EDUCATION
USF Contemporary Art Museum is an academic museum, laboratory, and research center for students, scholars, faculty, museum professionals, interns, artists, and the Tampa Bay Community. As part of CAM's educational mission, we offer a wide range of object-based learning opportunities centered around a series of major interdisciplinary exhibitions and the permanent collection.
Our programs include symposia, conferences, lectures, workshops, special events, tours, field trips, and artist conversations that provide an educational resource, a forum for dialogue, and a platform from which to analyze critical issues in art and society.
We encourage direct encounters with artwork as a means to understand diverse cultures, concepts, current issues, and materials. We also offer customized class tours, assignment collaboration, and learner-centered facilitated art discussions (VTS) that are valuable to many disciplines. Guided tours and presentations by CAM's educators and curators are available to connect with specific classroom objectives.
FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
CAM Club
CAM Club seeks to engage new and diverse audiences on the USF campuses and in the Tampa Bay community by introducing various forms of art as well by shaping the museum as an active, open and tolerant center where students can come to learn, participate, and express creativity. Partnering with USFCAM in a professional art environment, students will learn about museum operations and be able to participate in a range of activities, workshops and field trips that will impart skills for museum work and enhance their overall educational experiences.
Internships
The USF Institute for Research in Art is pleased to accept a limited number of students for unpaid internships each semester at the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) and Graphicstudio. Internships are competitive and are for credit only. Visit our internships page for more information or to apply.
Student Collection Access
USF students may make appointments to see works in the USF Art Collection for class projects and research. To consult on works in the collection or to make an appointment for viewing, contact Curator of the Collection Shannon Annis at sannis@usf.edu.
FOR FACULTY
Antiracist Resources
The USF Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) has produced this guide to antiracist resources available through the museum. We have compiled CAM exhibitions and objects from the USF Collection which may be useful to support discussions and activities around antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusivity. Museum faculty and staff are available for virtual and in-person discussions with university faculty, staff and students with regard to any of these resources.
For more information about CAM’s antiracist work, please email us.
Perception Studios - Aquisition of Knowledge
The Perception Studios are classes taught at USF Contemporary Art Museum in collaboration with the Judy Genshaft Honors College course Acquisition of Knowledge. Ranging from classical philosophy to the digital age, Acquisition of Knowledge invites students to explore the different ways in which knowledge is created and consumed, how understanding is cultivated, the various relationships possible between knowledge and the self, and the implications of these in our contemporary world. The Perception Studios engage with original artwork and a student-centered facilitation method to create inclusive discussions, increase critical thinking and observation skills. Please email us to explore ways you can integrate USFCAM into your curriculum.
Picture This - Warhol Collection
Picture This was a collaborative course between USF Contemporary Art Museum and the Judy Genshaft Honors College. Picture This encouraged student engagement with the Warhol Collection in recognition of the arts' capacity to transform us and foster transferable skills through learning how to research, curate, create meaningful dialogue, self-reflect and think critically within all majors and professional disciplines. Through the lens of Andy Warhol’s oeuvre students studied and explored the photographs and prints from the collection in order to explore the wider cultural context from which Andy Warhol emerged, and as a means to frame contemporary issues in our rapidly changing and evolving world. Please email us to explore ways you can integrate USFCAM into your curriculum.
Teaching and Learning with Museum Exhibitions
USFCAM's temporary exhibitions regularly offer new ways to integrate artwork into your curriculum. Tours can be tailored to support the individual themes and goals of a given course, project or learning outcome. We are specialists with pedagogical training to build discussions that thoughtfully connect artwork to critical issues, specific themes, and learning objectives. CAM has developed effective and interactive virtual tours that can reach students regardless if they are on campus or not. Please email us to explore ways you can integrate USFCAM into your curriculum.
Faculty Collection Research
The USF Art Collection is available for use in class lectures, activities, and research projects. Due to COVID-19 precautions, in person viewing of collection objects is currently limited to individual appointments for faculty and students. To schedule viewing appointments or obtain images of artworks for class presentations, contact Curator of the Collection Shannon Annis, sannis@usf.edu. USFCAM Faculty are available to consult and participate in object-based class activities—contact Curator of the Collection Shannon Annis at sannis@usf.edu.
FOR SCHOOLS + TEACHERS
InsideART
InsideART is an innovative arts-based learning and visual literacy program that integrates social studies with contemporary art in an examination and discussion of pressing societal issues. This secondary school program is provided free of charge to all teachers and students by the Institute for Research in Art (IRA) at the University of South Florida, Tampa, and is available on the InsideART page.
Field Trips + Guided Tours
USF Contemporary Art Museum offers free exhibition tours including field trips for K-12 students and class tours for the USF and Tampa Bay education communities. Please visit the tour and field trip page for information on choosing, scheduling and conducting your tour.
FOR COMMUNITY
Breaking Barriers Photography Workshops for Veterans
Breaking Barriers is a series of photography workshops provided free of charge to veterans in the USF and Tampa Bay Community. Each multi-week series of workshops is designed for all levels of experience, from beginning to advanced, and veterans are invited to explore tools and processes in creating their own photographic imagery. Each series concludes with a personal project and portfolio review. A special showing of curated works from each workshop and participant is exhibited at USF Contemporary Art Museum. Visit the Breaking Barriers page to learn more.
Guided Tours
USF Contemporary Art Museum schedules public curator-led gallery tours with each exhibition. Check our events page for upcoming scheduled tours. In addition, CAM offers free exhibition tours to the public upon request. Please visit the tour and field trip page for information on choosing, scheduling and conducting your tour.
YouTube Channel Video Archive
Visit the Institute for Research in Art's YouTube Channel for an extensive video archive of conversations with curators and artists, gallery talks, past exhibitions, artist's installations, symposia, special performances, technical demostrations, glimpses inside the studios, short subjects, and more. Whether you are university faculty, college students, teachers, or community members, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel so you never miss a new upload!
Upcoming Events
1/17/25
X Factor: Latinx Artists and the Reconquest of the Everyday Artists Conversation + Opening Reception
2/21/25
X Factor: Latinx Artists and the Reconquest of the Everyday Artists Conversation + Dessert Reception
5/10/25
Graphicstudio Open House + Benefit Sale
Donate!
Donate now to support our exhibitions and related educational programs!
USFCAM Mailing List
Email sign up for USF Contemporary Art Museum updates!
Video Archive
Please visit our YouTube channel and subscribe! Explore hundreds of hours of past artist talks, conversations, sympoia, performances and more.
Contact
If you have questions or would like to learn more about our education programs, please email us.
Copyright + Reproduction
The electronic images and information available on this site are subject to copyright and may be covered by other restrictions as well. The images are made available to the general public as a representation of USF Contemporary Art Museum’s programs. Copy or redistribution in any manner for commercial use is not permitted. Anyone wishing to use any of these images for commercial use, publication, or for any purpose other than personal fair use must first request and receive prior written permission from the University of South Florida Institute for Research in Art. Please contact USFCAM at (813) 974-4133 for more information.