I never anticipated becoming a “tutorial girl”. I have spent the last four plus years at OJAC assisting and facilitating educational offerings on-site at the museum and, through Art-to-Go, as a guest in K-12 classrooms throughout Region 14 and beyond. But when schools send the students home and museums are forced to temporarily close their doors due to a worldwide pandemic you have to come up with a new temporary plan. How could we continue to teach students that we can't see in person?
As you’re probably aware by now, since Mid-March the education staff at OJAC have been working hard to provide a variety of opportunities for our friends both local and “far-flung” to continue their art education and engagement with OJAC. For me, a big part of this initiative has been creating video content for our social media platforms.
Virtual Tours
In a series called OJAC tiny-tours, I’ve been able to introduce “virtual visitors” near and far to pieces from the OJAC collection many of which haven’t seen as many faces as we’d like because they’ve been on display in the museum while we’ve been closed. I love getting to share a more personal experience with the artwork and open up a slightly more in depth conversation about these incredible pieces of art.
Studio Demos
In addition to the tours, I’ve also had the opportunity to create demo videos that guide viewers step-by-step through a variety of different studio processes using supplies and materials from home or the grocery store. We’re calling this video series #StayHomeStudio. Watching on a computer screen is an unusual way to learn a new art technique as that’s usually a pretty hands-on process. But we refuse to stop engaging our members, visitors, and friends even during this time of social distancing.
We encourage you to take this time to learn something new and try your hand at a new art medium while in the comfort of your own home. We’ve done our best to make it easy for you to continue to engage in so many aspects of the art world and a variety of cultures. So take advantage of it!
Look for these videos and much more on our website and social media platforms!
Molly Merck, Education Coordinator