Documenting Deco: K–12 Learning Program
Documenting Deco is an educational program that provides New York City students with the tools to recognize Art Deco architecture and design and understand the importance of preservation. By introducing students to the Deco splendors in their own neighborhoods, this program fosters pride in local communities.
Through these in-class lessons and walking tours, Art Deco design and architecture becomes the inspiration for students’ own art-making processes, which range from drawings, murals, mosaics, and ceramics to computer-based design, photography, and video.
Each lesson of Documenting Deco features activities to cultivate knowledge and understanding in various important aspects of design. It offers educators and group leaders an opportunity to connect the arts, architecture, and design to social studies, language arts, science, math, and music activities.
Through this program, students are given the opportunity to make a personal connection with the visual world around them and see the role they can play in their ever-changing city.
Documenting Deco offers experiences in living history, and explores how each of us can honor the past while imagining the future, fostering New York’s next generation of architects, designers, preservationists, and design enthusiasts.
The slideshow to the right shows students participating in the Documenting Deco program over the past few years.
See the below lessons for more information.
This Lesson will introduce students to Art Deco architecture and explore the context and history of Art Deco architecture in New York City and
around the world. The Art Deco aesthetic in other areas of design will also be examined.
Activity One:
Describing Deco
Activity One:
Describing Deco
This lesson will encourage students to examine buildings more creatively and in more detail while demonstrating the breadth and diversity of Art Deco architecture across New York
City. Students will also gain new skills in photography and reinforce their knowledge about Art Deco’s architectural aesthetics and history.
Activity Three:
Documenting Deco
Activity Three:
Documenting Deco
Activity Two:
Designing Deco
This Lesson will review common design elements, motifs, and features of Art Deco buildings and consider the factors architects must consider when designing a new building. The lesson will also explore creativity by designing a brand new Art Deco structure.
Activity Two:
Designing Deco
Activity Four:
Displaying Deco
In this lesson, students will create a curated exhibit of photography from “Documenting Deco” with contextualizing captions. Students will also have a deeper understanding of Art Deco’s presence in local architecture.
Activity Four:
Displaying Deco
Click here to download a PDF of the materials for the full program.
Acknowledgements
The Documenting Deco Educational Program is provided with funding and support provided by:
Many thanks to the instructors and administrators, for bringing this program to your students. We welcome your suggestions as we expand the program to more schools in the coming year.
