanent collection, including the painters Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Jan van Eyck, and Rogier van der Weyden.

Participants learned about the development of oil-painting techniques, the role of prints in disseminating new ideas, using works of art as primary resources in classroom instruction, incorporating art into interdisciplinary teaching, and strengthening students' visual literacy.

Through lectures, gallery talks, and hands-on activities, participants analyzed Renaissance artworks and focused on interdisciplinary teaching strategies. Activities were designed to meet teachers' personal and professional enrichment needs. A demonstration of Venetian painting techniques and a site visit to a printmaker’s studio at Georgetown University rounded out the Institute’s course of study.

Teacher Institute 2015: For more than 25 years the Gallery’s Teacher Institute has offered educators the opportunity for intellectual renewal and professional exchange with colleagues in a museum setting. To date, approximately 2,600 teachers have participated in the program. To learn more about the Teacher Institute, visit www.nga.gov/teacherinstitute .

The Teacher Institute is a program of the Gallery’s division of education, which produces and distributes instructional materials on a free loan basis to schools throughout the nation. To learn more about other educational resources of the National Gallery of Art, visit the Gallery’s Web site at http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/learningresources.html .

Wells Junior High School teacher Chris Milliken at the National Gallery of Art