Cultivating Connections
with art, with museums, with people
Hi, I’m Kate!
I’m fascinated by art as a form of communication. Not just what we can learn from it, but what we can do with it…
I’ve been fortunate to spend time with some incredible institutions exploring this question. My approach is shaped by a theoretical foundation based in the ideas of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Mikhail Czicsemnihaiya, and others.
Progressive education, in theory and in practice, is at its heart a study in the individual: how to support individual curiosity, growth, ambition, and self-directed learning. Museums are perfect spaces for this.
My background in art history (BA + MA) along with my experience in museums has given me a huge database of art traditions, media, cultures, and uses. I have a particular interest in the evidence of cross-cultural influence in art, and in the ways that artists have responded to social conditions around them.
I’m great at finding intriguing moments and movements in art history and turning them into engaging lessons, programs, and experiences. My goal is to help people feel confident in their relationship to art, whether they are using it for learning, inspiration, or fun!
Feel free to reach out if you’re working on something along these lines! I’d love to chat.
The Museum Magnet School
City & Country
Metropolitan Montessori School
Organizational Affiliations
Mount Holyoke College
Boston University
Bank Street College of Education
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Museum of Modern Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
How Children and Adults Develop an Understanding of Museums
How do people build a personal understanding of what a museum is, what it is for, and how to use it? How are museums discussed, depicted, and thought of?
Looking at Art to Spark Discussion of Perspective and Identity
Noticing first reactions, opinion forming, connections to prior knowledge, and emotional responses; sharing and comparing to draw out opinions and perspectives that can seem unimportant to an individual; gaining appreciation for additional perspectives
Building Visual Literacy Skills (and Decoding Advertising)
Looking for evidence of the artists’ attempts to influence the viewer experience; breaking down artist choices and intent; applying these processes to modern day persuasive imagery
Integrating Mini Art History Lessons into the K-12 Curriculum
Using archives, artifacts, and creative works to support learning topics through social studies, culture, math, etc.; spotlighting movements and motivations that connect with student study.
When Art Grabs You: The Internal Response
Defining that unmistakable response to certain works of art; considering the conditions that surround the experience; investigating ways organizations can support it; its role in personal growth and self image
Research Interests
Sample Projects
Art For Life’s Sake: The Ashcan School (Changing Representation in America’s Gilded Age) This in-class program for a 5th grade social studies class gathers students into groups to independently examine a selection of works from this movement, after an introduction in which several prominent paintings of the time are shared. Student knowledge of social conditions during this time period is layered into the subsequent discussion, supporting the development of a deeper understanding of how these artists were living, feeling, reacting, and responding to the world around them.
Reflecting (on) the Museum: An Analysis of the Characterization of Museums in Informal Children’s Literature This survey reviews the study of children’s books as instructive or introductory tools before delving in to an examination of how museums are portrayed in both text and illustration: what explanation is offered, what activities are depicted, how characters react to the experience, and any diversity of perspectives referenced.
Designing Tomorrow: The First New York World’s Fair This 8-part curriculum is designed to take place over several weeks (adaptable 3rd-12th grades, aligning with NYC Visual Arts Blueprint and Common Core Standards) in connection with the Museum of the City of New York. Students are introduced to the concept of planning for the future, and, through archival documents and souvenirs, revisit the 1930s to understand what issues were at the forefront of culture in NYC during that time.
Fin de Seicle Pictorialism: Photography’s Nascent Identity as an Art Form This academic review of the early days of photography, and its movement from a mechanical process to a tool of artists, examines the influences of painting and printmaking on this emerging artistic medium. The cityscapes of Alvin Langon Coburn are discussed as an instructive example of the artists’ excitement surrounding the possibilities of this new form and their search for ways to imbue the finished works with the qualities of traditionally respected genres of art.