Travel Programs

Florence as Inspiration: Curriculum, Studio Art, and Museum Program Design

With Florence as our home base, we will use this most significant and beautiful Renaissance city as our classroom. A key part of the program is to learn new techniques for developing interdisciplinary curriculum across grades and subject areas. Through visits to cultural institutions, museum visits, studio art experiences, and exploration of the urban environment, participants will develop ways to use artwork as primary source material and starting points for open-ended creative projects that utilize inquiry and expression as tools to construct meaning. We will practice looking closely at works of art together and reflect on the role artistic expression plays in civic life. We will also spend time in the art studio exploring materials and developing authentic curricular connections to take back to your classroom. This program is designed for, but not limited to, art teachers, classroom teachers, museum educators, and teaching artists.

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Programs are currently on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related transitions in the CPS office that supports them.

  • Sample Itinerary

    The itinerary also includes day trips to Siena and Reggio Emilia to tour the Centro Internazionale Loris Malaguzzi, the Reggio Children’s Center.  Stay tuned for more details.

  • Instructor: Julie Applebaum

    Julie Applebaum, MSEd, MFA, is currently the Senior Program Manager at Studio in a School. In this position, she manages programs serving over 10,000 students in over 150 New York City public schools in grades Pre-K through 12 per year, and plays a key role in recruiting, training, and supporting artists, as well as developing curricula and evaluation tools. Current initiatives she leads include programs serving multilingual learners and residencies designed to support students in transitional housing. In addition, she teaches art history at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY). Previously, she was a museum and arts consultant where she developed programs, exhibitions, and communications systems for a variety of cultural, educational, and corporate institutions. Her work included program adaptations to include visitors with special needs which led to an increase of 30% participation by schools. Applebaum is also a conference reviewer for the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable. She earned her MSEd in Museum Leadership at Bank Street College. She also holds an MFA in Painting from Hunter College, CUNY and a BA from Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH.

  • Program Fees

    Program fees include:

    • Hotel (single occupancy)
    • Two meals per day
    • Local transportation
    • Bank Street faculty program leader
    • Guest speakers and
    • Cultural experiences

    We have left airfare travel out of this budget, so you can make the plans that work best for you, including the possibility of extending the trip at the beginning or end of the group experience.

    Additional costs include:

    • Airfare to Italy (A recommended flight will be optional for those who want to travel together.)
    • Airport transfer
    • Travel insurance
    • One meal per day
    • Alcoholic drinks
    • Souvenirs, optional evening activities
    • Double occupancy accommodations available for a discount TBD

    This program is open to all educators. Bank Street affiliation is not required.

  • Partner Organization: Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA)

    This course is greatly enhanced by our work with the following partner organization:

    Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA)
    With over 15,000 square feet of space in three dedicated fully equipped campuses, located in the historic heart of Florence, Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA) provides some of the best art facilities available in the city.