Adventures in Art is a contemporary art education program for high school students. I had the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues during my masters program to design a multi-day art experience for high school students. The first component of the program included a visit to the partner school to meet students and give an overview of contemporary art. Next, the high school students came to the Maine College of Art and Design (MECA&D) and we led them on a tour of the current exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) which is then followed by a hands-on art making experience at the SPACE Gallery. The program ended with a summative exhibition at the students’ school showcasing their artwork. 

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The ICA exhibition that framed the experience was called Monitor: Data, Surveillance, and the New Panoptic. We used visual thinking strategies to form discussions around the artwork and created a gallery scavenger hunt inspired by the theme of surveillance. Afterwards, students formed groups and were tasked with creating cardboard sculptures with a hidden camera feature. Each group had a chance to present their sculpture. This program included collaboration, multiple forms of formative assessment, and provided students with connections to contemporary art.

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