Rachel Lauren Storm, Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Learning, sat down with Graduate Assistant Tim Abel.
RLS: Tim, what would you say drew you to the field of art education?
TA: There are so many ways to answer this question! A good place to start is recognizing an amazing middle school teacher, Ms. Berkson, who made space for me to be part of the art room before, during, and after school. Even when I didn’t know what I was doing, I knew I was welcome.
I recently read that art education is a place to try out and experiment with new ideas, while also understanding that the person trying them out is also changing or changed by the process. For me too, art education is a participatory process, so that process of change is shared. I am drawn to sharing in the making.
RLS: What have you valued the most about your experiences working on the museum’s education team?
TA: I have valued how much each person in this small department respects and trusts each other’s ideas. The opportunity to work with you has been exciting, especially in your encouragement in supporting one another. Having the space to try out new ideas is great, and the real day-to-day support allows big ideas to be thought up, experimented with, and tried out. I believe this is how the long-term partnership with Booker T. Washington STEM Academy grew into what it is today.
RLS: Can you describe a moment teaching there that exemplifies the impact of art education?
TA: No single moment can aptly illustrate the breadth of relationships that have formed throughout my time co-teaching with Kamila Glowacki these past two years. This moment of art education we have found has been a way of listening and reflecting on ideas and celebrating these young artists in a school system that might not always seem easy to navigate. We worked with the students to dream up a way to celebrate their work. We hatched a plan for Art on Parade, a large-scale parade, fashion show, and party with local performer DJ Silkee, with multiple grades in the audience and the School of Music joining to present their re-creation of the school song as a music video. The event shaped itself and came into focus because of our conversations with the students.
