The value and need for teamwork, support and empathy within an organization has also been a vital lesson. This energized and inspired the team even during the most stressful times over the past few months. VEER: What have been the most important lessons learned since March 2020?ĪB: We learned that the arts offer hope and help people to cope during challenging times – even during a pandemic that prevents us experiencing art alongside others in the same physical space. Serving our community is paramount to our mission and the staff, so we continue to refine and adapt to the needs of our audiences. In the videos, we look closely at selected works of art from our current exhibitions and provide art activity inspiration. We also collaborated with WHRO’s VA TV Classroom to create a series of short videos to be played in between VA TV Classroom programming. We also launched a series of Instagram Live conversations with our Curator, Heather Hakimzadeh, highlighting artists who are connected to Virginia MOCA whether past or present including Inka Essenhigh, Nikki Leone, Hampton Boyer and Lavar Munroe.įor educators we invested in new equipment to offer virtual tours from our galleries. Coffee and Conversations, our popular gallery program saw an increase of almost 400% and we had attendees join us from all over Virginia and an art school in the Midwest. We also moved all our public programming online and quickly adjusted to the logistics of Zoom. A true cross-departmental effort, we created new videos about our exhibitions and artists who would have been on view at the time, hands-on art projects for families and teachers to make at home with supplies that could be found around the home, as well as the creation of virtual exhibitions such as our recent In Response exhibition with Norfolk State University. Less than a week after the stay at home orders in March, we launched as a creative way to share educational content and resources with our audience despite the physical Museum being closed. The pandemic has really highlighted the creativity and problem-solving skills of the Virginia MOCA team. How have you and Virginia MOCA had to adjust your educational programming during the pandemic?ĪB: It certainly has, but creatives often thrive on challenges and constraints. VAEA is a valuable resource and connector for art educators and plays an important role in highlighting the profession of art education and the exemplary work being done in schools, higher education, and museums. Each year I encourage my team to play an active role with VAEA and present and attend the annual conference. I presented at my first VAEA conference in 2007 and have valued the organization, its mission, support, and advocacy of art education throughout the state of Virginia ever since. What does this honor mean to you?Īlison Byrne: It’s such an incredible honor to be recognized by the Virginia Art Education Association. VEER: The Virginia Art Education Association named you Museum Art Educator of the Year. I virtually caught up with Alison Byrne and posed a few questions regarding her honor, the museum’s educational programs, and the all important exhibitions. Professional development workshops and classroom resources are made available to educators.įor families and adults, ARTlab aids viewers navigating the ideas and themes of the works hanging on the museum walls. In addition to virtual tours, Virginia MOCA offers a variety of educational experiences such as the coveted Teen Apprenticeship Program. When humans were forced inside their homes with such great uncertainty, having the ability to connect with art seemed to ease the minds and wellbeing of so many in 2020. This allowed adults, educators and students of all ages to experience the contemporary art museum’s current exhibitions, most notably “Shifting Gaze,” a more than timely show of works by Black and Latino artists. Under Byrne’s leadership, MOCA stepped forward with virtual tours soon after the pandemic shuttered most businesses and arts organizations. The honor is well deserved, and we wholeheartedly second it. Virginia MOCA Deputy Director of Exhibitions & Education Alison Byrne was recently named Museum Art Educator of the Year by the Virginia Art Education Association.
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