Chicago: The City in Art is a collaborative project between The Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools. The program is designed to introduce teachers and students to recently restored murals in their schools. It began in 1995 with Lane Technical High School and was expanded in 1998-2000 to include ten additional elementary schools. The goals of the program are to broaden awareness of the rich cultural educational resources in our public schools and to integrate the arts into classroom curriculum. Teachers and students works in the permanent collection of the Art Institute as a foundation for the study of artists, movements, and styles. A final and extremely important goal is to encourage the continued preservation of the Chicago Public Schools' cultural treasures.
Using the historic art in their schools as a starting point and relying on books and Web research, teachers have worked with Art Institute Museum Education staff to develop innovative lesson plans that bring the murals and their rich histories into the classroom. Most of the works were commissioned during the first half of the twentieth century. Many were painted during the Great Depression for WPA work relief programs. Having rested quietly in the schools for decades, these murals now are being actively celebrated and studied by teachers and students with the support of Chicago: The City in Art.
Chicago: The City in Art has been generously funded by the Polk Bros. Foundation.
For more information about Chicago: The City in Art, please call 312-443-3719.
