Fifth Grade Art Experience (FGAE)

38th Year: 2023–2024

During the Missoula Art Museum’s 37th annual Fifth Grade Art Experience (FGAE) the museum welcomed fifth-grade classrooms for FREE art-looking and art-making experiences focused on three extraordinary contemporary art exhibitions (see below). After touring the galleries with docents, students worked with a professional artist to create their original piece of art based on the art of Molly Murphy Adams. Following the art-making session, students ate their lunches in the classroom and then walked to the Missoula Public Library for a tour, related storytelling, and an opportunity to get a library card. FGAE began on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 and ran through Friday, Dec. 21. Special thanks to the Art Associates of Missoula, MCPS, the Jane S. Heman Foundation, and Inspired Classroom for their partnership and support! NOTE! A virtual version of FGAE, Museum as Megaphone, was held the week of Dec. 11−15, offering a special "Live Day with the Artist."

Exhibitions:

Molly Murphy Adams: The Space Between

Make it Funky: Bay Area Influence on Missoula Ceramics

Joeann Daley: Montana Remembered

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Museum as Megaphone

What is Museum as Megaphone?

Museum as Megaphone is the Missoula Art Museum's distance learning platform. It gives students and teachers access to contemporary art exhibitions on view at MAM, and a chance to interact directly with artists and arts educators. Students and teachers from schools all over the state can participate in real-time, interactive tours in the MAM galleries. MAM’s arts educators lead students on an inquiry-based tour to engage and promote self-discovery through dialogue and discussion. Each course is self-paced and is not timed. The steps can be completed as a class or assigned as independent work. We have created these programs to mirror the experience of coming into the museum galleries as closely as possible. This includes video tours, art-making instructions for projects, resource lists, and more! Museum as Megaphone was created in partnership with Inspired Classroom.

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Professional Development for Educators

MAM offers regular professional development opportunities for educators. Educators of all subject areas and grade levels are welcome to participate in arts-integrated workshops. These workshops are often in partnership with Indian Education Specialists from the Office of Public Instruction, and highlight MAM’s dedicated Lynda M. Frost Contemporary American Indian Art Gallery. Explore exhibitions featuring Contemporary American Indian art and connect to the Seven Essential Understandings of Indian Education for All (IEFA). Topics covered may include: language and vocabulary, appreciation vs. appropriation, and creating space to amplify Native voices. Participants will experience an increased comfort level in incorporating IEFA in their classroom and using MAM and contemporary art as a resource. PIR credits offered.

Using MAM’s Contemporary American Indian Art Collection and works on view, these hands-on workshops connect with the core values and mission of MAM to provide art educators with enrichment opportunities and share best practices in the field.

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