Window On The Work

Welcome to EFA's digital Window on the Work for Future Now! 

The purpose of the Window on the Work is to provide educators and teaching artists with contextual information pertaining to the focus art works presented by the Education for the Arts' Aesthetic Education Program. This information can fuel the process between classroom teachers and teaching artists in the development of lesson plans by offering additional viewpoints (or "windows") into the work of art as well as connections to the broader arts world and existing school curriculum.

This Window on the Work is divided into five sections.  Click the link below to jump to each section. 

1. The Work of Art

2. The Artist

3. The Craft

4. The Origins

The Arts & Belonging: Our Commitment

Education for the Arts aligns with Kalamazoo RESA’s commitment to cultivating a positive, welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for all. We strive to embody our core values of collaboration, innovation, compassion, integrity,  and respect; principles woven into all of EFA’s work. EFA is committed to engage ALL young people, including those who have been historically marginalized,  in meaningful learning experiences. 

EFA is committed to continuous improvement in all our work and we welcome our staff, partners, and community stakeholders to hold us accountable as we seek to create spaces where all students feel a sense of belonging and empowerment through the arts.

Works of Art / Repertoire

In an effort to provide rich and meaningful engagement with the arts for all K-12 and special education students served in Kalamazoo County, EFA purposefully seeks out and selects works of art for our annual repertoire that represent a broad range of human experiences across many different cultures with the belief that such engagement deepens students’ understanding of the world and fosters empathy and critical thinking.

Teaching Pedagogy

EFA believes that a work of art is inseparable from the person(s) who created it. We, therefore, acknowledge that:

• Works of art are created through a series of choices made by the artist(s) applying their craft;

• Works of art are, therefore, deeply intertwined with the identities and experiences of the artist(s), coupled with the historical context in which the work of art was created;

• Teaching Artists and partnering educators also are inquisitive and intentional learners.

We encourage our Teaching Artists and partnering educators to lean into conversations about culture, heritage, and history that can sometimes be challenging and uncomfortable.

In this light, we embolden and challenge Teaching Artists and classroom teachers to carefully construct lessons and activities in ways that embrace and honor important information surrounding the work of art and the artist.

Teaching Artists and classroom teachers are not expected to be experts in the artists’ identities and context prior to exploring this work, nor are they expected to touch on all of the topics that may have influenced the artist. EFA is committed to supporting you in furthering your knowledge so we can deepen student learning as they explore each work of art.

We Will Support Our Educational Partners

Our Window on the Work education guides will include:

• Historical context that influenced the artists and the techniques used;

• References to books and other resources that could be used in the classroom;

• A reading list that gives more information on a topic from an adult lens.

When possible, EFA will seek out experts that hold deep knowledge in these subject areas that will be accessible at brainstorming session(s).

THIS WORK OF ART

As we study a work of art that includes fashion and art from several cultures, we acknowledge that these works of art can have complicated histories. The story of fashion and art is one of including innovation, subversion, and celebration. It has also included appropriation, exploitation, and erasure of BIPOC people and their cultures. We include this statement to encourage teaching artists, teachers, and learners to be curious about the origins of all art forms, particularly about how colonialism has played a part in predominately Western art forms.