Programming Librarian

Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother and Children

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,Washington, D.C

American Artist Appreciation Month

Each August we recognize the American artists who have enriched our lives. It’s also a good time to offer art-related programming for children and adults at your library.

Here are some library programs offered for inspiration:

• The Northbrook Public Library teamed with its local YMCA’s visual arts program for children to display the children’s paintings, drawings, and ceramics. The exhibition kicked off with an opening reception with refreshments.

• The Chicago Public Library based its 2010 summer reading program on art. Titled “Reading Is Art-RAGEOUS,” the children’s program allowed kids to read about art and artists and nurture their own creativity.

• The West Dade Regional Library is partnering with ArtCenter/South Florida and the Florida Center for the Literary Arts for a children’s storytime that also allows children to create their own illustrated books. Program instructor and artist Maria Gonzalez inspires children ages four through eight.

• DeLand Area Public Library has an ongoing monthly program for elementary school children sponsored by the Museum of Florida Art.

• The City of Rancho Mirage Public Library hosted “Art of the Olympians.” The traveling exhibition features paintings in various media by past and present Olympic athletes that celebrate the talents, energy, and competitive spirit of the athletes and games that form the modern Olympics.

• The Atwood-Hammond Public Library District hosted a Listening Doll art program for children in grade four through six. Children found out about the oral traditions of Native American Pueblo communities and how small figures of people or animals were used to help tell stories. The children also created their own listening dolls from clay and fabrics.

• Also be sure to check out the Library As Incubator project, which “highlights the ways that libraries and artists can work together, and works to strengthen these partnerships.”

And some resources for American artists:

• Artcylopedia has an extensive index to online information on American artists as well as a list of American art museums searchable by state.

• The Smithsonian American Art Museum website offers a variety of educational resources, including content links, teacher guides, and student activities.

• The National Gallery of Art also has a number of educational resources, including the NGA classroom, “where teachers and students can connect art and curriculum.”

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, including American art.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Picturing America website offers information and lesson plans on important works of American art.

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