Study Group Details


1500: Art in Conversation at The Phillips Collection

Friday
9:45 - 11:15
Starting June 09
Online

Explore artworks at the Phillips Collection, the first museum of modern art in America. As we look closely at works of art, we will discover how founder Duncan Phillips’ vision  in 1921 continues today in  the museum’s curatorial choices and community projects. Duncan Phillips wanted to create a “small intimate museum of the world’s best art combined with an experiment station,” which would “avoid the usual period rooms—the chronological sequence.”

Each week, participants will discuss two artworks, sharing observations, questions, and information while entering into creative conversations with each other and the artworks, in the spirit of Duncan Phillips, who brought together works of art for “the purpose of contrast and analogy.”

This course, a combination of in-person visits to the museum and virtual meetings on Zoom, is designed and co-led by two Phillips educators, Donna Jonte and Avis Brock. See below for the location/time of each class session.

  • Session 1: Online (9:45 AM)
  • Session 2: In-person at The Phillips Collection (early entry-tour, 10:00 AM)
  • Session 3: Online (9:45 AM)
  • Session 4: In-person at The Phillips Collection (early entry-tour, 10:00 AM)

The Phillips Collection is located at 1600 21st Street, NW. Participants can either take the metro or drive. If taking the metro, take the Red line to Dupont Circle, North exit. It’s one block to the museum. If driving, there is limited two-hour street parking on 21st Street and nearby. There are a few metered parking spaces in front of the museum and a pay lot across from Teaism on R Street—about a block and a half from the museum.


This study group is new
Class Type: Lecture and Discussion
Class Format: Online
Hours of Reading: No required reading

Study Group Leader(s):

Avis Brock

Avis Brock is a museum educator in Washington, DC. Throughout her career, she has worked with communities that are often underrepresented in art – Adults living with mental illness, Senior citizens, People living with dementia, and elementary school students and teachers in underserved communities in Washington, DC. Since 2015 she has worked at The Phillips Collection and The National Gallery of Art, both in Washington, DC. Avis has degrees in art history and philosophy, and completed her masters degree at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in The History of Decorative Arts, with an emphasis in textile history. She is also the co-founder of a former pro-democracy organization for children in Washington, DC, the DC Young Suffragists

Donna Jonte

Donna Jonte, Head of Experiential Learning at The Phillips Collection, is especially interested in integrating mindful looking into museum experiences. She works with all audiences, from pre-K students to older adults, developing and implementing programs that link art and wellness and combine viewing art, talking about art, and making art.  Before coming to the Phillips, Donna was an editor for a literary magazine and an elementary school art teacher. Donna received her masters in English Literature from Mills College in Oakland, California and her masters in Teaching from George Mason University in Virginia. As well as exploring museum education and creating artist books, she loves to hike in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains with her two adult children and five sisters.