Seventh Graders Explore Museum Exhibits about How Messages Transmit Culture

On Friday, January 12, the seventh grade visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) to learn about how stories, dance, and masquerade transmit messages about culture. The two museums are currently collaborating, presenting exhibits that explore the meaning behind the stories we tell. Students toured CJM’s exhibit Jewish Folktales Revisited: Artist as Maggid (Storyteller) and MoAD’s exhibit EN MAS: Carnival and Performance Art of the Caribbean. “Seventh graders prepared for this exciting educational experience in the weeks leading up to it by learning about carnival in language arts classes and about Jewish folktakes in Judaic studies classes,” says teacher Jody Bloom. “The students were so excited at the CJM to see the themes they explored in class interpreted in different ways by different artists who brought the folk tales to life. They were especially thrilled to see Julia Goodman’s piece, as she came to Brandeis in November as a visiting artist in conjunction with Brandeis Day.”

 

And at MoAd, adds Ms. Bloom, “students had the opportunity to see carnival come to life through performance art, photography, and sculpture. It was fabulous to see the students’ excitement as our classroom learning came to life in front of their eyes.” MORE PHOTOS