Over the past five years, art teacher Kathryn Curry has had the opportunity of receiving an artist in residence. The artist is not assigned, but requested by an art teacher for a set amount of days in the classroom. The Altoona Area School District Foundation funds this through grants that are applied for by the art teacher.
“An artist in residence is essentially a co-teacher with the art teacher,” Curry said. “They are professional artists sharing their craft and expertise with students while the art teacher is a bridge between the students and the artist.”
The school district has a partnership with the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA) where a list of artists is available to request from. The art teacher meets with the education coordinator and artist to decide what the residency could look like.
“It [having an artist in residence] makes me a better art teacher,” Curry said. “We [art teachers] don’t claim to know everything about every topic of art. We are constantly learning and becoming better at various art mediums and techniques. I like to have an artist in residence to teach topics I typically don’t cover or know the most about. Without their [SAMA’s] generosity, incredible opportunities like this would not be possible.”
While the artist in residence is present, Curry’s role is to make sure the students are comfortable and learning to the fullest extent.
“I learned good techniques for keeping lines super straight and how to hold the brush properly to be able to do that,” junior Alex Brumm said. “We learned what parts of the mural to focus on and who would be best for each task.”
Brumm took Art for Public Places last year and was introduced to new techniques regarding the mural that was later displayed in the A building.
Senior Jacob Crum also took Art for Public Places.
“I think it’s [artist in residence program] a really cool opportunity to have artists here because I like to see how we can interact with the community in different ways,” Crum said.
Deb Bunnell, the artist in residence last year, was a muralist. Curry met with her artist ahead of time to discuss the main goal of the project and residency.
This month, a fiber artist will be joining Curry’s classroom.
“Students will be silk painting with the artist,” Curry said. “Prior to starting, students will have their design drawn so they can start on the silk day one. Overall, students in the past have reacted positively. It can be difficult coming in not knowing students and trying to gain their respect immediately but they [students] always come around. I hope students realize they have the privilege of working alongside a professional artist.”
