New Exhibit: Growth, Part Two

The Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art is comprised of 361 paintings, drawings, prints, and collages made by adolescents aged 10 to 18 from 32 countries across the world. The Collection was first shown in 1967 at the High Museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. It was assembled by Professor Edwin Ziegfeld, then Chair of Art and Education at Teachers College. Columbia University, who was also President of the International Society for Art Education, an organization he helped found in 1954 under the auspices of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Under the direction of Macy Professor of Education Judith Burton and in collaboration with the Library, the Ziegfeld Collection was first shown at the Macy Art Gallery, Teachers College in 1999. Wrote Professor Emerita Maxine Greene, "this exhibition opene[d] new possibilities for those dedicated to the growth of children and, particularly, to enabling the adolescents of our time to find their way through the entangled forests of a difficult moment in history."(Catalog Introduction, The Ziegfeld Collection: International Artworks of Adolescents from the 1950s: A Celebration). Created after the Second World War, the artworks spoke to the significance of adolescents who would continue the adult work of reshaping the world, its values, aspirations, skills, and behaviors, over the coming decades.

Growth, Part Two: Select Works from the Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art focuses on representations and interpretations of social activity, celebrations, rituals, and work – showing aspects of human development from influences and contexts additional to school and family. Part Two builds upon Part One, which explored the family, school, and friendships, also portrayed from the perspective of children and adolescents. Themes in Part Two are reflected in the current Everett Cafe book display, What’s Your Story?, as well as in the Gottesman Libraries’ commissioned art, Let Me Think About It, a new Offit Gallery exhibit by Carina Maye – where storytelling is an educational and inspirational part of the human experience.

Growth: Select Works from the Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art is on display in three parts through the Fall of 2024. Growth is funded through the continuing generosity of the The Myers Foundations and is designed by Ashley Wang, Library Associate for Art and Design, in collaboration with Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian.

Where: First Floor

When: October 4 - November 25

Poster Image:  Chess Tournament in the Garden, by Raschid Mutakow, 1956, from the Ziegfeld Collection of International Children's Art, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.