Educational
Resources
As an educational institution, we prioritize teaching and learning in our exhibition materials. As a part of this mission, we create study guides aimed at ACC or other higher education courses that align with our exhibitions. We also offer generalized, ready-to-use lesson plans for K-12 educators in Texas.
All lesson plans and study guides are available for free download below.
TAG Study Guides
New! Exploring Contemporary Art and Place
Places are more than just physical spaces. Oftentimes, places hold memories, histories, or personal significance. This study guide focuses on the ways in which contemporary artists reference place in their practice. Artworks by Laurie Frick, Heather Parrish, and Michael Villarreal (featured in Narrated Memories: Artworks by ACC Alumni) are highlighted in this resource.
How Artists Create New Meaning Through Historical Imagery
This study guide highlights Linda Behar’s Amphora in TAG’s Spring 2023 exhibition The Contemporary Print 2023. Students will learn more about the ancient Greek and Roman iconography and objects referenced in this work, as they explore the imagery and mythology behind Behar’s woodcut print created in 2022.
Exploring Rasquache through Slow-looking
This study guide highlights artworks in the Fall 2022 exhibition Cultivating Community through Art: Sam Coronado’s Serie Project and its Continuing Legacy to explore the Chicano Art concept of ‘rasquache.’ Through utilizing slow-looking, participants explore the method and deep cultural meaning behind rasquache.
Diving into Issues of Belonging with Digital Art and Installation Works
This study guide focuses on a theme of “collecting found objects” and exploring personal histories through photographs and ephemera. This study guide prompts participants to spend time with Bárbara Miñarro and Dave McClinton’s artworks that were displayed in TAG’s 2021-2022 exhibition, Miñarro/McClinton: Negotiating Spaces, then answer a set of questions pertaining to their artistic processes and their practices of exploring racism and belonging.
Investigating Abstract Art
This study guide uses ACC Studio Art Faculty artworks in the Fall 2021 exhibition Strictly Abstraction to explore participant understandings of abstract art. Through this lesson, participants learn about historical and contemporary abstract art practices.
TAG Lesson Plans
New! Exploring Narrative through Found Objects
This lesson plan is projected to cover two class sessions that encompass students creating a cohesive and balanced assemblage artwork with self-chosen found objects. Students are to combine objects and collage to create a narrative or theme around their objects. Addionally, students will learn about the artwork of Barry Krammes, who was included in TAG’s spring 2024 exhibition Material Evolution: Selected Works from the Texas Sculpture Group.
Download Powerpoint for Discussion here.
Download Reflection Worksheet here (exit ticket for student self-assessment)
This lesson plan was created using the research of Kristine Corona, TAG Education Intern (Fall, 2023).
Objects, Places, and Spaces: Exploring Lived Experiences through Photography
This lesson plan is projected to cover 1-2 class sessions and focuses on learning more about our own lived experiences through the method of photography. Additionally, with classroom group activities, students will learn more about their peers’ experiences and daily lives.
Download Powerpoint for Discussion here.
Download Reflection Worksheet here (exit ticket for student self-assessment)
Building Empathy through Art: Portraiture and Printmaking
This lesson plan is projected to cover two class sessions that focus on empathy building, printmaking, and open discussion about artwork. Supplemental material with this lesson plan include a powerpoint for discussion and an exit ticket for student self-assessment.
Download Powerpoint for Discussion here.
Download Exit Ticket for Student Self-Assessment here.
We also provide worksheets that may help all our visitors or students interact with the artwork in our galleries or in museums near their neighborhood.
All worksheets are available for free download below.
In-Gallery Activities and Worksheets
First Time in a Museum? Here is a quick guide.
This worksheet takes students through close-looking and observational activities that invite them to look closely and document the artwork they may see.
There are also resources that outline different museum professions as well as reflection questions that prompt students to think about the role of museums in our society.
Close-looking with Artworks
This worksheet takes students thorough a close-looking exercise that focuses on careful observation and describing details in artworks.
This activity can be done in groups or individually.
Color, Line, and Shape
This worksheet takes students through color harmonies, color temperatures, as well as implied lines and shapes that exists in artworks.
This activity can be done in groups or individually. Relevant definitions are included in the worksheet.
Art + Wellness Activities
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
This handout explains the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding techniques, which prompts users to tap into their five senses and anchor themselves to the present moment. No special materials required.
Mindful Art-making Activities
This handout includes examples of simple art-making activities that can cultivate a sense of mindfulness in our daily lives. No special materials required.
More Educational Resources
For more online resources, visit our Video Archive page to watch artists interviews, gallery talks, and our recorded series Artists in Conversation.
Visit the TAG News page to read articles about our exhibitions and our In-Gallery Programming that features artists and museum professionals in the Austin-area.