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.
-
2017
Invasion of Privacy
Discuss privacy in the digital realm -
O’ Say Can You See
View and discuss Laura Poitras's film -
Post-9/11 America
Research and discuss safety and freedom -
Under Surveillance
Discuss surveillance -
The Circus
Make wire sculptures -
Abstraction
Make a drawing of a journey -
Inspirational Architecture
Study a building or architectural structure -
Early Sunday Morning
Write a poem about a favorite place at a specific time -
Dempsey and Firpo
Depict an exciting moment of an event -
The Artist and His Mother
Draw or write a description of a person from memory -
Picture the Story
Create an abstract artwork based on a book -
Shape the Composition
Make a shaped composition -
See the Music
Make an abstract composition that visualizes music -
Abstract Surroundings
-
Optical Illusion
Experiment with composition and pictorial space -
Street Scenes and Sounds
Artist as Observer -
What is a painting?
Discuss what a painting might be -
Race Relations in America
Artist as Critic -
Portraits
Artist as Observer -
Migration
Artist as Storyteller -
Digital Transitions
-
What is American? (continued)
Explore what it means to be American -
Identity Politics
Explore identity politics through creative writing -
Challenging Media Stereotypes
Combine found words and images to challenge stereotypes -
What is American?
Explore what it means to be American -
Representing the Figure
Make a flashlight figure mural -
Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning
Imagine the street when everyone wakes up -
Multiple Materials
Create a relief work with art materials and found objects -
Reimagine an Everyday Object
Make a proposal for a sculpture of an ordinary object -
Try This!
Experiment with objects and mirrors
127 pages