This week, Wendy is delighted to share George Rodrigue and his paintings with Baton Rouge area teachers during the West Baton Rouge Museum’s Summer Institute.
This year’s Teachers’ Institute is designed to coincide with the exhibit, The River is the Road: Paintings by George Rodrigue, which will be on display at the West Baton Rouge Museum from June 17th through October 29th, 2023. This exhibit traces 45 years of the river in Rodrigue’s painting, exploring the unique ways Rodrigue used the river as a reference to his culture and ultimately as a metaphor for the journey of life.
The 2023 Teachers’ Institute will submerge participants in a river of inspiration, with a focus on how George Rodrigue’s art can be used in the classroom to connect a wide range of subjects. We will explore his pioneering endeavors to interpret his culture through painting. Planned events include scholarly lectures, studio time to experiment with painting and visual art, interactive group activities, and even a field trip! Teachers’ Institute will culminate with lab time for the creation of classroom lesson plans.
I admire teachers greatly, and presenting to them includes an unusual challenge. After all, they are expert presenters during hundreds of classes each year! They are ‘on’ every day, without the option of forgetting, or of feeling tired or troubled or, as though immune from discomfort, tending to sore feet or an aching back. They entertain so that their formative audience re-tains, and they smile through whatever issue they left at home, now shoved aside in their minds, because they must, no matter what, focus.
Wendy Rodrigue
Thank you to the teachers of East and West Baton Rouge Parishes for incorporating the arts in your lessons. Thank you for nourishing and encouraging curiosity and imagination in our children!
See additional events and outreach HERE.