Education and Community Programs 2001-2002

In 1990, Socrates Sculpture Park founded the Education Program, offering a variety of innovative programs to New York City youth from the local community. The goal of the Park's Education Program is to provide alternative, creative activities for neighborhood youth; to teach practical, useful skills; to build confidence and a sense of personal success and achievement; and to develop creative talents not addressed through other means of academic work. Many of the Park programs specifically target youth from high 65risk backgrounds where cultural access is limited. This initiative supports the arts, and more importantly, redefines the role of the art institution as a purveyor of alternative education and innovative thinking in the schools, community, and eventually society.

CELEBRATE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Summer Outdoor Artmaking Workshops
Now in its 11th year of operation, the free Summer Outdoor Artmaking Workshops offer diverse groups of children from neighborhood youth agencies, community groups, and summer schools the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities inspired by the exhibitions at the Park. Taught in the Park by past and current exhibiting artists, the children learn fundamental and contemporary art-making techniques. Projects include: sculpture, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, performance, and installation.

Saturday Painting Classes
During the summer Socrates hosts free Saturday Painting Workshops, on a drop-in basis, for neighborhood youth ages 5 and up. These workshops offer young people the opportunity to make art in an outdoor setting with artist Nicole Awai. Workshops begin in early July and run through the end of August.

Summer Sunday Tai Chi Classes
For the first time Socrates hosts free Tai Chi classes conducted in the Park. Participants will have the chance to relax and exercise in and around the Socrates sculptures. Taught by Tai Chi master, Aaron Kurtz, classes are designed for all experience levels.

Public Tours
Artist lead tours of Socrates focus on the accessibility of contemporary sculpture while contextualizing the ideas behind viewing art in an outdoor setting. The artists conduct the tours through open discussions with the group. Topics include: the history of the Park, past and present exhibiting artists, and the current exhibitions, and creating artworks in a public space.
Available year round (pre-registration required)

Public Tours and Workshops
After a tour, the participants can take part in an art-making workshop inspired by the sculptures in the Park. Projects change as the Socrates exhibitions change.
Available year round (pre-registration required)

The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum and
Socrates Sculpture Park Joint Public Tours (pilot program)
The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park offer joint public tours throughout July and August. Lead by a docent from each institution, the tours will explore both the museum and the park as environments for sculpture and how, in these public environments, artworks are integrated into urban settings.

Internship Program
A hands-on, year round internship program for community members, high school, college, and graduate students. The internships provide the opportunity to: learn about the operation of a non-profit art organization, work alongside contemporary artists, work in more than one department during an internship, and assist the artists in the Emerging Artists Fellowship Program.

The Haunted Waters Halloween Parade &
The Halloween Harvest Festival
In collaboration with the Greater Astoria Historical Society, The Haunted Waters Halloween Parade is a costume walking tour exploring the mysteries of the Long Island City Waterfront. The Halloween Harvest Festival is a celebration of the fall harvest, visitors come to the Park in costume, hear the haunted music of the didgeridoo, xylophone, and the saw, see magicians & jugglers, sample food from local restaurants, have picnics, play games, decorate pumpkins, get their face painted, go trick or treating, and much much more!

Circus Amok
A long time summer tradition at Socrates, Circus Amok performs their signature avant-garde circus through out the Park. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to interact with the performers and celebrate this incredible experience.

Shakespeare Project, annual summer theater
Communications from a Cockroach: archy and the under side. A puppet/mask play based on Don Marquis famous cockroach-and-cat sketches, Archy and Mehitabel. Designed and directed by OBIE-Award winner Ralph Lee, founder of the Halloween Parade. Archy conjures a fantasy world that is infectiously funny, yet heartbreakingly poignant, as he dissects the meaning of art, love, life, and roach poison.

THE LIVING CLASSROOM
STUDENT PROGRAMS

Courses
Socrates Sculpture Park offers both 'in school' and 'in park' courses. A Socrates artist works in collaboration with a classroom teacher to plan and implement a 4-10 week course. The goal is to enhance the students understanding of an academic subject by using art as a tool to creatively solve problems and promote comprehension. Typically an artist will visit a school once a week (or vise versa) for up to 4 class-room periods per day and co-teach with the subject teacher. Each course is customized to meet the needs of a school and its students; hands-on activities and field trips are arranged accordingly.

Artist Slide Talks
Socrates artists are available for classroom slide talks. Subjects can range from: the work of the current exhibitions at Socrates, the artist's own work, the work of other contemporary and historical artists, information about galleries, and museums. In addition, the artists are available to run a hands-on art making workshop related to the slide talk.

Workshops
Conducted 'in park' or 'in school' these workshops are customized to meet the needs and interests of a particular class. Subject matter ranges from: simple introduction to sculpture making, horticultural and environmental issues in art making, and long term workshop projects.

School Tours and Workshops
Artist lead tours of Socrates focus on the accessibility of contemporary sculpture while contextualizing the ideas behind viewing art in an outdoor setting. The artists conduct the tours through open discussions with the students. Following the tour, the students will take part in an art-making workshop inspired by the work in the Park. Projects change as the Socrates exhibitions change.

Spring Bloom / Autumn Renewal, Horticulture Workshops
In collaboration with Goodwill Industries of Greater New York, Socrates Sculpture Park offers neighborhood children ages six to twelve from the Goodwill Beacon Program the chance to collaborate with the Park's landscape design department. Spring Bloom/Autumn Renewal Horticulture Workshops, designed specifically for youth, focus on cultivating and understanding the natural environment of a public park. Workshops begin with the fundamentals: soil, water, sun, and air and proceed toward the elements involved in: general gardening; maintenance, planting and transplanting; seed collecting and sowing; and composting.

New Visions Collaboration
A series of integrated poetry, art, and science workshops in collaboration with the Institute for Arts and Technology. By incorporating the arts and poetry into a traditional curriculum, the New Visions Collaboration provides a unique opportunity for students to experience the artistic creative process in relation to the sciences.

Annenberg Initiative Grant
In collaboration with Francis Lewis High School, Socrates has developed a curriculum incorporating the artistic interests of the tenth grade social studies curriculum with the literature, music, and dance departments. By examining the ways people use visual imagery to express ideas as a starting point, the students are able acquire a better understanding of the school's core curriculum while gaining a deeper appreciation for the complexity and ambiguity of visual culture.