INVESTIGATE
All good visual arts experiences begin with close observation. INVESTIGATE focuses on formal analysis and evaluation of the artwork on view. Students in Kindergarten and up will exercise their visual literacy and practice key vocabulary as they identify the fundamental elements of art within the galleries.
During this tour students will:
- Engage in making a work of art focusing upon specific fundamental elements of art
- Analyze why and how an exhibition or collection may influence ideas, beliefs, and experiences
- Interpret art by analyzing how the interaction of subject matter, formal characteristics, and relevant contextual information contributes to understanding messages or ideas and mood conveyed
- Understand how the elements of art can make the viewer feel different emotions depending on how the element is executed.
Missouri Visual Arts Standards: VA:Cr2C, VA:Cr2A, VA:Pr6A, VA:Re8
NARRATE
Every piece of art tells a story, whether it’s the narrative that the artist intends, or the stories that the artwork inspires within viewers. NARRATE explores the stories that artists on view are sharing, as well as the methods by which they convey them. Middle and high school students will consider how their own backgrounds and experiences shape the ways that they understand these artistic narratives.
During this tour students will:
- Select, organize, and design images and words to make visually clear and compelling presentations
- Make, explain, and justify connections between artists or artwork and social, cultural, and political history.
- Explain how a person’s aesthetic choices are influenced by culture and environment and impact the visual image.
- Describe how knowledge of culture, traditions, and history may influence personal responses to art.
Missouri Learning Standards for Visual Arts: VA:Cr3A, VA:Pr6A, VA:Re7A, VA:Cn11A
AMPLIFY
How do artists use their voices to tell important stories of social change? How can we amplify the issues we care about and create change? AMPLIFY, a joint program by the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, and the Saint Louis Art Museum, invites middle and high school students to explore different aspects of art and social justice through interactive tours and art-making. See below for more information on AMPLIFY at our partner institutions.
During this tour students will:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of an image or images to influence ideas, feelings, and behaviors of specific audiences
- Analyze and describe the impact that an exhibition or collection has on a personal awareness of social, cultural, or political beliefs and understandings
- Distinguish different ways art is used to represent, establish, reinforce, and reflect group identity
Missouri Visual Arts Standards: VA:Cr2C, VA:Re7A, VA:Re7B, VA:Cn10A
Missouri Social Studies Standards: 9-12.GV.1.PC.A
Explore AMPLIFY at Partner Institutions
Key questions utilized in programming across each institution:
- How do artists use their voices to tell important stories of social change?
- How can we amplify the issues we care about and create change?
Location: Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
Students will learn about artworks that explore our complex relationship to the land from histories of settler colonialism and Native resistance to contemporary visions of the land amid globalization and climate change. Students will collaborate on a landscape that expresses their aspirations for human-land relationships and what stories the land will tell in the future.
Location: Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Rain gardens are a way to beautify communities, help reduce pollutant runoff from entering the water supply, and reintroduce indigenous plants and animals to the area. Through this tour, students will discuss the importance of ecologically-centered design practice and how small-scale interventions impact change in our communities.
Location: Saint Louis Art Museum
Students will explore artworks and stories that celebrate ways artists (or their subjects) have overcome obstacles, repurposed materials or ideas, or used their unique perspectives and creativity to advocate for inclusive communities and values. Following the tour, students will engage in art-making to more deeply examine themes from the tour in relation to their own lived experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guided onsite tours are limited to a group size of 50 students arriving at one time. We appreciate at least one adult chaperone per 15 students if possible.
Tours are offered Tuesday through Friday, between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. If you desire a day and time outside of this availability, please submit your request and we will do our best to accommodate your group.
K–12 tour requests are coordinated by CAM’s Education Manager. Requests should be made 2 weeks prior to your preferred tour date. Please allow 3–5 business days for confirmation.
Schools may request transportation reimbursement from the Missouri Arts Council Big Yellow School Bus by visiting this site. CAM has a limited fund to help public schools with transportation, available on a first come, first served basis.
You are welcome to eat bag lunches that you bring in CAM’s courtyard or indoor Performance Space. AO&Co at CAM offers beverages and lunch options. If you would like to order lunch for your group, please indicate this in the tour request form. At least 2 weeks notice is required for AO&Co requests.
CAM is located in the Grand Center Arts District and shares a courtyard with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. We are just down the street from The Sheldon. Learn more about tours at these organizations:
- Request a tour at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation
- Email Paula Lincoln to visit The Sheldon
For additional information about our tours or to make changes to a scheduled tour, please email schools@camstl.org or call 314.535.4660.
