Gallery 400 and BFA in Art Education: Pandemic Lessons

Pandemic Lessons: Challenges, Innovations, and Reimaginings in Art Education lectures on Vimeo! (Pre-recorded content)

The current COVID 19 pandemic has necessitated a drastic reframing of how art education is approached and accessed. Following the end of the first semester/term of online learning, Gallery 400, in partnership with the BFA in Art Education program at UIC’s School of Art & Art History, hosted a series of presenter-led conversations to explore how art education has adapted to a virtual learning environment: the challenges, innovations, and ways forward.

There were three convenings:

‘What Just Happened?' explored the various ways in which artists/art educators have pivoted in response to the crisis.

‘Picking up the Pieces: Context, Healing & Advocacy’ focused on how artists and art educators have responded to the struggles of those they teach and those to whom they are connected through direct forms of engagement with the crisis.

'Where Can We Go from Here? Reimagining the Future' focused on how artists and art educators are transforming a range of existing structures by developing new modes of teaching, learning, and creating together.

We see these conversations as a valuable way to collectively reflect on the experiences of the last few months, share knowledge and resources, highlight our connectivity and interdependence, and brainstorm new possibilities for going forward.

The 2020 UIC SAAH Open House/Open Studios will be a week long series of online events and streaming content created to promote and celebrate the work of our students, and highlight the diverse offerings of our programs.