Visiting Artists Program
Inspiring and empowering the next generation of representational artists.
About the Visiting Artists Program
Inspiring and empowering the next generation of representational artists.
How the Program Works
The Heartland Art Club Visiting Artist Program sends juried representational artists out into accredited schools for presentations in classrooms. These juried artists are well respected professional representational artists. They visit the classroom, bring examples of their art, and talk about the process of how their artwork is created.
Topics are age-appropriate and may include how the artist’s media is used, what it is like to work regularly creating art, the demands of the art field, how to market artwork to the public, how to approach galleries, and what it means to be a professional. The artists bring examples of their work, and some presentations include demonstrations by the artist and slideshows of their work.
Presentations are made in art rooms with classes from kindergarten through 12th grade. The length of the talk is usually one art period, although some artists return to work directly with students multiple times.
The Benefits
The goal of this program is to expose students to professional representational artists and artwork. The majority of students in public schools view artwork from museums through digital collections. Therefore, the Visiting Artist Program may be a student’s first exposure to viewing actual representational artwork offline and outside of a museum.
Children are routinely exposed to medical, teaching, communications, and business professions. The Visiting Artist Program is a way to allow students a glimpse into the life of a working artist.
The Visiting Artist Program allows students to view actual work up close and ask questions of the artist. Students develop a deeper understanding of the life of an artist by meeting one. A percentage of these students will go on to become professional artists themselves. Exposure to professional working artists is a meaningful vehicle for students to contemplate creative career choices.
