Museum School

Make the Museum your classroom! Art classes for ages 3–14

 

The City of Albuquerque uses a registration system called RecTrac. Create your new account now to save time when registration for classes open. Click this link and "Create an Account." You'll be set to register all your family members for this semester and the future. Need help using RecTrac?

 

 

* Museum members receive a 10 percent discount

No registration by telephone is accepted.

[2/23/2022] Masks are optional in the Museum classroom. We encourage those who prefer to wear masks to continue doing so. Staff will no longer conduct wellness checks. If your child is exhibiting symptoms or has been exposed to someone with COVID 19, do not bring them to class. We continue to follow the CDC guidelines regarding symptoms and exposure at the link below.

CDC Quarantine Guidelines


Additional Information:

  • Members receive a 10% discount. No multi child discounts available.
  • Due to the number of food allergies, no eating will be allowed in the classroom.
  • If your child needs accommodations to participate in the class, please let us know at least two (2) weeks in advance.
  • Refunds are available if requested at least two (2) weeks before the start date of class.
  • Museum School Winter Weather Policy: Please note that Museum cancels classes if the City of Albuquerque closes. When the City of Albuquerque is on a two hour delay, Museum School morning classes will begin one hour later. If the Museum cancels a class due to weather or illness, a make- up class date will be provided.

Albuquerque Museum seeks to enhance children's artistic and cultural development through year-round classes and workshops in art and history. Classes for all ages from preschool to seniors are offered at nominal fees so that they are available to all.

 

PRESCHOOL ADVENTURES IN ART

Ages 3–6; Fee: $60
Classes for the young child and their grown up
(Ages 3–6 and their grown up)
Wednesdays, 2:30-4 p.m.

January 4, 11, 18, 25
Into the Woods: Fabric as an Expressive Material
How can fabric create an image based on the natural world? What is the relationship between the language of drawing and working with sewing and fabrics? In this workshop, children and their caregivers will explore the potential fabric has as an expressive material. Working with fabric invites us to consider the tension between the softness of a piece of yarn with the hardness of a line, and find unique ways to create images and tell stories about our relationship with nature. Anchored by From the Creek, a solo exhibit of artworks by Kiki Smith, participants will draw, paint, and sew with fabrics as they consider the natural world around them.

February 1, 8, 15, 22
Serendipitous Collage
How can the story of a picture change when it’s layered with another? What new stories can we tell when we introduce new images? In this workshop, children and their caregivers will draw inspiration from collages in the Common Ground and Becoming Land exhibits as they experiment with collage strategies in the studio. Participants will play with materials to create unexpected collage representations. They will also create their own collage material as well as alter found images and photographs to create new artworks. Working both collaboratively and individually, as we tear, cut, layer, and glue, we will accumulate portfolios of collaged artworks.

March 1, 8, 15, 29
Who Do You See? Capturing Stories through Portraiture
How can an image capture a story about a person? Who can we find in the images we see? In this workshop, children and their caregivers will draw inspiration from Those (un)Familiar Faces as they explore portraiture through drawing, painting, printmaking and photography. We will interrogate the idea of a “portrait” and find many ways to express a story about ourselves and other people.

April 5, 12, 19, 26
Up Close, Underneath, and Far Away
What might you find under a rock? What is the farthest thing you can see? In this workshop children and their caregivers will embark “en plein air”, or outside, to capture landscapes both right under our feet and as far as we can see. Anchoring our work in landscapes on display in the Common Ground and Danny Lyon: Journey West exhibits, we will venture out of the studio amongst many of the museum’s outdoor sculptures to play with drawing and painting materials.

PRESCHOOL ADVENTURES IN ART INSTRUCTOR

Hollie Putnam has over 10 years of experience in education and a background in fine arts. Hollie currently works as a studio art teacher in a preschool guided by the Reggio Emilia Approach. She aims to create aesthetic studio environments where children can develop their own artistic practices. Hollie’s personal artistic background is in ceramics and painting, and she also has a love for sewing garments.


YOUTH STUDIO

Ages 6–10; Fee: $70
Wednesdays & Saturdays, 9:30–11 a.m., Fridays, 3:30–5 p.m.

Wednesdays, January 4, 11, 18, 25, February 1, 8
Fridays, January 6, 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10
Saturdays, January 7, 14, 21, 28, February 4, 11
Becoming Land
Inspired by the works in Nicola López and Paula Wilson: Becoming Land (gallery 1 through February 12), students will explore what it means to be connected to our surrounding environments. In this class students will create wearable works of art using solar dyes and plants inspired by Nicola Lopez, several types of printmaking and a large collage self-portrait inspired by Paula Wilson.

Wednesdays, February 15, 22, March 1, 8, 15, 29
Fridays, February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, 31
Saturdays, February 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18, April 1
Only in Albuquerque
For the first half of this class we will explore Albuquerque’s past through our large, interactive, permanent history exhibit, Only in Albuquerque (gallery 5). Students will create beautiful and informative map collages of the places that are important to them and sculptures of food that would have been served at the Alvarado Hotel. In the second half of this class, students will explore and take inspiration from the wide variety of local artists in ArtsThrive: Art Exhibition & Benefit (Gallery 7, March 4–April 16) for their final works in this class!

Wednesdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10
Fridays, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12
Saturdays, April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13
Fantastic Fairy Gardens
Using found and recycled objects, clay, wood, living plants and paint students will create fairy gardens in various scales inspired by the fantastical works of the Hondo Iris Farm and Gallery in Ruidoso, Brian and Wendy Froud, and Florence Griswold Museum’s Wee Faerie Village, and our own wonderful sculpture garden. Students will create a faux stained-glass birdbath or lantern, a mixed media mural to welcome the faeries and many miniatures! While not required, students are encouraged to bring objects to use in their gardens such as old dishes and glass bottles, special stones and interesting collections of waterproof items like bottle caps!

Ages 10–14; Fee: $75
Tuesday, 4–6 p.m. or Fridays, 9:30–11:30 a.m.

Fridays, January 6, 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10
Tuesdays, January 10, 17, 24, 31, February 7, 14
Those (un)Familiar Faces
In this class students will take inspiration from the current photo archive exhibition titled Those (un)Familiar Faces, including a tour and Q&A from Jillian R. Hartke, our Museum’s photo archivist. We will also explore photo exhibitions in our permanent history exhibit Only in Albuquerque and our current exhibitions in Gallery 1, Shi Guorui: Ab/Sense-Pre/Sense And Nicola López and Paula Wilson: Becoming Land. Students will experiment with the ancient photo technique of cyanotype as well modern photo manipulations through adobe photoshop, to create multi-layered, two- and three-dimensional works of art including a photo transparency mobile, paper dolls and a solar print T-shirt! No photo experience necessary. For the T-shirt project please either provide a t-shirt or let the instructor know what size t-shirt your child needs so he can provide one.

Fridays, February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, 31
Tuesdays February 21,28, March 7,14, 28, April 4
Surrealist Landscapes and Gardens
Taking inspiration equally from the surrealist bronze sculptures of Charles Strong, Cervantes, Paul Suttman, Braque Visited by the Conquering Venus—Armed with the Apples of Discord, and the changing seasons, this class will familiarize students with works in our sculpture garden as well as sculpting and drawing the figure. We will make usable planters that sprout forth flowers we will grow from seed, draw our favorite sculptures, and paint the Sandias from the rooftop! While we will be inside in the case of bad weather, students are extra encouraged to bring a jacket and water bottle to this class.

Fridays, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12
Tuesdays, April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16
What is a Self Portrait?
The answer is as vast as the world of artists. From Marcel Duchamp’s torn French avant-garde paper profiles to Mexican Modernist painter, Frida Kahlo’s lifelike surrealist canvases to contemporary recycled artist Michelle Reader’s life size paper mache figures, we will familiarize ourselves with a wide array of artists who made self-portraits and their styles, while painting and sculpting with various media including collage, assemblage and, paper mache. Additionally, we will take inspiration from Albuquerque Public School students in the exhibition Focus on Youth.

YOUTH STUDIO INSTRUCTORS 

Harley Kirschner is a mixed media artist and art instructor. He has a passion for mixed media, incorporating many different techniques into each object he makes. Although his roots are in collage and painting, he has been exploring place-based art for over a decade with students and has created permanent installations on his own. This is where his passion for garden art comes in. In addition to creating magical worlds, Harley has a passion for textiles and is always exploring new techniques to enliven fabric.

Gigi Schroeder Yu, PhD is an assistant professor in art education in the art department at the University of New Mexico. She has over 20 years of experience teaching art with young children to adults in community settings, museums, and public-school classrooms. The early learning programs of Reggio Emilia, Italy and their deep respect for children’s artistic languages inspire her creative work and research. Gigi’s work with young children inspires her to see her own artistic practices in new ways.

 

 


Ages up to 17: Teen Corner ● FREE

Get Inspired. Get Creative.

Make art anywhere at any time! Teen Corner is a resource for teen artists offered by Albuquerque Museum. Expand your art making abilities or try something entirely new. Browse video lessons that explore a variety of techniques, artist designed color pages, and creative exercises to keep your mind active.

Visit the Teen Corner

 

Details subject to change.