New-York Historical Society Teacher Workshop

On May 4th we held a workshop in partnership with the New-York Historical Society for a wonderful group of enthusiastic teachers. The teachers spent the day learning about using art as a primary source for teaching history through various activities, including our workshop. The group created portraits based on Memory Project subjects, as well as two subjects from the Historical Society’s curriculum guides: Ida B. Wells, and Clara Lemlich Shavelson. You can view the portraits and also read some of the teachers' feedback on their experience:

"I felt that I was sculpting and I added layer upon layer of dark and light shades." — Samuel P.

"A connection to the past makes history come alive and become more relevant."

"[I will remember] learning the story of the person afterwards, because the person took on a new meaning afterwards." — Meghan B.

"It created a deeper connection with the imagery and made you focus more on the process... Once finished, the process created a connection to the person's story."

"I love the idea of breaking an image down into lights and darks and seeing the person emerge."

Thank you to the New-York Historical Society for hosting us and for providing materials from your excellent curriculum guide.