Project ARTstART, directed by Rich Deely, trains high school students, working with college mentors, to provide exhibit-based art lessons for elementary school students. By bringing high-quality, art appreciation classes and activities to the Claremont school system, we hope to inspire, promote understanding of art and highlight Claremont’s rich artistic history.
Launched in the fall of 2011, Project ARTstART recruits high school and college students as teachers and mentors. These “ARTstARTers” are trained as docents to offer multi-visit arts appreciation lessons to elementary students, in the classroom, and in local museum settings. “ARTstARTers” learn how to plan presentations that employ Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and interact with art educators, artists, curators, and students from the Claremont Colleges.
ARTstART‘s roster now totals over sixty Claremont High School students and six college-age Community Curator Interns to enable ARTstART to serve 4-6th grade classes at Mountain View, Oakmont, Sumner, Sycamore and Vista del Valle elementary schools with student-planned and presented arts appreciation activities and field trips. In addition, ARTstARTers provide drop-in art-making lessons once a month at each partner elementary school under its AfterARTs Series, and leads activities for library patrons as part of its ARTstART: By the Book series.
An independent museum consultant with over twenty years’ work in the museum field, Rich Deely has worked as an educator in art, history, and science museums in New York, North Carolina, and California. Originally from New York City, Rich has BA degrees in both history and communications from the University of Notre Dame, and a master’s degree in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan.
Project ARTstART is produced solely by the Claremont Museum of Art (CMA) in partnership with the Claremont Unified School District (CUSD); and serves students from six participating schools — Mountain View, Oakmont, Sumner, Sycamore and Vista del Valle Elementary Schools and Claremont High School; and is funded by generous donations from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; the Claremont Educational Foundation Partnership Grant (CEF); funds from the City of Claremont Community-Based Organization (CBO); The City of Claremont Teen Council; The Claremont Faculty Association; Scripps College Fine Arts Foundation; and two CMA member major donors.
ArtStART Photos
2016-17 Photo Gallery | 2015-16 Photo Gallery | 2014-15 Photo Gallery | 2013-14 Photo Gallery
Related Links
- May 10, 2016 – StART It Up with ART in the Park
- May 12, 2015 – StART It Up with Art in the Park
- March 3, 2014 – Oakmont students experience the sculpture of Betty Davenport Ford with Project ARTstART
- May 29, 2012 – Student Exhibition highlights achievements of Project ARTstART