Skip to content

Summer Teacher Institute
2025 Details Coming Soon

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower educators to try new concepts and recharge their creative energy before the new school year.

By attending this program, teachers will receive a CEU certificate for 18 contact hours. Teachers must attend all three days to receive their CEUs. One graduate credit is available through Ashland University for an additional fee. The program runs through July each day. All registered teachers will receive an email with the agenda for each day. Please provide an email address where we can reach you during the summer months. Registration is limited to 30.

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program investigates diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for pre-K through 12th-grade classrooms.

Each summer features a different theme. Learn more about the processes and historical significance of creative practice. Hear from members of our Curatorial team highlighting their expertise, our collection, and details about careers in museums. Engage with objects used in creative practice, along with presentations, workshops, and hands-on activities.  

If you need accessibility accommodations, please contact us in advance at [email protected] or fill out the accessibility request form.

Previous Programs

Summer Teacher Institute 2024
Japanese Artistry: Tradition Meets Innovation

July 16–July 18, 2024, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Registration required.

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower educators to try new concepts and recharge their creative energy before the new school year. By attending this program, teachers will receive a CEU certificate for 18 contact hours. Teachers must attend all three days to receive their CEUs. One graduate credit is available through Ashland University for an additional fee. The program runs from Tuesday, July 16, through Thursday, July 18, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. each day. All registered teachers will receive an email with the agenda for each day. Please provide an email address where we can reach you during the summer months. Registration is limited to 30.

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program investigates diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for pre-K through 12th-grade classrooms.

This summer enjoy a focus on the art and culture of Japan. Learn more about the process and historical significance of indigo during a dyeing workshop. Hear from members of our Curatorial team highlighting Japanese textiles and decorative arts in our collection and about careers in museums. Engage with objects used in a Japanese tea ceremony, along with presentations, workshops, and hands-on activities inspired by our Japanese collection.  

Summer Teacher Institute 2023: Celebrating Communities through the Art of Roberto Lugo

Every day from Tuesday, July 18, 2023 to Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower educators to try new concepts and recharge their creative energy before the new school year begins. By attending this program, teachers will receive a CEU certificate for 18 contact hours. Teachers must attend all three days to receive their CEUs. One graduate credit is available through Ashland University for an additional fee. The program runs from Tuesday, July 18, through Thursday, July 20, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. each day. All registered teachers will receive an email with the agenda for each day. Please provide an email address you check during the summer. Registration is limited to 30.

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program investigates diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for Pre-K through 12th-grade classrooms.

 

Join us for a deep dive into the work and style of ceramist, Roberto Lugo. On Day 1 participate in a virtual conversation with Lugo, hearing how he draws inspiration from his lived experience and ceramic history. Lugo’s multicultural mashups often combine classic forms and patterns with elements of hip-hop. “As a potter,” Lugo explains, “I aim to carry on the ceramic tradition in a manner that honors the culture and community I come from.” On Day 1 and Day 2, enjoy a docent guided tour of the exhibition Roberto Lugo: Hi-Def Archives along with presentations, workshops, and hands-on activities inspired by his work. On Day 3, take an offsite field trip to the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub and Imago (environmental education center and nature preserve) and explore connections between art, science, and sustainability.

Roberto Lugo was raised in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, an area marked by poverty, violence, and drug trafficking. At the age of 25, he enrolled in his first pottery class. Today, he leads the ceramic department at Temple University in Philadelphia, and his art resides in the collections of the most prestigious art institutions in the country, including the Cincinnati Art Museum. When he is not teaching or creating, Lugo returns to neighborhoods like Kensington with a potter’s wheel emblazoned with the words, “This machine kills hate.” Taking his art to the street, he uses clay and his wheel to teach others how to throw pots, break down cultural and social biases, and encourage the possibility that anyone can choose and achieve their dreams.

Roberto Lugo: Hi-Def Archives features recent works by Lugo. He intends the exhibition to “be both an homage to the village that raised me up and the legacy of Rookwood Pottery.” Showing his work in conversation with selections from the museum’s Rookwood collection, Lugo examines intersections of community, place, and identity, celebrating the rich craft history of Cincinnati while simultaneously recontextualizing the impact of ceramics as contemporary cultural objects that honor all of us.

Express Ekphrastic! 

Monday, June 5, 2023, at  9 a.m.–1 p.m. Members $30, general public $40, students $20 Registration required

Join Sherry Cook Stanforth for an art and writing teacher professional development program. This program is offered for teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors, teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators. A CEU certificate can be provided after the program. You may attend this program and the Summer Teacher Institute for additional CEUs.

Summer Teacher Institute 2022: Finding Your Flow Through Art & Activism

Every day from Tuesday, July 19, 2022 to Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Registration is closed.

Registration for 1 graduate credit through Ashland University

 

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower teachers to try new concepts, as well as to recharge their creative energy before the new school year begins. By attending this program, teachers will be emailed a CEU certificate for 18 contact hours. 1 graduate credit is available through Ashland University for an additional fee. The program is from Tuesday July 19–Thursday July 21 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. EST at the Cincinnati Art Museum. All registered teachers will receive an email with the agenda for each day. (Please provide an email you check during the summer.)

Mary Corita Kent (American, b.1918, d.1986), printmaker, For Eleanor, 1964, color screen print, mage 22 3/16 x 29 1/16 in., Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl E. Solway in memory of Alfred J. Friedlander, 1966.1120

Summer Teacher Institute 2022 Theme: Finding Your Flow through Art & Activism

If you are not familiar with Corita Kent, she was an artist, an activist, nun, educator and a pioneer. Working primarily as a print-maker, she taught elementary and college in Los Angeles for 20 years. “Consider everything an experiment,” was one of her guiding principles. Not only did she produce her own work, but she also collaborated on large scale works with her students. Her artwork was a reflection of the times. Inspired by billboards, advertisements, spiritual texts, current events, and newspapers she created colorful, multi-layered pieces with deep meaning. Kent encouraged and embodied experimentation, close-looking and social justice throughout her career and in her life. 

Kent used a series of 10 Rules in her classroom. Each day of the Summer Teacher Institute, we will focus on one of the following rules as a theme for that day’s activities:

Rule 4: Consider everything an experiment.

Rule 6: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.

Rule 8: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes. 

In addition to learning more about the life and art of Corita Kent, you will enjoy a variety of art-making sessions, workshops, docent guided tours and presentations.

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program will investigate diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for the Pre-K through the 12th-grade classroom. 

 

For more information, please call (513) 639-2974 or email [email protected]

Virtual Summer Teacher Institute 2021

Tuesday, July 13–Thursday, July 15, 2021

We will learn about the Cincinnati Art Museum’s special exhibition, Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America and each participant will receive a free ticket to view these works! Then enjoy a presentation by staff members from the National Musuem of the United State Air Force. Participate in a virtual art-making with Visionaries + Voices, and learn about the power of creativity from assistant professor of Art Education, Andrea Slusarski.  
Back by popular demand is our, Art + Nature Day. We will spend time creating in our sketchbooks outside. The Queen City Pollinators Project will introduce us to pollinators and an engaging outdoor Nature Journaling lesson. Andrea Slusarski will help us put her presentation on creativity into practice by inspiring us to experiment in our sketchbooks, while spending time in nature.
Hear about the power of art inside and outside the classroom. Learn from a licensed art therapist about the differences between art education, art therapy and therapeutic art-making. Dive into the world of selling your art work online with Jacquelyn Sommer, of More ART | More Heart Studio and how you can incorporate digital lessons in your classroom. Jonathan Juravich an elementary art educator at Liberty Tree Elementary School and the 2018 Ohio Teacher of the Year, will share a presentation on the importance of Social Emotional Learning. Erin Schaefer will share some K-8th grade lesson plans from her first year teaching. Each day will feature a short warm up drawing activity as well as mindfulness sessions by Lilac & Indigo.
Blizzard bags are available for pick up at the Cincinnati Art Museum. They will contain supplies needed for the workshops and outdoor activities such as a Moleskin watercolor sketchbook and Blackwing drawing pencil, etc. A supply list will be provided in advance for those who are not receiving a blizzard bag. An agenda, supply list and follow up resources will be emailed to teachers daily.
Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program will investigate diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for the Pre-K through the 12th-grade classroom.

Summer Teacher Institute 2020

Tuesday, July 14–Thursday, July 16

This summer we will focus on tools for online teaching, photography and contemporary art, as well as cultivating a personal artistic practice.

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program will investigate diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for the Pre-K through the 12th-grade classroom.

Teachers will participate in virtual presentations, art-making demos, and group discussions.

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower teachers to try new concepts, as well as to recharge their creative energy before the new school year begins. All attendees will receive lesson plans of the art-making sessions, as well as worksheets and helpful handouts. CEU certificates will be awarded at the conclusion of the program. Graduate credit is available through Ashland University.

For more information, please call (513) 639-2974 or email [email protected]

Summer Teacher Institute 2019

July 16-Thursday, July 18, 2019

Myths and Mythology: Traveling the Ancient World

In July, educators will explore myths using the Cincinnati Art Museum collection. From Egypt, Greece, Rome and the ancient Near East to the art of the Islamic world, teachers will enjoy an interactive walk through history, focusing on the conserved art and artifacts, epic poems and geography of the ancient world. 

Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, homeschool teachers, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend. The program will investigate diverse teaching strategies for object-based learning as well as STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Math) connections for the Pre-K through the 12th-grade classroom.

Teachers will participate in docent-guided tours, guest speaker presentations and art-making workshops.

The goal of the Summer Teacher Institute is to empower teachers to try new concepts, as well as to recharge their creative energy before the new school year begins. All attendees will receive lesson plans of the art-making sessions, as well as worksheets and helpful handouts. CEU certificates will be awarded at the conclusion of the program. Graduate credit is available through Ashland University.

Summer Teacher Institute 2018

July 17-19th 2018

The Art of Design: Exploring the Creative Process

In July, educators will explore the ideas of mindfulness, storytelling and the power of the written word during the 2018 Summer Teacher Institute, which focuses this year on the connections between visual art, writing and the design process. Participants will also learn about new applications for such reflective methods in lesson plans and classroom practice. Teachers of all grade levels and disciplines, art advocates, art appreciation volunteers, pre-service education majors, homeschool teachers and teaching artists, as well as community and museum educators, are encouraged to attend.

Summer Teacher Institute 2017

July 18-20th 2017

The Art of Craft 

Through our extensive permanent collection, this Summer Teacher Institute will explore the art of craft and its impact on the Cincinnati community. The program will also investigate diverse teaching strategies for using objects and creativity in the Pre-K through 12th grade classroom, including a field trip to the American Sign Museum to explore where science and art meet.  

Down the Rabbit Hole: Design a Clay Carousel Figure Based on an Animal in Literature (lesson plan)