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Program Sites

VTS Regions

Boston
Chicago
New York City
Northern California
Pacific Northwest
Southern California

Institutions

Antique Boat Museum
Clayton, NY

Artspace, Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, MO

Asian Art Museum
San Francisco, CA

Bellevue Arts Museum
Bellevue, WA

Big Thought
Dallas, TX

Bruce Museum
Greenwich, CT

California Center for the Arts, Escondido
Escondido, CA
The California Center for the Arts, Escondido is a multi-arts facility with a campus that includes a museum, two performing arts theaters, a studio building, and a conference center. Our mission is to enrich the lives of all within its reach through the Arts and their power for community building and enhancement by providing diverse artistic, cultural, educational, social and entertainment experiences of the highest quality. The education department at the Center trains its docents and art angels (volunteers who offer hands-on art activities to visiting students) in VTS. VTS is also used in various programs including public talks at museum openings and our school outreach program, “My Story: Literacy through the Arts.”

Cape Cod Museum of Art
Cape Cod, MA

Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno
Canary Islands
Our museum is a centre of modern art holding not only a great colection of Spanish and international art from the 20th. and our century, but also giving opportunities to new artists having an excellent place to show their new art. The Department of Education and Cultural Action of CAAM has been four years taking VTS to most of local schools. VTS Educators go to the schools during the school year and participate in 9 lessons, after that, the 10th takes place in the museum. For the next two years, the school teachers practice the VTS with the supervision of the Educator.

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Contemporary Arts Center
Cincinnati, OH
For more than 65 years, the CAC has been a forum for progressive art and ideas serving the city of Cincinnati and the region. The CAC is a non-collecting institution that focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art, and new media. We remain committed to showcasing contemporary art and artists relevant to diverse audience, and developing programming that examines and reflects the importance of the art we exhibit. The CAC’s education staff and docents are trained in Visual Thinking Strategies. VTS has been a valuable tool for the docents because it helps them foster a non-judgmental environment which is essential for the discussion of contemporary art. Additionally, the institution has recently begun exploring other opportunities to share VTS with the Cincinnati community, such as using it as a method for diversity training.

Corcoran College of Art and Design
Washington, DC

Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA

Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit, MI

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Amherst, MA

Everson Museum of Art
Syracuse, NY

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have rendered a century of public service in the arts, and it is our mission to extend that service into the next century. The FAMSF uses VTS for their 1st-3rd grade tours and the methodology also informs our work with upper grade levels. Education staff and docents are trained and they host teacher trainings provided by VTS BayArea.

Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, at Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY

Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science
Fresno, CA
The Fresno Metropolitan Museum has been accredited by the American Association of Museums. It’s situated in California’s agriculturaly vibrant San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno Met is dedicated to developing and inspiring inquisitive minds through interaction and involvement in the arts and sciences. The Fresno Met utilizes VTS in three ways: 1) as an outreach program in K – 8 grade classrooms, 2) by offering Introduction to VTS professional development workshops to local teachers, and 3) as a method for facilitating discussions in our galleries. Teresa España, the Director of Education and Interpretation, is a certified VTS trainer. Ms. España is responsible for training staff members, docents and teachers. She also serves as the regional representative for VTS National.

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Frye Art Museum
Seattle, WA

The Hammer Museum, at UCLA
Los Angeles, CA

Henry Art Gallery
Seattle, WA

High Museum of Art
Atlanta, GA

Huntington Museum of Art
San Marino, CA

Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis, IN

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Boston, MA

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, at the University of Oregon
Eugene, OR

Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, MO
The mission of Kansas City Art Institute is to be a leader in visual arts and design education by preparing gifted students for lifelong creativity through intensive interaction with preeminent faculty and facilities and by stimulating active public awareness, support, and participation in the visual arts and design. The KCAI is currently using VTS as a tool in viewing relevant exhibitions.

Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville, TN

Krannert Art Museum
Champaign, IL

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Lowe Art Museum
Miami, FL

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Memphis, TN
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is the Mid-South’s largest encyclopedic art museum as well as a center for cultural activity for the entire family. The museum’s mission is to enrich the lifes of our diverse community through expanding collections, varied exhibitions, and dynamic programs that reflect the art of world cultures from antiquity to the present. The Brooks Museum is piloting a new VTS collaboration with three inner city schools, beginning in 2008. The 22 teachers in the new program, most of the Brooks 35 active docents, and the 5 members of the Education Department are trained in VTS.

Middlebury College Museum of Art
Middlebury, VT

Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, MN
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) has partnered with VUE since 1993 when an IMS grant funded a study of student development in the Byron, MN public schools. Convinced that VTS-facilitated dialogue supports critical thinking and learning, the MIA soon incorporated its principles into training for their 380 volunteer guides. In 1998, they began a continuing partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools’ Arts for Academic Achievement project, in which the MIA provides teacher training in VTS, pairs volunteer guides with teachers to model VTS in classrooms, and offers VTS tours of our encyclopedic collection of over 80,000 works of art from the world’s diverse cultures. The Friends of the Art Institute further support these activities with a bus transportation fund and the purchase of VUE curriculum for every 2nd grade classroom in the district (approximately 2,600 students).

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Madrid, Spain

Museum of Fine Arts
Boston, MA

Museum of Northwest Art
La Connor, WA

The Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego, CA
The mission of the Museum of Photographic Arts is to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film and video. Our education staff, contract educators, and docents are all trained in VTS, and incorporate VTS in our gallery tours, school programs, and outreach programs. We also provide educators a workshop to learn more about VTS and how to incorporate photography into their curriculum.

Nassau County Museum of Art
Roslyn Harbor, NY

National Museum of Women in the Arts
Washington, DC

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New Britain Museum of American Art
New Britain, CT

Northwest Museum of Art and Culture
Spokane, WA
Stories from Within: Selections from the Permanent Collection, April 4, 2009 – November 29, 2009.
Whether beaded bag or lithograph, Pueblo painting or Jacob Lawrence print, these narrative works depict people in settings where stories unfold. Representing diverse cultures, various media, and multiple time periods, these works encourage long and active looking and inspire viewers to make meaning based on their own life experiences. The exhibition draws inspiration from the work of Harvard-trained psychologist Abigail Housen and from Visual Thinking Strategies, the method based on her research.

Oakland Museum of California
Oakland, CA

Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
The Picker Art Gallery holds an eclectic collection of paintings and objects for study and enjoyment of the Colgate and outside community and strives to make the collection accessible to its varied audience through a variety of experiences. Because of the eclectic nature of our collection, VTS is the perfect link between the works and our viewers. Most school-aged visitors engage with art through VTS; open-ended art-making or writing follows the discussions. The gallery educator has progressed through PD2 and will be attending PD3 in October, ’08. All docents are VTS-trained and they refresh their skills at monthly meetings.

Provincetown Art Association and Museum
Provincetown, MA
Since 1914, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) has distinguished itself as a vibrant center of 20th and 21st century art, through the presentation of art exhibitions, educational programs, concerts, literary events, films and lectures, and the conservation of its permanent collection, currently numbering over 2300 works of art. PAAM’s mission is to promote and cultivate the practice and appreciation of all branches of the fine arts, to assemble and maintain a collection of works of art of merit, and to promote education of the public in the arts, and social intercourse between artists and the general public. PAAM utilizes VTS in a variety of educational programs and settings including: docent trainings and general tours facilitated by staff; the Student and Educator Curating Program; classroom environments K-12 utilizing work from our permanent collection; and out-of-school programming for children and youth. PAAM’s Curator of Education and Education Assistant have been trained in VTS. PAAM, in collaboration with VUE staff, has trained local K-6 school teachers in VTS. This fall PAAM will train eight teaching artists in VTS for our upcoming Saturday arts programming for middle-school students.

Renton Historical Museum
Renton, WA

Roberson Museum and Science Center
Binghamton, NY
Roberson Museum and Science Center engages people of all ages and backgrounds by providing community-relevant exhibitions and programs in art, history and science education. The Museum’s Education Department and some area classroom teachers are trained in VTS teaching strategies as well as coaching techniques. In the 2008-09 school year we plan to expand our partnerships with school districts in our outlying service area with the Teacher Center of Broome County. Roberson Museum and Science Center offers VTS programming to school groups and the general public based on temporary and permanent exhibitions.

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Rubin Museum of Art
New York, NY

Saginaw Art Museum
Saginaw, MI
The Saginaw Art Museum provides Art for All through exhibition, education, collection and preservation. The Museum’s Curator of Education received extensive training both from Philip Yenawine and the Curator of Education at the Detroit Institute of Arts. A complete VTS experience can be facilitated by the Museum’s Curator of Education. Docents are also trained to employ some VTS techniques in tours when appropriate.

San Antonio Museum of Art
San Antonio, TX

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco, CA

San Jose Museum of Art
San Jose, CA

Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, WA

SITE Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM

Snite Museum of Art
Notre Dame, IN

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Sonoma, CA

Tacoma Art Museum
Tacoma, WA

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University Art Museum, California State University
Long Beach, CA

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Miami, FL
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark that preserves the Miami estate of agricultural industrialist James Deering to engage our community and its visitors in learning through the arts, history, and the environment. Though Vizcaya does not implement VTS programs for visitors or the community, all volunteers who pursue training to work with school audiences are trained in VTS. The purpose of including VTS in the training is to provide a strategy that supports Volunteer Guides to lead facilitated discussions, using open-ended questions in a student-centered forum. While many objects in the collection do not lend themselves to VTS, we are able to use VTS to discuss specific rooms and areas within the historic home. In addition, exploring VTS in a training situation helps to demonstrate the connections between theory and practice. Currently the two learning division staff members at Vizcaya are trained in VTS, as well as the corps of School Program Guides: 12 people and growing.

The Wild Center, at the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks
Tupper Lake, NY

The Wolfsonian-FIU
Miami, FL
The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, an art & design museum located in the heart of the Art Deco District in Miami Beach, uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, political, and technological changes that have transformed our world. It encourages people to see the world in new ways, and to learn from the past as they shape the present and influence the future. Museum education staff use VTS primarily with K-12 and university students. School teachers are also trained to implement VTS in their classrooms.

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—Organizations

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