FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (June 21, 2021) – The Springfield Art Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Jenny Schwartzberg as Museum Educator. Effective July 26, 2021, Schwartzberg will lead the Museum’s educational programming efforts as a key member of the leadership team. In addition, Schwartzberg will work closely with the volunteer Museum docents and other Museum staff who assist in delivering educational services to over 60,000 patrons a year, 8,500 of whom are children from over 65 local and rural school districts located across southwest Missouri.
An experienced museum educator, Schwartzberg previously served as the Curator of Education and Education Coordinator at The Historic New Orleans Collection. Her work has focused on making museum collections and exhibitions more accessible to students, educators, and families through programs like field trips, virtual/online learning, family days, workshops, specialized curriculum, in-gallery activities, and hands-on museum and archive internships. She is adept at building educational programs that utilize visual thinking strategies and storytelling to help audiences engage with contemporary art exhibitions.
Schwartzberg holds MAs in Modern European History and Jewish and Islamic Studies from the University of Georgia, and a BA in History and Anthropology from Louisiana State University. She has taught History and Adult Education at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Schwartzberg’s immediate work with the Museum will involve strategy for re-introducing in-person educational programming, assessing current virtual and take-home program offerings, re-opening the Museum’s Family Art Lab and Book Nook family spaces, and rebuilding connections with local and regional art educators whose in-person class schedules have been disrupted over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schwartzberg notes, “I am thrilled to join the staff at the Springfield Art Museum. I look forward to finding new ways to highlight the museum's incredible collection, creating opportunities for visitors to connect with art and with each other, and building pathways to increase access to everything the Museum has to offer.”
Museum Director Nick Nelson adds, “I am so excited to have Jenny join our team and our community. She brings a demonstrated commitment to museum education that will help us as we grow our educational and interpretive programs now and into the future.”
The Museum Educator also oversees the popular annual All School Exhibition, the Museum’s longest running exhibition initiative that features over 400 works of art created in public, private, parochial, and home-school educational settings across our community. The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive. Admission is always free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.