Tag Archives: travel

“Where Our Worlds Meet”: Ending the Taft ARC Journey of Creative Unity

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Ms. Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking students are wrapping up their experience with the Taft Museum of Art’s Artists Reaching Classrooms (ARC) program, which immerses high school art students in Cincinnati’s visual arts community, connecting them with artistic practices, exhibitions, marketing strategies, and careers in the arts.

As part of ARC, students collaborated with their Artist-in-Residence, Adoria L. Maxberry, a Cincinnati-based visual and performance artist, educator, designer, and founder of Most OutGROWing LLC. Guided by a belief in the power of creativity for personal and collective growth, Adoria creates immersive experiences that blend education, reflection, and community. Her work spans murals, fiber arts, illustration, and mixed media, often embedding hidden phrases and personal stories. Throughout the students ARC experience, she guided students in creating a large-scale collaborative artwork for the upcoming exhibition at the Taft Museum of Art.

“Where Our Worlds Meet” is a whimsical celebration of the everyday worlds students move through: school activities, neighborhoods, digital spaces, shared hangouts, impactful life experiences, and quiet personal moments that bring joy. By incorporating favorite objects, symbols, and visual references from these familiar environments, the piece reflects how individual identities are shaped by daily experiences while remaining deeply connected to others. Each element carries personal meaning, but gains new significance when placed alongside the contributions of peers.

At the heart of this work is the question: How can we come together to creatively respond to the world around us? Through collaboration, students explored what it means to live together creatively: listening, adapting, and finding harmony within difference. The process emphasized connection over perfection, inviting playful experimentation and collective problem-solving as a way to build creative unity.

Aligned with ARC’s focus on collaboration and connection, this artwork represents both self and community. It honors individuality while highlighting shared experiences, showing that creativity thrives when voices overlap, ideas intertwine, and imagination becomes a common language. Together, these contributions form a joyful, unified response to the environments we all inhabit every day.

“Where Our Worlds Meet” will be on exhibition at the Taft Museum of Art from February 13th-16th, 2026. There will be an exhibition celebration on February 15th, from 1:00-2:30pm, with remarks at 1:30pm. Please join us in celebrating the creative vision of the Drawing and Printmaking students and Adoria Maxberry!

Exploring ‘What a Revolutionary Must Know’ and the Biological Made Digital

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On December 5th, AP Art and Design students embarked on their first field experience as a part of this year’s Contemporary Arts Center School Outreach Program. The CAC SOP offers students from grades 2 through 12 a comprehensive, immersive experience with contemporary art. Running from September through May, this year-long program includes an in-school orientation, guided tours of CAC exhibitions, a classroom project tied to the exhibition led by a local artist, and a spring visit to an artist’s studio. Program docents work with the same class throughout the year, fostering continuity and rapport with the students.

During the tour, students engaged with the Sheida Soleimani’s “What a Revolutionary Must Know” exhibition. Sheida Soleimani’s solo exhibition presents her complete “Ghostwriter” series, uniting photography, sculpture, and video to reconstruct her parents’ escape from Iran’s totalitarian regime through surreal, staged visual narratives that explore resistance, identity, memory, and political trauma, while also marking her first presentation of video work in a museum. An Iranian-American artist raised in Cincinnati, Soleimani examines interconnected histories of political violence across Iran, the United States, and the Middle East through multimedia, photo-based installations. Her work is held in major museum collections and widely covered in prominent publications. Based in Providence, she is an associate professor at Brandeis University and founder of Congress of the Birds, and she created a public artwork of 100 cast aluminum tulips honoring protesters killed after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a project that debuted at the 2023 Armory Show and continues to raise funds.

“Second Nature” showcases three digital animation works from the 21c Museum Hotels collection, featuring artists Jennifer Steinkamp and Chris Doyle, who use computer-generated imagery inspired by natural forms such as trees, vines, butterflies, and mushrooms to explore movement, pattern, and the fragile relationship between humans and the environment, with Steinkamp’s Dervish 3 depicting a tree shifting through the four seasons in a wind-like, whirling motion, and Doyle’s Circular Lament and Rondo using animated, nature-referencing shapes and bioluminescent mushrooms within symbolic, sacred-like forms to suggest ecological tension and the simulated presence of organic life through digital technology.

Students also had the unique opportunity to experience an artist talk from their teacher, Jamie Schorsch, an exhibiting artist in the “Journey to Healing” exhibition, where she shared how creating artwork has been a powerful tool in processing trauma and shaping her identity in adulthood. Through her personal story and visual work, students gained insight into how art can serve as a path to healing, self-expression, and resilience.

Experiencing ‘Creative Unity’ with the Taft ARC Program

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The Taft Museum of Art’s Artists Reaching Classrooms (ARC) program immerses high school art students in Cincinnati’s visual arts community, connecting them with artistic practices, exhibitions, marketing strategies, and careers in the arts. This semester, Drawing and Printmaking students are participating in the program, which includes one museum visit, four classroom visits, and culminates in a winter exhibition at the Taft.

As part of ARC, students are collaborating with Adoria L. Maxberry, a Cincinnati-based visual and performance artist, educator, designer, and founder of Most OutGROWing LLC. Guided by a belief in the power of creativity for personal and collective growth, Adoria creates immersive experiences that blend education, reflection, and community. Her work spans murals, fiber arts, illustration, and mixed media, often embedding hidden phrases and personal stories. She has led significant public projects, including Revolutionary Recipes: The Flavors of a Black Woman Amplified, and partners with organizations like ArtWorks. Adoria also teaches in schools, performs as a lead puppeteer and voice actress on the Emmy-winning children’s series Paige’s Place, and was recognized as a Black is Excellence: Unsung Hometown Hero by the City of Cincinnati in 2022. Through ARC, she will guide students in creating a large-scale collaborative artwork for the Taft exhibition.

After spending their first visit getting to know Adoria and brainstorming about the things they experience in their daily environments, or what they find impactful about objects they interact with on a daily basis, they created a collaborative design synthesizing their different perspectives. During this week’s visit with Adoria, they began laying out their design and blocking in color. Over the next few weeks, the Drawing and Printmaking students will continue their collaboration in preparation for the winter exhibition of their work at the Taft Museum of Art.

Exploring ‘Creative Unity’ with the Taft ARC Program

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The Taft Museum of Art’s Artists Reaching Classrooms (ARC) program immerses high school art students in Cincinnati’s visual arts community, connecting them with artistic practices, exhibitions, marketing strategies, and careers in the arts. This semester, Drawing and Printmaking students are participating in the program, which includes one museum visit, four classroom visits, and culminates in a winter exhibition at the Taft.

As part of ARC, students are collaborating with Adoria L. Maxberry, a Cincinnati-based visual and performance artist, educator, designer, and founder of Most OutGROWing LLC. Guided by a belief in the power of creativity for personal and collective growth, Adoria creates immersive experiences that blend education, reflection, and community. Her work spans murals, fiber arts, illustration, and mixed media, often embedding hidden phrases and personal stories. She has led significant public projects, including Revolutionary Recipes: The Flavors of a Black Woman Amplified, and partners with organizations like ArtWorks. Adoria also teaches in schools, performs as a lead puppeteer and voice actress on the Emmy-winning children’s series Paige’s Place, and was recognized as a Black is Excellence: Unsung Hometown Hero by the City of Cincinnati in 2022. Through ARC, she will guide students in creating a large-scale collaborative artwork for the Taft exhibition.

During their recent museum visit, students toured the galleries and worked with Laura Kilian Jaster, Senior Manager of Learning and Outreach at the Taft. In the studio, they explored Creative Unity by making works representing their individual identities, then contributing to classmates’ pieces to reflect the diversity of the group. For many, it was their first time experiencing the Taft Museum of Art, a true community treasure.

Bridging Classrooms Across Continents: OHHS Art and Design Teacher Jamie Schorsch’s Journey as a 2025 Fulbright TGC Fellow in India

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During the sweltering heat of July, OHHS Art and Design teacher Jamie Schorsch embarked on a life-changing journey as one U.S. teachers selected for the prestigious Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) Program, a U.S. Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs initiative administered by IREX. In partnership with the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), the program immersed these fellows in India’s vibrant educational landscape, where cross-cultural exchange and collaboration came to life.

Over the course of two immersive weeks, Schorsch traveled across India with fellow educators, engaging in a deep exploration of pedagogy, policy, and practice. The group visited schools and academic institutions in cities including New Delhi, Alwar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hosur, Kolkata, Pune, Vadodara, with Schorsch being assigned to the host community of Varanasi. In each location, the fellows were warmly welcomed into classrooms where they observed instruction, engaged in co-teaching, and shared strategies with Indian educators and policy makers. From bustling urban schools to rural campuses, Schorsch witnessed firsthand the strength of India’s educational diversity and the passion of its educators.

One highlight of the experience was delivering formal remarks at a special reception at the closing of the experience, where Schorsch addressed an audience of distinguished guests including Fulbright scholars, representatives of the U.S. Department of State, members of IREX, USIEF, and the U.S. Embassy in India. Drawing from the insights gained throughout the exchange, Schorsch spoke to the transformative power of international collaboration in education and the mutual growth that comes from partnerships rooted in cultural understanding.

Throughout the journey, Indian Fulbright alumni served as generous hosts, opening their schools, homes, and hearts to the TGC fellows. These hosts played a vital role in connecting educators across borders, sharing local wisdom while learning from the American visitors. Their support exemplified the enduring strength of the Fulbright network and the global impact of its alumni.

Reflecting on her experience, Jamie Schorsch described the exchange as “a living bridge between classrooms,” one that will continue to inform her teaching practice and empower her students to think globally.

Her time in India was more than an exchange of ideas, it was a reaffirmation of education as a shared human endeavor that transcends geography. As a Fulbright TGC Fellow, dedicated arts educator, and advocate for global learning, Schorsch returns to her classroom with renewed purpose, eager to infuse her curriculum with global perspectives, foster student curiosity about the world, and inspire the next generation of changemakers.

To read more about Schorsch’s experiences and reflections in India, visit https://goghglobalarteducation.wordpress.com/blog/