Museum School - Fall Art Classes 2024 Schedule

Albuquerque Museum seeks to enhance children's artistic and cultural development through year-round classes and workshops in art and history. Classes for all ages from preschool to seniors are offered at nominal fees so that they are available to all.

• Museum members receive a 10 percent discount
• No multi child discounts available.
• No registration by telephone is accepted.
• Due to food allergies, no eating will be allowed in the classroom.
• If your child needs accommodations to participate in the class, please let us know at least two (2) weeks in advance.
• Refunds are available if requested at least two (2) weeks before the start date of class

Museum School Fall Art Classes 2024

Class registration will be available August 6

The Living World (Ages 9-12)

September 4, 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9; Wednesdays from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Where do we end and the environment begins? This class will explore our relationship to the natural world, inspired by artists in the Vivarium and Broken Boxes exhibitions. We will create paintings that tell stories, make paper collages and intricate mixed media sculptures. Limit: 14 students. Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

Animals in Art (Ages 6-9)

September 6, 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11; Fridays from 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

This class takes inspiration from the animal paintings in Vivarium, as well as sculptures throughout the Museum, using painting, drawing and clay sculpture. We will make large stickers, using paint markers and contact paper, that serve as removable mini murals and create a tile for a large mosaic for the classroom! Limit: 14 students. Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

 A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (Ages 11-14)

September 7, 14, 21, 28, October 5, 12; Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

Narrative painting reads similar to a story, sometimes literally and at other times, through images that convey meaning and make us think. This class will incorporate inspiration from some of our narrative themed exhibitions to create 2-D works using oil paint and canvas, gouache on paper and mixed media and acrylic paints on wood.

Limit: 14 students. Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

Unfolding Stories: Imagining Outside the Box (Ages 3-6 with an adult caregiver)

October 3, 10, 17, 24; Thursdays from 2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

How can stories be expanded through the use of space and materials? In this session, we will delve into the art of storytelling using three-dimensional spaces created from boxes. Inspired by the Broken Boxes exhibition, our imaginations will guide us as we create entryways, windows, doors, and portals to explore the worlds that live inside us.

Limit: 7 students and their caregiver. Fee: $70.00

Instructors: Gigi Yu and Shelly Korte

Portraits and Costumes (Ages 9-12)

October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 13, 20; Wednesdays from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

People have always painted themselves as animals. In this class we will create figurative works in clay, paint and fabric informed by portrait artists who think outside the box. Don’t like painting yourself? No problem! Think of yourself as an animal. We will also create costumes inspired by pieces in the Museum collection that will help us get in character! Limit: 14 students. Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

Places, Places, Places! (Ages 6-9)

October 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22; Fridays from 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

This class will take inspiration from the Broken Boxes exhibition as well as sculptural works in Common Ground to create mixed media dioramas using paper, cardboard, clay and found objects as well as place themed paintings and collages. Limit: 14 students.

Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

Opening Doors (Ages 11-14)

October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, 23; Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

A door can serve as a wall or as a portal to another realm. This class will explore themes of borders and boundaries within our communities and what they mean. We will take inspiration from our exhibitions and the Old Town neighborhood to create several mixed media sculptural works of art using techniques such as foil embossing, wood carving, sculpting, and glass painting. Where will your portal lead? Limit: 14 students. Fee: $75.00

Instructor: Harley Kirschner

Move, Turn, and Reflect: Stories from Many Angles (Ages 3-6 with an adult caregiver)

November 7, 14, 21, and December 5; Thursdays from 2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

In this session, children and their caregivers will collaboratively create stories using materials from nature. Inspired by the exhibition Vivarium, Exploring Intersections of Art, Storytelling, and the Resilience of the Living World, we will build upon a branch to create mobiles. These artworks will move, turn, and reflect stories from many angles.  

Limit: 7 students and their caregiver. Fee: $70.00

Instructors: Gigi Yu and Shelly Korte

Instructor Bios

Gigi Schroeder Yu, PhD, is an assistant professor in art education in the art department at the University of New Mexico. She has over 20 years of experience teaching art with young children to adults in community settings, museums, and public-school classrooms. The early learning programs of Reggio Emilia, Italy and their deep respect for children’s artistic languages inspire her creative work and research. Gigi’s work with young children inspires her to see her own artistic practices in new ways. 

Harley Kirschner (He/They) is a mixed media artist and lead instructor at the Albuquerque Museum School. When not actively instructing young students, he is passionately delving into his own creative works which toe the line between art nouveau fairy tales, robotic technologies and discarded relics. While he learned various art methods on his own, Kirschner’s recent BFA from the University of New Mexico gave him a deeper understanding of how to navigate the artworld as well as how to create works he could previously only imagine.

Michelle (Shelly) Korte is a multimedia artist—painting, drawing, sculpting, collaging, writing, printmaking, and performing. She is fascinated by the ways in which ecology, industry and ceremony interest - defining the role of humans as animals, consumers, and healers. As a curious traveler and investigator, Shelly has taught and shown her work around the world for over 20 years. As an educator, she also allows art to be a conduit of self-inquiry, expression, and problem solving. She has lived in the Manzano Mountains of Tijeras, NM with her young son since 2014 where she has been growing a creative, communal arts and healing space. 

Remy Sinegal was born in California, coming to the University of New Mexico for college where she received a Bachelors in Art with a minor in Medieval Studies. She is a poet and illustrator, using a variety of media such as pencils, paints, pastels, sculpture and digital media. History both true and fictional inspire the themes of her work. Inspired by multicultural mythology, folklore, as well as modern influences like animated media, wildlife and how everyone's personal experiences shape the world around them. Believing that there is magic in embracing the mundanity of life she tries to create something exceptional and fun every time she picks up a pencil. The art of storytelling to pass on cultural superstitions inspires her to write, and illustrate her own fantastical tales, which she hopes to bring to life one day through graphic novels or animation.

Make art anywhere at any time! Teen Corner is a resource for teen artists offered by Albuquerque Museum. Expand your art making abilities or try something entirely new. Browse video lessons that explore a variety of techniques, artist designed color pages, and creative exercises to keep your mind active.

Visit the Teen Corner

Details subject to change.