Grades 4-12 : Portrait of My Life #1: Street Portraits by Dawoud Bey
Developed alongside educator advisor Laura Miller, this lesson encourages students to reflect on the role of photography in their lives and what they would choose to share about themselves in different types of portraits. Students have the option to create an authentic portrait of their life by posing and creating a staged photographic portrait of themselves.
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Grades 4-12: Portrait of My Life #2: Untitled (Coffeepot) by Carrie Mae Weems
In part two of this SAM Look & Make lesson, students are asked to reflect on the stories that are told through the objects around them. Then, they’ll create an authentic portrait of their life by photographing an object that holds personal memories and conveys something about their identity.
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Grades 4-12: Portrait of My Life #3: The Kitchen Table Series by Carrie Mae Weems
In part three of this SAM Look & Make lesson inspired by Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue, students are asked to document a place where they live or where loved ones gather. Then they'll create an authentic portrait of their life by documenting this place, what it looks like, who is there, and the rhythms of life that take place there.
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Grades 4-12: Portrait of My Life: Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems
In this three-part SAM Look & Make lesson inspired by Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue, students learn about different ways that these artists represent people's lives through photography. After completing a series of sketching and reflection prompts, students choose how they want to convey their life and create a photograph of a person, place, or object that tells their story.
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Grades 6-8: Connections and Contrasts, American Art at SAM
Mount Rainier, Bay of Tacoma-Puget Sound by Sanford Robinson Gifford and Song for the Moon by Shaun Peterson (Qwalsius) depict the same place, but tell different stories. Reflect on the similarities and differences in perspectives represented in SAM’s American Art galleries. Then, share your voice by creating a response to an artwork from the collection.
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Grades 4-12: Find Your Angle: Photography from
Our Blue Planet
Look closely at photographs by artists Johsel Namkung and Aida Muluneh that depict and share a message about the environment. Learn how photographic techniques can express a viewpoint, then share a message about the natural world around you through documentary photography.
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Animation,
Flower Ball, by Takashi Murakami
Be drawn into the depths of Murakami's animated painting, learn about the interplay between art and pop culture, and design your own cartoon character based on an everyday object.
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Spanish
Chinese
Identity,
Some/One, by Do Ho Suh
Examine Suh’s exploration of individual and group identity in his large-scale, intricate sculpture. Think about how personal objects you wear or carry can express your identity, and create your own paper mosaic inspired by a significant object.
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Spanish
Chinese
Imagination,
Bewitched #2 Seoul, by Jung Yeondoo
Spark your imagination with Jung Yeondoo’s photography, consider your own future, and make a collage representing a friend’s dream.
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Spanish
Chinese
Music,
Music, Pink and Blue, No. 1, by Georgia O'Keeffe
Feel the music in O’Keeffe’s abstract painting; learn more about the intersection of music, emotion, and visual art; and create your own experiential sketches inspired by favorite songs.
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Spanish
Chinese
Grades 6-12: Layers of Meaning:
Desecration #2 by John Feodorov
Explore how John Feodorov comments on harm inflicted on Indigenous lands through his mixed-media artwork. Use your power as an artist to inspire positive change. Spread your message about a social or environmental issue by altering an image of a personally meaningful place with drawing and collage materials.
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English
Collaboration,
Amerocco by Aaron Fowler
Immerse yourself in the details of Aaron Fowler’s collaborative mixed-media installation, take a virtual tour of the piece with former SAM intern Ramzy Lakos, and assemble your own dream team by making a collage.
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English
Spanish
Chinese
Place,
Seattle Cloud Cover by Teresita Fernández
Immerse yourself in Fernández’s large-scale, site-specific art installation at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Learn more about public art, landscape, and senses of place, and create your own collage based on place, patterns, and colors meaningful to you.
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English
Spanish
Chinese
Social Justice,
Breakfast Series by Sonny Assu
Take in Assu’s humorous cereal box redesign meant to draw attention to social justice issues affecting indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Learn about the intersection of political activism, social justice movements and art, and design your own poster to raise awareness of a social issue.
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English
Spanish
Chinese