Our Zany Visionary

Suzanne Wright with her award and in a group with other NAEA award winners.

Suzanne Wright with her award and in a group with other award winners. Photos: Rachel Goldberg

I’m currently in Fort Worth, Texas at the National Art Education Association (NAEA) annual conference and today I had the honor of presenting my boss–Suzanne Wright, Director of Education–with the NAEA 2013 Eastern Region Museum Educator of the Year award. This was a well deserved and hard-earned award for Suzanne, who has dedicated her entire (over 20 year) museum career to the Phillips! Under Suzanne’s leadership, our education department has produced award winning and nationally recognized programs and resources such as the Jacob Lawrence and The Migration Series teaching kit, and the emerging Prism of Arts Integration teaching framework. Suzanne has also played a key role in reinvigorating and re-establishing the local DC chapter of NAEA–AEDC. A few words that her colleagues and I used to describe her at the award ceremony today are thoughtful/reflective, passionate, visionary, zany, savvy, human, advocate, persistent, insightful, driven, determined, a bold leader with plentiful laughter, and a true leader. We all also really appreciate the seemingly never ending supply of Girl Scout cookies.

Rachel Goldberg, Manager of School, Outreach, and Family Programs

Tools of the Trade: Art Links to Learning

Photos of bags packed with k-12 teaching materials

Photo: Sarah Osborne Bender

Crayola’s green and yellow, Elmer’s blue and orange. Essential iconic materials await teachers attending the Art Links to Learning Summer Institute held here today and tomorrow for teachers from Takoma Education Campus, Tyler Elementary School, and the Center for Inspired Teaching.

Flat Stanley Visits the Phillips

Flat Stanley is a book project about a paper doll who travels the world. For years, students have been creating their own Flat Stanleys and sending them to family, friends, and relatives across the globe.

A friend of mine is a second grade teacher in California, and she decided to use the Flat Stanley project as a way to teach her students the language arts standard of writing a friendly letter. Each of her students created their own Flat Stanley and mailed him to someone in a faraway place along with a letter explaining his likes and dislikes.

I got my Flat Stanley from Sebastian, who instructed me to show him around my hometown and to document our adventures. In addition to showing him the iconic buildings and monuments of Washington, D.C., I brought Flat Stanley to the Phillips to show him some of the wonderful artwork we have in our collection. I think his favorite painting may have been van Gogh’s The Road Menders, but it seems he enjoyed Luncheon of the Boating Party as well.

Natalie Mann, School, Outreach, and Family Programs Coordinator

Flat Stanley visits the U.S. Capitol Building. Photo: Natalie Mann

Natalie MannFlat Stanley visits the U.S. Capitol Building. Photo: Natalie Mann

Flat Stanley with his favorite painting by van Gogh. Photo: Natalie Mann

Flat Stanley with his favorite painting by van Gogh. Photo: Natalie Mann

Flat Stanley strikes a pose with Renoir's masterpiece. Photo: Natalie Mann

Flat Stanley strikes a pose with Renoir’s masterpiece. Photo: Natalie Mann