Brighton Park Elementary
National Museum of Mexican Art: Nuestras Historias Artist Residency
During my time at the NMMA as their Art Residency Coordinator, I had the privilege of working with many CPS Teachers and Students in leading an eight session long artist residency that surveyed Mexican & Mexican-American Art History from the NMMA’s Permanent Collection, Nuestras Historias. Part of this residency I worked along with a CPS Teacher in creating hands on workshops of a specific art technique to bring arts integration into the classroom.
8th Grade
Young Artists looked and analyzed the work from Carlos A. Cortez and his collection of protest prints. Students were prompted to create a protest image/statement that talks about activism and issues specific to their community. Artists were lead in printing their designs using silk screens on wearables such as t-shirts and tote bags. Many of the artists talked about issues of migration, separated families, and borders.
Kindergarden
These amazing young artists were introduced to Mexican Artisan Josefina Aguilar and her clay sculpture titled Self Portrait with Family. Using activity sheets and booklets, our young artists were welcomed to speak and draw about the members of their family, the foods, and traditions celebrated in their community. The young artists created felt self-portraits inspired by Aguilar’s work and sculptured small clay figurines that best represent their family.
2nd Grade
Our young artists were introduced to the traditional celebration of Dia De Los Muertos along with Mexican-American Artist Victoria Delgadillo and her work at the NMMA titled Laura Berenice. Because DOD and Laura Berenice both celebrate the lives of past loved ones, artists were encouraged to create work dedicated to their living loved ones in their community. During our time, we created portraits and scenes of their loved one using felt and sewed their felted collages onto their mercado bag. Artists also had the opportunity to create keychains to go along with the bag for their loved one.
1st Grade
Our young artists were introduced to the migration story of the monarch butterfly using oral histories of those who have crossed the Mexico & U.S.A. border. Through learning traditional Mexican embossment techniques, artists decorated tote bags that created dialogue of migration and family while dedicating their work to their mothers who have sacrificed many things for them. Artists looked at different butterflies and flowers that could best represent their mother while learning how to draw and write on fabric.
