Creating Ethiopia
On
display at Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA)
are two local schools’ artworks from an A.R.T.
artist-in-residency program supported by the Loyola
University Museum of Art (LUMA). The “Art of
Ethiopia” residency, led by A.R.T. Artist Kaja
Overstreet, took place this past fall at St. Pius V
School, in Pilsen, and at Ogden Elementary.
In May of 2006, through a generous grant from the Illinois Arts Council, two A.R.T. staff members, Kaja Overstreet and Education Director Susan A. Friel, traveled from the bustling capitol city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the remote corner of Yetebon. They taught at a large school (with nearly 100 students per class) in Yetebon, viewed the underground Orthodox Christian churches of Lalibela, where mass has been celebrated for nearly 1,600 years within the same rock-hewn walls, and visited the timeless city of Axum. These two experienced art educators from a large urban school district spent a very full month exploring art and education in Ethiopia. Upon their return to Chicago, Ms. Friel and Ms. Overstreet found an enthusiastic partner in LUMA, through which they could share their experiences and reflections to elementary-aged students in the area.
A six-session artist-in-residency program was designed by A.R.T. to bring the culture and art of Ethiopia into the classrooms of two neighborhood schools through painting and sculpture, and in response to LUMA’s ambitious exhibition, Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw. That exhibition, on display August 31 to November 4, 2007, showcased the remarkable paintings of Qes Adamu, depicting the social, political, and religious history of Ethiopia as well as contemporary popular culture, as seen through the eyes of one fascinating artist. Outside the galleries, photographs taken by Susan Friel from her trip to Ethiopia complemented the exhibition, reflecting many of the paintings’ same scenes through the lens of a digital camera.
In addition to art-making, image-discussion and conversations surrounding Ethiopian daily life that were held in the classrooms, students from St. Pius and Ogden visited the museum to view Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw. While at the museum, students found inspiration to create iconic crosses and group “guardian” paintings, and made sketches of the final, tempera-based paintings you see on display here.
It is A.R.T.’s and Loyola University Museum of Art’s hope that viewers of the exhibition will see the amazing interpretations of life and art, happening in another corner of our small planet, as seen through the eyes of our city’s talented youth.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Governor’s International Arts Exchange Program of the Illinois Arts Council.
To view many more images of the Math and Science Cluster workshops, visit http://www.artresourcesinteaching.org/artNmath.htm To learn more about bringing an exciting Visual Art & Math program to your teachers or students, please contact Julie MacCarthy, at 708-319-1213, or juliemaccarthy@artresourcesinteaching.org.
In May of 2006, through a generous grant from the Illinois Arts Council, two A.R.T. staff members, Kaja Overstreet and Education Director Susan A. Friel, traveled from the bustling capitol city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the remote corner of Yetebon. They taught at a large school (with nearly 100 students per class) in Yetebon, viewed the underground Orthodox Christian churches of Lalibela, where mass has been celebrated for nearly 1,600 years within the same rock-hewn walls, and visited the timeless city of Axum. These two experienced art educators from a large urban school district spent a very full month exploring art and education in Ethiopia. Upon their return to Chicago, Ms. Friel and Ms. Overstreet found an enthusiastic partner in LUMA, through which they could share their experiences and reflections to elementary-aged students in the area.
A six-session artist-in-residency program was designed by A.R.T. to bring the culture and art of Ethiopia into the classrooms of two neighborhood schools through painting and sculpture, and in response to LUMA’s ambitious exhibition, Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw. That exhibition, on display August 31 to November 4, 2007, showcased the remarkable paintings of Qes Adamu, depicting the social, political, and religious history of Ethiopia as well as contemporary popular culture, as seen through the eyes of one fascinating artist. Outside the galleries, photographs taken by Susan Friel from her trip to Ethiopia complemented the exhibition, reflecting many of the paintings’ same scenes through the lens of a digital camera.
In addition to art-making, image-discussion and conversations surrounding Ethiopian daily life that were held in the classrooms, students from St. Pius and Ogden visited the museum to view Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw. While at the museum, students found inspiration to create iconic crosses and group “guardian” paintings, and made sketches of the final, tempera-based paintings you see on display here.
It is A.R.T.’s and Loyola University Museum of Art’s hope that viewers of the exhibition will see the amazing interpretations of life and art, happening in another corner of our small planet, as seen through the eyes of our city’s talented youth.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Governor’s International Arts Exchange Program of the Illinois Arts Council.
To view many more images of the Math and Science Cluster workshops, visit http://www.artresourcesinteaching.org/artNmath.htm To learn more about bringing an exciting Visual Art & Math program to your teachers or students, please contact Julie MacCarthy, at 708-319-1213, or juliemaccarthy@artresourcesinteaching.org.
Creating Ethiopia:
Artwork by Students from Saint Pius V and Ogden Elementary Schools
January 18 – March 2, 2008
Loyola University
Museum of Art
820 N. Michigan Ave.