Over the past couple months, art classes from Bronxville High School have gone on exciting field trips to some of New York City’s most renowned museums and galleries, deepening their understanding of art and its many forms. Each class focused on areas closely tied to their curriculum, making these trips not just educational but deeply inspiring for when we return to the classroom.
Art II and III students visited the Whitney Museum, looking at exhibitions that highlighted the roles of artists as experimenters, which consists of using unique materials in unusual ways. More specifically, for Art III, the trip included discussions on what defines an American artist, challenging conventional art, and exploring themes like the use of non-traditional materials, community engagement, and cultural identity. “Field trips provide an invaluable experience for art students to witness history and culture first hand and build community within the class,” said Ms. Alan, one of the two high school art teachers.
Students in Creative Crafts and Digital Photography classes spent their day at the American Folk Art Museum and various photography galleries. They explored unique crafts and photography styles, gathering inspiration for their projects back at school.
AP Art & Design students explored Tribeca’s contemporary art galleries, where they had the opportunity to explore how modern artists push boundaries by innovating with materials and expressing complex ideas. Ms. Alan noted how these trips are particularly valuable for studio courses: “Field trips are an integral part of the art curriculum that allow students to connect directly with the artwork, its materials, and scale. Seeing art in person allows students to notice details that cannot be captured in a book or on a screen.” This class is much more independent than any of the other courses due to the fact that students have the ability to select their own themes and focus on personal expression. These AP Art students were able to directly connect, and take inspiration from, the pieces seen at the gallery to their own portfolio, which we are excited to see evolve in the coming months.
Both the Art I students and AP Art History students, though months apart, had the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art I focused on modern and contemporary art issues, where most recently AP Art History students surrounded themselves in the vast collections of the MET, using it as a chance to analyze art from a historical perspective and see firsthand the works they have been studying in class.
These trips provide a valuable opportunity for students to engage with art in new and meaningful ways that they would not typically get to do sitting in school. “From the works, students make connections with their own art and, in turn, create original works based on something they saw or discussed,” Ms. Alan explained. At Bronxville High School, we feel so lucky to have such easy access to New York City’s incredible art scene. We can not wait to see the amazing pieces the students create, inspired by everything they have experienced on these trips.
