Including Asian art in your classrooms

[kendra Farrell]

We are western oriented in international schools but as we become more global it important to have our students experience the entire landscape of the arts. How do you include Asian arts in your curriculum?

[Lara]

If you want to visit Guangzhou art museums, I recommend Guangdong Museum of Art in Shamian Island, and the new one in Zhujiang New City. actually, there are  many, but these 2 are the biggest in the city.

Luise Guest said:

Do any teachers working in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou have recommendations about galleries that I should visit when I am visiting China in March/April next year? I know about Redgate and of course 798 in Beijing; and ShanghART and Eastlink in Shanghai. Any other suggestions?

kendra Farrell said:

UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Arts) is a great resource and advocate in the 798 area in Beijing.



Luise Guest said:

As an Australian teacher I believe it is vital to expose my students to the contemporary art of our own region - the Asia Pacific. I have begun using contemporary artists such as those exhibited in the Asia Pacific Triennial exhibitions in Brisbane, (people such as Taoshi Ozawa, Chen Qiulin, Sopheap Pich, Montien Boonma, Bui Cong Khanh and Sutee Kunavichayanont, as well as significant and venerable figures from China such as Xu Bing, and Wenda Gu) in my classes - especially senior classes. When I visit China next year I am really interested to see how teachers in both Chinese and international schools use traditional and contemporary Chinese art in their teaching. We have a new and extraordinary resource in Sydney - the White Rabbit Gallery, started by a wonderful (and very wealthy) philanthropist called Judith Neilsen. With a Chinese artist, Wang Zhiyuan, as her advisor she has amassed a huge collection of contemporary Chinese art and given it to the people of Sydney. Their web site is helpful as a teaching resource also: http://www.whiterabbitcollection.org/

[Luise Guest]

Ms.Lara - thanks so much for this! I will have just the one action-packed day in Guangzhou but I have heard that the Guangdong Museum of Art is wonderful and I hope I can spend at least a few hours there.

[Nicki Hambleton]

This discussion is extremely relevant and useful in developing meaningful inclusion in our curriculum (especially to those of us new to this part of the world). I feel the most effective way is to visit an exhibition or gallery, or failing that using a specific artist (Xu Bing for example) to inspire work. In my school we have a cross disciplinary trip to Chiang Mai with Grade 8 and use this opportunity to talk about cultural differences and identity.

I look forward to more great suggestions and advice from this discussion.

[daryl bates]

I teach in Tokyo. We have hundreds of galleries available for students to view, however, getting them to visit them is another story! I generally get one gallery visitation and one museum excursion in each year for grade 11 and 12. I have a standard art analysis worksheet students use to examine a work of their choice from the exhibitions. We always discuss the exhibition following the excursion, attempting to draw links to the thematic work they are doing in class.

In grade 9, I teach a unit on Japonisme. This is the influence of Ukiyo-e printmaking on French Impressionism. Students investigate the historic and cultural significance of this artistic exchange. They make a comparison, contrasting the two cultural artworks for context and meaning. They investigate qualities unique to Japanese woodblock, and create their own Lino relief prints, employing inquiry inspired by themes of the `Floating World`. In the second half of the unit they investigate Impressionism for its artistic qualities, aims and influences. Students create their own impressionist inspired image from a personal photograph of an environment they find particularly inspiring.

I attempt to include Asian traditional aesthetics into unit discussions as often as possible. Students often use the local city environment as subject matter or background to images they produce.

[Dr. Katherine Bolman]

I am creating a website to present the history of art and architecture around the world. It starts with prehistoric art and continues on to early villages where you will find a discussion of the art of Japan.

 the idea behind this is the you will find scholarly journals in one part of the work which you can use as you wish. However I strongly suggest that you and the students do something after they have completed that unit. In this case it is obvious that Clay would be the main substance.  The wonderful decorations on the flame pot could inspire students to do a variety of things.

 This website will be global and sorted by timeline. I hope this help your international school.

The website is arthistoryworlds.org

 I am beginning the process of writing a grant application to the NEH in order to get monies to be able to pay people to help me in many different ways. In order to get the grant I would need a group of teachers to send letters of support. I hope you feel you can do this.

 Dr. Katherine Bolman

 [e-mail]