Date: Dec 10, 2009

Hofstra University Museum Receives Over $75,000 In Funding To Continue Partnership with Schools

Funding To Also Support Upcoming Exhibitions

 JP Morgan Chase Art Travelers Through Time is designed to connect third graders from three schools in the Freeport, Hempstead, Uniondale school districts to an action-packed art adventure that opens their eyes to the Museum’s artistic treasures from around the world and at the same time augment their reading, writing and creative thinking skills that are embedded in the literacy, social studies and visual arts curricula. Hofstra’s Museum educators work closely with school district officials and teachers to create the JP Morgan Chase Art Travelers Through Time curriculum, which introduces third-graders to art museums and art concepts while reinforcing literacy concepts. Museum educators visit third grade classrooms, and students have two free class trips to the Museum to observe objects from the collection, first hand.

 “Museums and schools are natural partners,” said Hofstra University Museum Education Director Nancy Richner. “Working in concert with classroom teachers, the program connects artifacts and students in support of the school curriculum, engaging learners in new ways of thinking and problem-solving. Teachers express great enthusiasm for the program, stating that it widens their students’ horizons, instills a new sense of curiosity about their world, and helps improve basic skills. One teacher exclaimed ‘This is the kind of learning that is the most valuable!’”

 “JP Morgan Chase Art Travelers Through Time unlocks the wonders of art museums for hundreds of Long Island’s children each year,” said Hofstra University Museum Executive Director Beth E. Levinthal. “In conceiving of this program, it was my hope that children would learn about the rich diversity of our world through exploring the significant cultural artifacts in the Museum’s collection. We are most appreciative of JP Morgan Chase Foundation’s, ongoing support for this valuable educational partnership.”

To date, the JP Morgan Chase Art Travelers Through Time has impacted over 650 students and over 40 teachers and administrators.

 The Hofstra University Museum’s upcoming exhibition, Children’s Pleasures: American Celebrations of Childhood is on view from February 2 through April 18, 2010 in the Hofstra University Museum’s Emily Lowe Gallery, south campus and is guest curated by Hofstra Professor of Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies Donna Barnes, Ed.D. Among the various artists represented in a variety of media will be Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, William Merritt Chase, Winslow Homer, George Luks, William Sidney Mount, Norman Rockwell, and Philemona Williamson.   In addition to works form the Hofstra University Museum collection, loaned works will come from the collections of the Brooklyn Museum; the Long Island Museum of Art; History and Carriages; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Jersey City Museum, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Parrish Art Museum among a number of other art institutions.