Outreach
Our Community Shapes Our Experience
Over the last 75 years, the SBMA has focused on building community relationships through collaborative events, shared experiences, and partnering with local organizations. We are honored to have partnered with the St. Joseph County Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, the Lighthouse Autism Center, DTSB, and many more! It is our goal to be a representation of the community we serve by being a venue where local experiences and stories are shared!
Our Community Shapes Our Experience
Over the last 75 years, the SBMA has focused on building community relationships through collaborative events, shared experiences, and partnering with local organizations. We are honored to have partnered with the St. Joseph County Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, the Lighthouse Autism Center, DTSB, and many more! It is our goal to be a representation of the community we serve by being a venue where local experiences and stories are shared!
FESTIVAL OF BANNERS
The Festival of Banners promotes art in the community by bringing art to the public and providing an excellent venue for artists of all ages and skill sets. Three age categories–youth, teen, and adult–allow fun for all. Designs are submitted on a small scale (on paper). A juror from our community selects designs based on creative interpretation by the artist. Since the project began in 2007, we have invited artists to paint their designs in our studios before turning them over to DTSB to hang along the streets just in time for Best Week Ever and through ArtBeat. In 2022, we made the decision to print the designs digitally, allowing for a more accessible experience for all participants in our community.
STEAM Educator Workshop Series
As of 2023, the SBMA has partnered with local public schools to facilitate a workshop series focused on expanding the arts into the classroom. This new summer workshop series is geared towards middle school teachers, grades 5-8, who teach in the humanities and sciences. Using the STEAM model, the program focuses on introducing art into other academic disciplines.
Summer Undergrad Residency
The South Bend Museum of Art Summer Undergraduate Residency is an immersive museum experience tailored for Indiana undergraduates studying the fine arts. Our mission is to provide structure, opportunity, and support for local undergraduate fine artists to further their artistic endeavors while becoming immersed in our local art community. Residents are provided the opportunity to engage in various aspects of the museum studies, including curatorial, development, visitor experience, outreach, and education. Throughout the summer, undergraduates receive open studio passes that grant them access to work in each studio at the SBMA, including our darkroom, weaving studios, 2-D + 3-D courses, ceramics, and metals. Residents will receive monthly group critiques with special guest critics as well as bi-weekly individual meetings with our Curators of Education. Our summer program provides opportunities for personal and professional growth, leadership, networking, and artistic vision culminating in a group exhibition the following Spring in our Crowley Community Gallery.
Residents are required to participate and volunteer in events over the course of the summer. Volunteer hours/duties may vary. All residents are requested to be available for our First Friday events and Artbeat.
Any college undergraduate majoring or minoring in fine arts majors are open to apply. All college residents must reside in South Bend, Indiana during the months of June, July, and early August.
All submissions are reviewed. If accepted, you will be notified via email or phone. Please make sure to include contact information. Please do not call or email to check the status of your submission.
Contact Information
Name, Address, Phone & Email Address
General Information
College/ University you are currently enrolled
Year of standing
GPA
References
3 References including Names, Phone Numbers, and Email Addresses of
three academic/ professional references
Please include a SIGNED letter of recommendation from one of these
references
Portfolio
7-10 images of your current work (.jpg format)
Vimeo links of film/ animation/ kinetic/ performance or other time-based works
will also be accepted
Image list (.pdf format): Please include the title, year, media, and scale for
each image, as well as a small thumbnail image or file number so we know
which image the information refers to.
Documents
Artist and/or curatorial statement (.pdf format)
Curriculum Vitae/ Resume (.pdf format)
For further program questions, please contact:
Katie Neece, Curator of Education and Studio Programs
574.235.9252
Kolton Sizer, Curator of Education and Public Programming
574.235.9103
Docent Programs
The South Bend Museum of Art and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art’s (formerly the Snite Museum of Art) combined Docent Program has served the community since 1975. The word “docent” comes from the Latin word docere which means “to teach.” Docents function in museums of all kinds all over the world and serve as the “face” of a museum for many of its visitors.
If you have an interest in art and in learning and sharing your knowledge with others, consider this opportunity. You’ll benefit with behind-the-scenes access to two outstanding museums via private talks, exhibition previews, and presentations from educators, scholars, and artists.
You can! Do you have…
An interest in being part of something larger than yourself?
A sincere interest in people of differing ages, backgrounds, life experiences, and points of view?
A general interest in art?
A desire to stretch yourself, learn new things, and grow from new experiences?
An interest in creating opportunities for people of all ages to experience art in exciting and fun ways?
The ability to work as part of a team?
If you responded with an energetic “Yes!” to the above questions, you have the potential to make a great docent!
Attendance at all initial training sessions.
A two-year commitment to the program upon completion of training.
Devoting at least five tour days to each museum each year.
Upon completion of the initial training, attendance at ongoing training meetings two times/month.
Serving the community by providing access—through tours and other education programs—to the rich collections of the Snite and the SBMA to people of all ages.
Behind-the-scenes access to two outstanding museums via private talks, exhibition previews, and presentations from educators, scholars, and artists.
Increasing your knowledge and appreciation of art, history, and culture.
Meeting new people who share your interests.
Access to hot-off-the-press (and free!) publications from both the Snite and the SBMA.
Listen to docents Angie Faccenda and Rod Spear talk about the rewarding experiences they have had as docents: LEARN MORE
Docent training occurs over a period of approximately six months. Class sessions are held on Mondays twice a month from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. The training covers everything you need to be prepared to help others experience art—including sessions on teaching techniques, the history of art, and the collections of the Raclin Murphy Museum and the SBMA.
The next docent training will take place in early 2025. If you have any questions about the docent program or would like to be added to a contact list for the next training session, please email the Curator of Education.
For more information contact Katie Neece at the SBMA, 574.235.7516
Scholastic Art Awards
For more than 90 years, The Scholastic Art & Writing Award program has sought to encourage, foster, and reward creativity in our nation’s classrooms and to confer recognition on emerging talent. Our region, which covers 18 counties, has participated for decades, beginning in the Tea Room of the former Robertson’s Department Store in downtown South Bend. L.S. Ayres hosted the exhibition until the South Bend Museum of Art became involved.
The South Bend Museum of Art is now the affiliate for the Scholastic Art Awards’ Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan Region. This region includes the following counties: INDIANA counties of Benton, Cass, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Kosciusko, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Stark, White; and MICHIGAN counties of Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph.
The Scholastic Art Awards represents the most comprehensive national annual assessment of the creative spirit among American teens. Three core values have not changed since The Awards inception: freedom of expression, a blind adjudication process, and work criteria based on originality, technical proficiency, and emergence of personal voice. Students in seventh through twelfth grade submit digital images of their work, which is juried by more than 50 jurors solicited from the local arts and education community. A process of “blind adjudication” is used, whereby judging is determined on a merit basis with only the art object under review, without any knowledge as to student identity (gender, race, background, etc.). Jurors are instructed to select artwork that excels in 1) Originality, 2) Technical Skill, and 3) Emergence of a personal vision or voice.
Regional awards are given in several categories:
Gold Key: The highest level of achievement on the regional level.
Approximately 5 – 7% of all regional submissions are recognized with Gold Key Awards, and all are considered for national-level recognition.
Silver Key: Approximately 7 – 10% of all regional submissions are recognized with Silver Key Awards.
Honorable Mention: This Award recognizes students with artistic potential. Approximately 10 – 15% of all regional submissions receive Honorable Mention Awards.
American Vision & Voice Nominees: Five works are selected out of all Gold Key works (across categories) as the “Best of Show” for each region.
- Create an account.
Visit artandwriting.org to sign up for an account in the fall or click the button below to sign in or register. - Upload your work.
Share your best art. - Complete your entry.
Pay for your entry or submit a fee waiver.
Submissions and fee waivers are only accepted through the online portal, to create an account or sign-in click the button below to get started. Paper submissions will not be accepted. Educators may submit payment with a check or invoice payable to The South Bend Museum of Art.
We at the SBMA are aware of the concerns pertaining to the Scholastics online portal. Regrettably, as Affiliates of the Scholastics Art Awards we lack authority to address these issues. We are happy to field your questions and help where we can; however, if you encounter any difficulty with submissions, accessing the portal, or payments kindly reach out to: affiliates@artandwriting.org or education@southbendart.org
The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 26, 2024 at 11:59 pm (EST). No late submissions will be accepted.
Scholastic Awards
For more than 90 years, The Scholastic Art & Writing Award program has sought to encourage, foster, and reward creativity in our nation’s classrooms and to confer recognition on emerging talent. Our region, which covers 18 counties, has participated for decades, beginning in the Tea Room of the former Robertson’s Department Store in downtown South Bend. L.S. Ayres hosted the exhibition until the South Bend Museum of Art became involved.
The South Bend Museum of Art is now the affiliate for the Scholastic Art Awards’ Northwest Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan Region. This region includes the following counties: INDIANA counties of Benton, Cass, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Kosciusko, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Stark, White; and MICHIGAN counties of Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph.
The Scholastic Art Awards represents the most comprehensive national annual assessment of the creative spirit among American teens. Three core values have not changed since The Awards inception: freedom of expression, a blind adjudication process, and work criteria based on originality, technical proficiency, and emergence of personal voice. Students in seventh through twelfth grade submit digital images of their work, which is juried by more than 50 jurors solicited from the local arts and education community. A process of “blind adjudication” is used, whereby judging is determined on a merit basis with only the art object under review, without any knowledge as to student identity (gender, race, background, etc.). Jurors are instructed to select artwork that excels in 1) Originality, 2) Technical Skill, and 3) Emergence of a personal vision or voice.
Regional awards are given in several categories:
Gold Key: The highest level of achievement on the regional level.
Approximately 5 – 7% of all regional submissions are recognized with Gold Key Awards, and all are considered for national-level recognition.
Silver Key: Approximately 7 – 10% of all regional submissions are recognized with Silver Key Awards.
Honorable Mention: This Award recognizes students with artistic potential. Approximately 10 – 15% of all regional submissions receive Honorable Mention Awards.
American Vision & Voice Nominees: Five works are selected out of all Gold Key works (across categories) as the “Best of Show” for each region.
- Create an account.
Visit artandwriting.org to sign up for an account in the fall or click the button below to sign in or register. - Upload your work.
Share your best art. - Complete your entry.
Pay for your entry or submit a fee waiver.
Submissions and fee waivers are only accepted through the online portal, to create an account or sign-in click the button below to get started. Paper submissions will not be accepted.
- Create an account.
