Jan. 8, 2014:  The second grade teachers at The Bronxville School have partnered with the Lincoln Center Institute to develop a study of imaginative learning through the arts. This two-year program encompasses both visual and performing arts. It was made possible by a grant from The Bronxville School Foundation. 

The partnership allows students to visit museums and see productions in New York City. The students then investigate the arts through hands-on activities in school with their teachers and Lincoln Center's visiting teaching artists.

Last spring the children went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to explore abstract art. Using works by Leger, Picasso, Davis, and Gottlieb, students delved into how artists use lines and shapes in both their individual palette and their work. The trip was a great success. As Sophie Hallaby, now a second grader, said, "I love the colors and shapes that Picasso uses in his art." As a final step in this learning process, the children then created their own artwork in the classroom using lines and shapes.

In January, the children will be studying Street Work and The Third Oxherding Picture by Mathew Pokoik. The Lincoln Center Institute website describes Street Work as "a series of ten 12" x 18" color images captured on Manhattan's busy streets by Mathew Pokoik, as preoccupied pedestrians navigate an urban landscape crowded with sights and sounds demanding their attention" and The Third Oxherding Picture as "a series of five color photographs of Tasha, the artist's dog, as she explores landscapes urban and rural." As Justine Rutherford, a second grade teacher at The Bronxville School, stated, "This ties perfectly to our curriculum where the kids will be studying the urban setting of New York City."

As Jeannine Holzmann, one of the first grade teachers at The Bronxville School, said, "I think the partnership is extremely beneficial for our children. It gives them an opportunity to look at various pieces of artwork and question why and how an artist chooses line, shape, and color in their work as an abstract painter. Our work with the Lincoln Center Institute comes at a perfect time and coordinates well with the elementary school's work with questioning as well as our district's initiative of critical and creative thinking." 

Pictured here:  Karen Rotach's first grade class from The Bronxville School during its visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art last spring.

Photo courtesy Melinda Dempsey, Member, PR Committee, The Bronxville School Foundation