Picturing America Workshop

FAIN: BA-50025-09

Phoenix Art Museum Endowment Fund (Phoenix, AZ 85004-1685)
Kathryn Blake (Project Director: February 2009 to November 2009)

The applicant requested a Chairman's grant of $16,000 to run a one-day seminar that focuses on the images and themes of Picturing America (PA), together with the PA Teachers Resource Book. The seminar will take place on June 11, 2009 and it will serve approximately 125 teachers and librarians from Arizona schools, particularly from Phoenix, which has adopted PA system-wide. The teachers will be drawn from arts, humanities, and social studies fields, with the goal of advancing instruction in American history, civics, government, literature, and culture. The collections of the Phoenix Art Museum and the nearby Heard Museum will receive attention for their relevance to the PA portfolio, particularly in Native American art works. However, the primary emphasis and the majority of time will be spent on actual PA reproductions and the Teachers Resource Book. The seminar presenters will be drawn from humanities scholars in Phoenix-area universities, who will impart rich humanities content and background knowledge to participants. Training in basic visual analysis of art objects will be included. Two themes of Picturing America-Landscape, and Creativity and Ingenuity-will inform presentations and discussions; and the seminar will devote approximately equal attention to works chronologically. The NEH Chairman's Grant of $16,000 will cover the total budget for running this seminar, including modest teacher stipends and working lunches, speakers' honoraria, and museum staff and facilities.

One day seminar targeting 125 classroom teachers, educators, and librarians throughout Arizona to encourage and support implementation of the National Endowment for the Humanities Picturing America image set.