This spring, Art Enables is excited to welcome DC Public School students into our galleries through our new Field Trip Program connecting young learners with Art Enables studio artists while exploring art, identity, and inclusion. The program, developed for 3rd–5th graders, is offered in partnership with the DC Arts & Humanities Education Collaborative, which assists participating schools with classroom coordination, scheduling, and transportation.

Each visit begins with a tour of the current exhibitions, where students learn how visual art communicates ideas, experiences, and emotions, and have a chance to ask questions and share their reactions to the work. Students then meet Art Enables artist Toni Lane, and teaching assistant Caroline Wallace, who share more about the Art Enables studio and discuss its mission's importance in the community. Toni leads the group in a zine-making workshop, and students finish by sharing their small books with one another. Art Enables staff and volunteers have been delighted with the thoughtful, creative insights provided by the students through this project!

For many students, this visit is their first time meeting professional artists with disabilities—an experience that expands their understanding of who artists are and what creativity can look like. By bringing students into direct conversation with working artists, this field trip program helps young people learn that art creates spaces where many perspectives belong—and where creativity can build connection, understanding, and community.

Between January and June, Art Enables will host eight field trips and engage at least 200 students while gathering their feedback to help shape the program’s future. We're grateful to the partners, teachers, students and volunteers who are helping bring this program to life, and we look forward to welcoming many more classrooms into our space to learn about art, identity and community. 

            — Amy Kitchin, Community Programs & Operations Director