by Deb Alter
Hoosac School has expanded its Visual Arts programs. It now offers a wide range of art courses that provide an atmosphere where artistic exploration and experimentation is encouraged.
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“With its diverse population and abundance of cultures and languages, art is a universal language at Hoosac School,” explained Jason Jansen, Director of the Hoosac Arts program. “All teachers at Hoosac value the importance of artistic exploration and the role art classes play in shaping our students’ education,” he continued.
The curriculum is designed to inspire young scholars to experience the visual arts in many forms. In traditional art classes like Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Hoosac students will experience a variety of hands-on art-making projects, allowing them to express themselves and communicate their ideas. Oral and written critiques are a key component in the Visual Arts classes and help students learn to articulate their thoughts clearly. Writing about art is the foundation for critique and curating classes where students learn how to describe, analyze, and interpret art. They also explore art’s relationships with mathematics, from architectural design to polyhedrons, and science, where students will study how soil and weather in different areas of the world influence art in those regions. Art history classes explore art across the globe, starting with ancient art, and moving through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, then segue into modern and contemporary art.
This curriculum is supplemented with trips off campus to local galleries and museums and even to New York City and Boston. A robust Visiting Artist Lecture Series and Visitor Instructor Programs in which artists from New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont will work directly with Hoosac art students, also provides additional opportunities to learn from professional artists.
Jansen said that The Crosby Art Center at Hoosac School is more than a place to complete assignments; it is a creative gathering space where students can artistically express themselves, gain courage in their work, interact with friends and make new ones, and find the motivation to take artistic risks. Hoosac believes that these kind of risks broaden students’ problem-solving skills and increases their passion for understanding, enhancing their overall Hoosac learning experience.[/private]