Art Education Partners with Brooks Museum for Community Art Academy

February 5, 2025 – For the second year in a row, Art Education students from the University of Memphis will partner with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art to host a season-long Community Art Academy that gives children an outlet to explore the arts.

“Art Education is an important focus for the museum,” said Kathy Dumlao, the museum’s director of education and interpretation. “This provides the chance for emerging art educators to have experience teaching in the unique environment of the museum.”

UofM students at the undergraduate and graduate level will work with students ages 9-12, who register for the academy, teaching them watercolor painting, oil pastels, acrylic painting and even sculpturing. Participants will even get a chance to spend time in the museum’s galleries. On the final day, an exhibition and reception will be held for families to see what young artists have created. Litzy Roman, a senior art major who participated in last year’s inaugural art academy with the museum, said the program was beneficial to her development.

“(The academy) provided me with firsthand experience of how art can be a powerful tool for education and connection,” Roman said. “Programs like this are essential to have in the community because they offer not only artistic skills but also a sense of belonging and shared purpose.”

Pam Anderson, a Visual Arts teacher at both Farmington Elementary and Houston High in Germantown, is working on her Art Education Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). She said this event is an amazing collaboration that benefits the children of Memphis.

“The young artists feel empowered to have classes in such an amazing space,” said Anderson. “I learned so much from seeing the other teachers’ different styles of teaching each week…and made connections during this time that I will keep my entire teaching career.”

The theme of this year’s academy is “Finding Peace and Happiness Within a Museum.” The program is free for those who want to register, and Dumlao says there is already a waiting list. 

Participants will meet on Wednesdays Feb. 26, Mar. 5 26, and Apr. 2 and 9. The final exhibition and reception is scheduled for Apr. 16. Registration ends on Wednesday, Feb. 12. You can find the registration link here.

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