Intuit Fellowship 2010-11

This year I am participating in an award-winning Teacher Fellowship Program with Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. Intuit defines “intuitive and outsider art” as work of artists who demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world and who instead are motivated by their unique personal visions. This includes what is known as art brut, non-traditional folk art, self-taught art, and visionary art.

NTA is one of 10 Chicago Public Schools accepted into this program. The program consists of four monthly Saturday training sessions for teachers in the Fall, which are designed to inspire ideas for innovative curricular development based on the characteristics of self-taught art. The training sessions include: lectures, workshops with artists, tours of outsider art collections, and teacher field trips to museums. In addition, Intuit offers supplementary funds for classroom supplies, and access to our Robert A. Roth Study Center – which is full of rare and interesting books to help generate lesson ideas.

Specially designed lesson plans are implemented in the classroom during the Spring, with support and resources from Intuit staffmembers. The program ends with an exhibition of selected student artworks at Intuit. Family members and friends are all invited to attend.