Art Outreach

Looking for virtual art lesson plans?

Art Outreach is a nationwide, free system of more than 70 teaching portfolios and coordinating art projects that explore an artist or grouping of artists; a movement in art history (i.e., Impressionism), or theme.

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Log in for Digital Portfolio Powerpoints

Click Here to View Digital Portfolio Topics

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How To Access Art Outreach

If you're interested in checking out a digital portfolio, please fill out this form to receive your login information.
After you are granted access via your login, you will be able to view and present all digital portfolios. We ask that you re-apply for your login information next year to keep all our contacts and classroom numbers current for grant funding purposes.
If you have any questions, please contact the Education Director at [email protected] 

You will be emailed login information after filling out this contact form. 

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What is Art Outreach?

Art Outreach is a system of more than 70 teaching portfolios that explore an artist or grouping of artists; a movement in art history (i.e., Impressionism), or theme.
 
While we no longer offer physical portfolios, our digital portfolios are free to access for use by any educational institution or community group across the nation.  The only "cost" of digital portfolio access is completing a form about its use. Digital versions of the portfolios offer a greater variety of high quality images and an ease of use to multiple institutions at one time.

Since 1973, Art Outreach has been utilized in the greater Springfield and Central Illinois area by more than 5,000 students per month.

What's in a portfolio?​

Artworks and/or Artifacts: Each portfolio contains ten to twelve slides that are designed to visually explain a certain theme, movement in art history, or individual artist. Each slide is documented with background information and pertinent questions to aid the volunteer in the preparation of fun and exciting classroom discussions.


Presentation Notes and Information: Presentation notes are included with each digital portfolio to explain the background data of the presented works and their artists. Also included are potential reading suggestions, research points, and discussion questions to further expand on a presented topic.
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Supplementary Craft Project: This craft suggestion (performed immediately after the presentation or left for another day, depending on time) reinforces the discussed artist, artistic movement, theme, or technique.

What topics can I present?

Some portfolios are developed around a theme (animals, transportation or sports). Other portfolios may be built around an art movement (Impressionism, Surrealism, or Pop Art). Still other portfolio lessons center on an individual artist or artists (Rembrandt, Karsh, or Van Gogh). At the end of many portfolio lesson plans is a topic bibliography for the docent's further research or for sharing with classroom instructors and students. Portfolios can be utilized in any classroom environment, particularly in cross-curricular exercises like history and language arts.
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Many of the Art Outreach portfolios can be presented to better explain the myriad of national and cultural heritage months. For example, the portfolios "Historical Portrayal of Women," "Women Artists", and "Georgia O'Keeffe" would all be excellent additions to the classroom for National Women's Month in March; "Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera" for National Hispanic Heritage Month in September; and "Civil War Era", "Harlem Renaissance" or "Norman Rockwell" for February's African American History and American History Month.

Portfolio  Topics

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​Bronwyn Eves Memorial Fund
In loving memory of Bronwyn Eves, her family and friends have initiated a county-wide program to inspire and develop art education. SAA partners with local schools to offer hands-on workshops to their entire student body that culminates in the creation and installation of a public art project. The Eves family and friends sponsored the SAA Make Truck to more easily bring the studio to the surrounding communities. This outreach, as well as the continual development of the virtual Art Outreach program, has engaged nationwide participation in Springfield Art Association's programs.

VIEW PAST PROJECTS And register your school

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Thank you for your support:

BRONWYN EVES
MEMORIAL FUND