Columns & Features

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Extending Beyond Craftsmanship, into Inquiry and Exploration

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Extending Beyond Craftsmanship, into Inquiry and Exploration

Dana Joy Helwick explains how, and why, she uses contemporary artists as role models in her classroom.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Action Verbs

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Action Verbs

Art21 Educator, Marie Elcin, discusses her use of “action verbs” inside of the classroom, inspired by Richard Serra’s Verb List (1967-68).

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Creating a Platform for New Voices

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Creating a Platform for New Voices

Art21 Educator, Marie Elcin, describes the impact of the social practice artworks and being inspired by the work of Mel Chin.

Francis Alÿs: A Moment of Collective Complicity

Francis Alÿs: A Moment of Collective Complicity

Francis Alÿs discusses the unexpected circumstances during the production of his collaborative film Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River (2008).

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Cultivating Collections

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Cultivating Collections

Choice-based Art21 Educator, Maureen Hergott explains how she uses collections in the classroom to inspire creativity in her students.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Introducing the Art21 Educators Year Nine Cohort

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Introducing the Art21 Educators Year Nine Cohort

Joe Fusaro, Art21’s senior education advisor, introduces the ninth cohort of Art21 Educators.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Introducing the 2019-2020 Cohort of Art21 Educators

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Introducing the 2019-2020 Cohort of Art21 Educators

Art21 is proud to announce the twelve educators that will join the incoming ninth cohort of Art21 Educators.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Harnessing the Penchant for Play

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Harnessing the Penchant for Play

Art21 Educator, Maureen Hergott, shares a lesson designed to inspire students to engage their imagination and construct artworks inspired by the human form.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Fueled by the Classroom: Being an Artist and Educator

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Fueled by the Classroom: Being an Artist and Educator

Art21’s senior education advisor, Joe Fusaro, shares how he makes meaningful connections between his art practice and being an arts educator.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

To Evoke Emotion

Teaching with Contemporary Art

To Evoke Emotion

Art21 Educator Dennis Greenwell shares an exercise that encouraged students to explore and embrace emotional reactions to artwork.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Landscape and Inquiry

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Landscape and Inquiry

Art21 Educator Dennis Greenwell screened the “Extended Play” film “Julie Mehretu: Politicized Landscapes” and shares the inspiring classroom discussion and activity that ensued as a result.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Agency in the Classroom: Who Makes the Decisions?

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Agency in the Classroom: Who Makes the Decisions?

Art21 Educator Alisa Rodny explains how she encourages students to take agency in their art-making and shares the story of two students who used artistic voice to express their stories of immigration to the United States.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Making Important Choices

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Making Important Choices

Educator Joe Fusaro illustrates how contemporary art and artists can have a local and global effect through the lens of works by Creative Growth Art Center, Olafur Elliason and Robin Rhode.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching as a Collaborator

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching as a Collaborator

Art21 Educator Alisa Rodny shares an assignment she developed where students partner with an artist from the Art21 archive to collaborate with and using their own style as a model.

Letter from the Editor

How to Choose

Letter from the Editor

How to Choose

Art 21 Executive Director, Tina Kukielski introduces the Fall 2018 Issue, “Choice” and the release of Art21’s newest publication, “Being an Artist,” which features previously unpublished interviews across the three video series, and 18-year tenure in letting artists share their experience and process in their own words.

This Week in Art

Baltimore Children Get Silk-Screening Lesson from Mark Bradford, Mary Mattingly Takes Over BRIC & More

This Week in Art

Baltimore Children Get Silk-Screening Lesson from Mark Bradford, Mary Mattingly Takes Over BRIC & More

A look at this this week’s art news, including Mark Bradford’s new community-centered project in Baltimore.

This Week in Art

“Art in the Twenty-First Century” Premieres Next Week, Laleh Khorramian Gets Mad at Art & More

This Week in Art

“Art in the Twenty-First Century” Premieres Next Week, Laleh Khorramian Gets Mad at Art & More

A look at this week’s art news, including the latest season of the Art21 broadcast series “Art in the Twenty-First Century” premiering on PBS next week.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Power of Words

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Power of Words

Educator-in-Residence Jeannine Bardo shares her unit plan on language, in which students investigate the power of text through art.

This Week in Art

Martin Puryear to Represent the U.S. in Venice, Cuban Artists Speak Out & Doris Salcedo’s “Counter-Monument”

This Week in Art

Martin Puryear to Represent the U.S. in Venice, Cuban Artists Speak Out & Doris Salcedo’s “Counter-Monument”

A look at this week’s art news, including the recent announcement of Martin Puryear as the artist selected to represent the United States in the upcoming 2019 Venice Biennale.

Strategies & Resources

Finding Room in the Classroom for Every Voice

Strategies & Resources

Finding Room in the Classroom for Every Voice

Educator-in-Residence Jeannine Bardo introduces lessons from her third-grade unit on “Home,” in which students’ research is centered on facets of their community: themselves, their family, and their friends.

Letter from the Editor

Figures of Speech

Letter from the Editor

Figures of Speech

Art21 executive director and chief curator Tina Kukielski introduces the new issue, “Figures of Speech,” examining the capacity of art for self-expression, community building, and political activism in 2018.

This Week in Art

Ai Weiwei’s Studio Demolished by Chinese Authorities, El Anatsui to Drape the Carnegie Museum, & More

This Week in Art

Ai Weiwei’s Studio Demolished by Chinese Authorities, El Anatsui to Drape the Carnegie Museum, & More

A look at this week’s art news, including Ai Weiwei’s studio being demolished by Chinese authorities and El Anatsui’s new installation for the 57th Carnegie International.

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Jeannine Bardo

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Jeannine Bardo

Meet Art21 Educator Jeannine Bardo, and learn how she’s creating a platform that amplifies the voices of fellow artists through her artist-run community initiative Stand4 Gallery.

This Week in Art

Yinka Shonibare’s “American Library,” The Whitney Goes Outside its Comfort Zone & More

This Week in Art

Yinka Shonibare’s “American Library,” The Whitney Goes Outside its Comfort Zone & More

A look at this week’s art news, including Yinka Shonibare’s new installation for the FRONT International Cleveland Triennial, “The American Library.”

This Week in Art

Mel Chin Submerges Times Square, Collier Schorr Talks Fashion & More

This Week in Art

Mel Chin Submerges Times Square, Collier Schorr Talks Fashion & More

A look at this week’s art news, including Mel Chin’s new installation in Times Square, which uses augmented reality to submerge viewers underwater.

This Week in Art

Olafur Eliasson Partners with IKEA, Graciela Iturbide Works Acquired by MFA Boston, & Hayv Kahraman on Immigration

This Week in Art

Olafur Eliasson Partners with IKEA, Graciela Iturbide Works Acquired by MFA Boston, & Hayv Kahraman on Immigration

A look at this week’s art news, including Olafur Eliasson’s new sustainability partnership with IKEA, the 2018 winners of the Young Architects Program, and thirteen artists responding to the subject of immigration through their work.

This Week in Art

Theaster Gates’ “Black Madonna” in Basel, Pedro Reyes on Puppets, & Artists Raised on the Internet

This Week in Art

Theaster Gates’ “Black Madonna” in Basel, Pedro Reyes on Puppets, & Artists Raised on the Internet

A look at this week’s art news, including Theaster Gates’ new exhibition in Basel, in which the artist has transformed exhibition spaces into active sites of creative production.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Rooted in the Home: Thoughts on Building Connections Between Students & Artists

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Rooted in the Home: Thoughts on Building Connections Between Students & Artists

Educator-in-Residence Jocelyn Salaz offers insight into how incorporating familiar aesthetics can help students identify with artists.

This Week in Art

For Freedoms Launches the 50 State Initiative, Nick Cave Takes Over the Park Avenue Armory, & More

This Week in Art

For Freedoms Launches the 50 State Initiative, Nick Cave Takes Over the Park Avenue Armory, & More

A look at this week’s art news, including a new public art initiative launched by the artist-run Super PAC For Freedoms, and a new participatory performance series by Nick Cave.

This Week in Art

Havana’s #00Bienal, Contemporary Artists on Climate Change, & Tania Bruguera’s Artivism

This Week in Art

Havana’s #00Bienal, Contemporary Artists on Climate Change, & Tania Bruguera’s Artivism

A look at this week’s art news, including the successful closing of Cuba’s first independent art biennial, and a new exhibition at Storm King Art Center on climate change.

This Week in Art

New Season of “Art in the Twenty-First Century,” Diana Al-Hadid’s First Public Art Project & More

This Week in Art

New Season of “Art in the Twenty-First Century,” Diana Al-Hadid’s First Public Art Project & More

A look at this week’s art news, including the new season of “Art in the Twenty-First Century” announced last week, Diana Al-Hadid’s upcoming public art project, and more.

This Week in Art

Caroline Woolard & Pedro Reyes Work with Refugee Communities, New Jack Whitten Exhibition in Baltimore & More

This Week in Art

Caroline Woolard & Pedro Reyes Work with Refugee Communities, New Jack Whitten Exhibition in Baltimore & More

A look at this week’s art news, including Caroline Woolard and Pedro Reyes’ recent contributions to the Cincinnati nonprofit Wave Pool, whose Welcome Editions project invites artists to design a limited edition art object and work with local refugee and immigrant women to fabricate the pieces.

Strategies & Resources

Who Am I, in Color?

Strategies & Resources

Who Am I, in Color?

Educator-in-Residence Jocelyn Salaz lays out the elements of her unit on color, in which students make their own paints, study color theory, and investigate the implications of skin tone.

Letter from the Editor

Rights of Passage

Letter from the Editor

Rights of Passage

Art21 executive director and chief curator Tina Kukielski introduces the spring issue, reflecting on the importance of access to culture and the power of art and artists to expand access to healthcare, education, and more.

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Jocelyn Salaz

Educator Spotlight

Art21 Educator Spotlight: Jocelyn Salaz

Meet Art21 Educator Jocelyn Salaz, and learn how she’s exposing her students to a diversity of thought and approach by incorporating contemporary art practices in the classroom.

This Week in Art

Mel Chin Takes Over New York City, Theaster Gates Talks Sculpture & More

This Week in Art

Mel Chin Takes Over New York City, Theaster Gates Talks Sculpture & More

A look at this week’s art news, including Mel Chin’s new retrospective at the Queens Museum, and thoughts from a recent talk by Theaster Gates on sculpture and art’s potential for the future.