Activities
These activities focus on works of art in the Whitney’s collection and special exhibitions. Through discussion, research, art making, and writing activities, we hope to encourage close looking, foster conversation between students, and connect artwork to classroom learning. Learn about our four artist-centered themes.
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2017
A Very Long Line
Research borders around the world -
Museum as Classroom, Classroom as Museum
Design your ideal classroom -
Climate Change
Draw a human who has evolved to cope with climate change -
Seeing the Everyday Anew
Picture your surroundings in a different way -
Know Your Neighbor
Interview a partner and create a portrait -
Frame it
Use a viewfinder to make a drawing -
Post-it
Make a Post-It wall of recent events -
Signs, Plaques, Markers
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Is it art?
What makes something a work of art? -
A Narrative Dimension
Write a collaborative story -
Object and Color, Color and Object
Make sculpture to explore two and three dimensions -
Color, Form, Edge
Experiment with shapes, color, and edges -
3D Drawing and Geometry
Experiment with 3D geometry -
Abstraction
Explore abstraction and the work of Carmen Herrera -
Positive and Negative Space
Explore and experiment with positive and negative space -
Synecdoche and Metonymy
Use synecdoche or metonymy to make a self-portrait -
Multiple Self-portrait
Take photos of different gestures and expressions -
Portraits without People
Create a symbolic portrait -
Reality Check
Journal activity -
Anthropomorphic Objects
Create a dialogue between anthropomorphic objects -
Group Portrait
Make a neighborhood or school portrait -
Portraits of other people
Make a contour drawing of a partner -
Self-portraits
Construct a self-portrait in words -
Art & Activism
Make an artwork about something important to yoiu -
What is a portrait?
Brainstorm what a portrait might be -
Surveillance Selfies
Take pictures when under surveillance -
Redaction
Explore how redaction changes the meaning of a text -
Not Secret Anymore
Discuss the NSA and Snowden's disclosures -
1984
Discuss excerpts of the book and its relevance today -
Invasion of Privacy
Discuss privacy in the digital realm
127 pages