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The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens Presents Jazz ABZ: Improvisations by Students at S.P. Livingston Elementary School
February 18, 2010
Jacksonville, Fla. - The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens presents Jazz ABZ: Improvisations by Students at S.P. Livingston Elementary School on March 1, 2010. The exhibition, on view through May 9, 2010, features jazz inspired artwork by selected 5th grade students from S.P. Livingston Elementary School’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Department that are part of the Weaver Academy of Art Program at The Cummer. Under the guidance of The Cummer Education staff with documentation by photographer Ingrid Damiani, students created abstract paintings, cityscape collages and free-form poetry based on the sounds in jazz music.
This exhibition displays artwork created between the students and the education department at The Cummer as a response to the exhibition, Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Paul Rogers. After viewing images from the exhibition, students used the mix of music, spoken word and art to form their own creative representations by applying the principles and elements of art seen throughout the exhibition.
“The Cummer Education Staff worked with the students from the ESE department to tie in their artwork in a direct response to the traveling exhibition and jazz music,” said Silvia Romero-Brown, Associate Director of Education. “The students’ inspiration unfolded throughout the six-week project as they painted, danced and created visual compositions while enjoying the music of Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and other Jazz Legends.”
S.P. Livingston Elementary School is part of the Weaver Academy of Art Program at The Cummer. This program is a continuing partnership between The Cummer and Duval County Public Schools. As part of classroom outreach visits, a museum educator visits the school two times throughout the school year. In addition, students have field trips to the museum that allow for firsthand examination of original art, time in the gardens, writing activities, a studio art project and time in Art Connections, the museum’s interactive center. These tours are based on a curriculum that supports state standards. The museum trip is an additional resource that serves as an extension of what students are learning in the classroom. Florida Sunshine State standards are addressed in each visit to reinforce vocabulary and writing skills tailored to art principles and critique.
The Weaver Academy of Art Program at The Cummer began in 2007, when J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver donated funds to establish an endowment to begin an Access Program for eight underserved public schools in northwest Jacksonville. The Access Program is intended to provide underserved students and families access to the museum and the arts. “This program presents an opportunity to bring the arts to the students and the students to the arts,” said Romero-Brown. As the program enters its third year, it has reached 4,000 students in eight different schools and helped them to develop critical thinking and literacy skills that adhere to state standards.
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The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is committed to engage and inspire through the arts, gardens and education. A permanent collection of more than 5,500 works of art on a riverfront campus offers more than 95,000 annual visitors a truly unique experience on the First Coast. Nationally recognized education programs serve adults and children of all abilities.
Contact:
Amy Chamberlin
Associate Director of Marketing
Phone: 904-899-6034
achamberlin@cummer.org
Cell: 904-859-8121
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