PROGRAMS
Excellence in Museum Education
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey works with K–12 students to provide resources for formal arts education and exposure to museum exhibitions.
These programs reflect our commitment to making art accessible to all audiences. These programs deliver engaging educational visual arts experiences to under-served, economically disadvantaged, marginalized audiences, or communities with barriers. We serve the immediate community of Summit, the surrounding Hudson, Union, Essex, Sussex, and Somerset counties, and we recently launched new initiatives that reach communities statewide.
If you have any questions please contact Rachel Aponte, Director of Education & Community Engagement, at raponte@artcenternj.org.
MUSEUM EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS
MUSEUM EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS
Jefferson Arts Academy
Arts Alive InitiativeJefferson Arts Academy
Created in partnership with Elizabeth Public Schools, the Arts Alive Initiative brings students to the Art Center for an in-depth sequential learning arts education program that expands their knowledge and understanding of contemporary art. One of our flagship programs, the Arts Alive Initiative has brought 300 students per year from Jefferson Arts Academy to the Art Center to create art projects that apply ideas and themes from the Art Center’s exhibitions. This initiative supports the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Visual Arts.
CALTA21
and English Language LearnersCALTA21
Working closely with the founder of CALTA21, Patricia Lannes, this program creates a dynamic environment where museums provide authentic, meaningful, and engaging experiences to immigrant communities and where learning, enjoyment, and civic engagement support the development of the individual’s voice. The program supports systemic change that transforms museums into powerful learning spaces for immigrants and their families and is a vehicle to strengthen the immigrant’s voice by encouraging the development of their academic, social, cultural, and civic capital. We have trained over 60 educators to work with English language students in Elizabeth, NJ, and we continue to work with those teachers and students, opening up the museum to them as their classroom whenever possible.
Elizabeth Public Schools
8th Grade ProgramElizabeth Public Schools
Since 2014, the Art Center has welcomed 500 Elizabeth Public School District 8th grade students annually for one-day field trips. Students spend the day at VACNJ, receive a tour, work in a classroom on a project tied to the exhibitions, and take their art home.
SEEDS
Access Changes EverythingSEEDS
This program serves high-achieving, low-income 5th and 6th graders in Newark’s Young Scholars program with lessons in studio art and a strong focus on art history. It begins each year in January and runs through May. Our teaching artists develop the syllabus for the program with topics tying into art history and contemporary artists.
PEP Program
PEP Program
The PEP Program is a college access program that offers academic, social-emotional, and financial support for select, motivated, Summit, NJ, public school students from grades 7–12. Programming occurs during after-school hours and during the summer. The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey provides a multi-session exhibition-based visual arts program to PEP students during the fall and spring semesters.
Empowering Kids Organization
Empowering Kids Organization
The mission of Empowering Kids Organization is to create strategies and programs to empower underprivileged kids to thrive throughout their educational journey, by connecting them and their families with opportunities and resources. Since 2019 VACNJ has partnered with EKO and worked with elementary, middle school, and high school students to pilot several programs aimed at art viewing and making exposure to the students. Those who are interested have access to scholarships to then continue exploring the arts.
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