FEED YOUR MIND Art Classes Continue Online this Fall

The Doña Ana Arts Council (DAAC) has announced four new art courses for the fall of 2020 that will start the week of September 14.  “We were hoping to get back to in-person classes this fall,” said DAAC Executive Director Greg Smith, “but unfortunately, we’ll have to postpone that a while longer and continue with online offerings.”  The four FEED YOUR MIND courses will be World Art, Part 1, The Renaissance World, Spanish Colonial Art, and Travels in Mexico.  All courses will be offered online via Zoom.  Registration is online at https://www.daarts.org/classes-workshops/ or by calling the DAAC office at (575) 523-6403. 

All classes are free of charge for DAAC members who have invested at the Heart for Art level or higher, at $101 per year or more.  Otherwise, each class is $5 for non-members.  All classes will be recorded and emailed to students after each class.  The recordings give students a chance to make up missed sessions or to start the course after the initial start date.

Kathleen Key, DAAC’s resident art historian, will teach two courses:  World Art, Part 1 on Mondays from 5:30 – 7 p.m. starting September 14 and ending December 14; and The Renaissance World on Tuesdays from 1:30 – 3 p.m. starting September 15 and ending November 24.   In addition to teaching many art history seminars for the Doña Ana Arts Council, Ms. Key is a professor of art history at the University of Texas at El Paso and the OLLI Continuing Education Program at UTEP.

In the World Art, Part 1 course description, Ms. Key stated “We will cover not only European art and art in North America from prehistoric times to the Baroque era, but the art of China, Japan, Islam, Africa, Oceania and Native America.  Come join us for one week, several weeks or for all thirteen classes!”  Ms. Key will follow the art history book Gardner’s Art through the Ages, Editors:  Richard G. Tansey & Fred S. Kleiner.  While not a requirement, students may want to obtain a used copy of the book that may be found locally or online.  World Art, Parts 2 and 3 will be offered in the spring and summer of 2021 and will cover art history up to the present day.

“For The Renaissance World,” Ms. Key said, “we will cover the art and architecture as well as the theater and costumes from 1400-1600 in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and England.”  The course has eleven classes and runs for eleven consecutive weeks on Tuesdays from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. starting September 15.

Spanish Colonial Art will be Nicholas Dahle’s third course at DAAC after teaching two courses this past summer. Mr. Dahle is an art historian who, along with Kathleen Key, teaches at UTEP’s OLLI Continuing Education Program.  According to Mr. Dahle, “The arrival of the Spanish in the Americas resulted in the meeting of many cultures and ideas. European and Pre-Colombian art styles combined into what is classified as Spanish colonial art. When Spain ruled New Mexico, santeros crafted vibrant furniture, statues and retablos that exhibit the mixing of both Pueblo and Spanish styles.”  Spanish Colonial Art consists of thirteen classes that will be on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. starting September 16 and ending December 9, 2020.

The fourth course is a short one, only three classes, and will be taught by fellow UTEP/OLLI instructor, Brad Roe.  Travels in Mexico will explore the wonders of art, architecture, food and culture in the cities of Guanajuato and Oaxaca plus the state of Chiapas.  Travels in Mexico will be offered on Wednesdays from 1:30 – 3 pm on September 16, 23 and 29. 

For additional information about these classes or about becoming a DAAC member at the Heart for Art level or higher, at $101 per year or more, and attending all of these classes at no charge, please visit the website or call (575) 523-6403.

The Doña Ana Arts Council office and Arts & Cultural Center are located at 250 W. Amador Ave., Las Cruces.   The mailing address is PO Box 1721, Las Cruces, NM 88004.  For more information, please visit www.daarts.org or call (575) 523-6403.