Adjunct Professor:
Parsons New School for Design, PACE University, and Metropolitan College of New York

Artist Educational Programs Currently Available
In our fast paced culture students are constantly being bombarded with visual imagery from television, the internet and videogames.  Rather than estrange students from one another with images, Stephanie Diamond is an educator, artist and professional photographer who uses the photographic image as a means to build communities and reflect on our environments and our experiences.  It is Stephanie’s belief that the arts can be used in to aid students in becoming more creative problem solvers and effective learners and to help teachers find alternative routes to engaging their students and reaching their classroom goals.

Unlike many other art forms, anyone can take a picture.  Most all of us have done it.  For this reason, Stephanie feels that photography is the most accessible of all the arts, and that which students and teachers can understand, participate in and discuss with most ease.  Photography, for Stephanie, can itself serve as an exchange, not only of visual imagery, but also of ideas, concepts, emotions and awareness.  Where do images come from? how are they used? who takes them? and why? are some of the basic questions that get students talking to one another, taking pictures and pushing the boundaries of their understanding of the world around them.

Stephanie has been an arts educator in the public and private sector for the past ten years.  She holds an MA in Art Education from New York University and a BFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design.  She is a certified New York City school teacher and holds a certificate

in Mindfulness Education for Children.  She currently teaches at Metropolitan College of New York and Parsons School of Design.  In the past, Stephanie has served as the Education and Community Coordinator at the PS1 Contemporary Art Center and as the Director of Education at the Socrates Sculpture Park.  As an artist, Stephanie has an extensive exhibition record and is the recipient of various awards, grants and fellowships. 

Following are some of the innovative education programs Stephanie has developed to help teachers engage their students and reach their curricular goals.  Each of these programs has been developed with an eye towards providing practical tools and resources for educators, enhancing school culture and reaching the benchmarks of the New York City Department of Education’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning Through the Arts.

Photo Workshops

Not everyone has experience painting with oils, sculpting with bronze or playing the viola.  However, chances are pretty good that most of us have, at one point or another, used a camera to capture an image.  This makes photography one of the most accessible arts mediums for students and teachers to participate in and discuss.

Stephanie Diamond brings her experience as an educator, artist and professional photographer into the classroom to bolster student learning and make curricular links via an arts medium most students already have a working knowledge of: photography.  Whether using camera-phones or traditional film, students will explore the photographic medium as a means to creatively solve problems, explore their communities and engage one another in critical dialogue. 

Visual journals, image scavenger hunts and photo reenactments are among the many activities your students will engage in while using photography to connect to their academic subjects.

Photo Workshops occur over a series of regularly scheduled sessions, culminating in a final project/exhibition.  These sessions are designed in collaboration with classroom teachers to provide for the richest educational experience for your students over the arch of a workshop series.  Sophisticated materials and facilities are not necessary—Stephanie can conduct a workshop series with a variety of tools, ranging from 4 x 5 cameras to simple point and shoot digital cameras, or even cellphones! 

Early Childhood/Middle School/High School/Undergraduate/Graduate/Continuing Education

Minimum of ten sessions; session times are tailored to suit your school/program; dark room not required; fees available upon request.

Past Workshops:
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Bronx Museum of the Arts /Bronx International High School, Katonah Museum of Art/ Tarrytown Even Start, Long Island City High School, Omega Teen Camp, P. S.1 Contemporary Art Center/Museum of Modern Art, Sadie Nash Leadership Project, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Urban Assembly Media High School, Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCO)

Interactive Lectures

For many, a professional artist is someone who possesses  

unique talents and abilities that set them apart from society.  Certainly, professional artists, as interesting as they are, can also be viewed as very intimidating people.  In her Interactive Lectures, Stephanie dismisses this notion by drawing parallels between her work as a professional artist and the creative work of students of all ages. Photo is an everyday experience.  People of all ages and abilities can make wonderful, meaningful photographs that both document their experiences and impact their communities.  

For Stephanie artmaking is an extension of her everyday existence.  During one of her Interactive Lectures students will learn about different types of cameras and the different uses for cameras and images.  In viewing samples from Stephanie’s portfolios, students will see how she has found a unique way to use photography to make art, build

communities and reflect on her personal experiences.  Having viewed images taken by other students alongside those taken by Stephanie, students will develop an understanding that they can, indeed, use photographs to make art, document their lives and build communities as well.

These dialogue driven, Interactive Lectures can be tailored to suit the developmental level of most any student population, and can be designed to connect to topics ranging from social studies and language arts to cultural awareness and developing classroom culture.

Early Childhood/Middle School/High School/Undergraduate/Graduate/Continuing Ed.
Duration of lectures are tailored to suit your school/program; fees available upon request.

Past Lectures:
Insituto de Arte Plastica, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mass College of Art, New York Studio Program, New York University, Parsons School of Design (5), Rhode Island School of Design, The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, The New School, Whitney Museum of American Art, Mess Hall (Chicago, Il)

Integrated Arts Specialist Residencies

As an arts educator, Stephanie Diamond believes that extended arts programming designed with an arch of learning in mind, far out-weighs drop in workshops and isolated arts residency sessions.  As an Integrated Arts Specialist Stephanie is interested in developing long-term partnerships with educators who are committed to exploring non-traditional approaches to achieving their classroom goals.  To this end,

Stephanie will immerse herself within your school to work with students, staff and faculty, serving as a vault of arts information and providing full access to a working artist for you’re entire school community.

During her Integrated Arts Specialist Residency Stephanie will work with teachers one-on-one to assess their specific classroom goals and to recommend arts activities and exercises that are fun and engaging for students, pertinent to any given subject matter and relevant to the cultural environment of the school and greater community.  In addition to suggested lessons and activities, Stephanie will also: teach and co-teach classes, help plot long term arts projects, co-develop new lesson plans, recommend field trips, curate exhibitions of student work, advise on appropriate materials for specific projects and design and facilitate professional development sessions.

After having Stephanie in your school as a long-term Integrated Arts Specialist your teachers will be more fully equipped with the tools necessary to incorporate the arts into their teaching practice, your students will have had a robust creative experience and your entire community of teachers and learners will enjoy a heightened sense of school culture.

Early Childhood/Middle School/High School
Integrated Arts Specialist Residencies are tailored to your specific school/program needs; three month residency minimum; fees are variable, based upon length of residency and extent of services offered.

Clients:
International High School @ Prospect Heights, Bronx Museum of the Arts /Bronx International High School, Long Island City High School, Urban Assembly Media High School

Arts Education Consultant

As an Arts Education Consultant, Stephanie Diamond is capable of working with faculty and staff on a project basis or over longer periods of time.  Some of the services Stephanie may provide, include: professional development, curriculum development, lesson plan design, arts program piloting, arts program assessment, grant writing, staff mentoring and arts coaching.

Fees vary depending upon project.

Clients:
Astrograss for Kids (bluegrass band), Bronx International High School/Bronx Museum of the Arts, Growth and Development Services/Camp Excel, Passion into Practice, PBS/Art: 21, Sadie Nash Leadership Project, Urban Assembly Media High School