Post #8: Final Seminar Project Write-Up and Documentation

My final seminar project offers a practical application of GIS technology toward exploration-based field trips. This idea is a build upon my previous post about annotating Google Maps. Field trips factor into the curriculum of many art classes at LaGuardia. In my hybrid-online section of Introduction to Art, we regularly take class trips to the gallery districts of Chelsea and Lower East Side. These areas represent the economic marketplace of New York City's contemporary art world. Each of these districts has its own geographic idiosyncrasies. The Lower East Side offers a sprawling collection of galleries tucked between old tenement buildings and a head-scratching array of commercial enterprises (laundromats, printing presses, fish markets, etc...). Just in case the layout of the area wasn't confusing enough, all of the streets are named, not numbered. Chelsea, on the other hand, is laid out on a numbered grid, with most galleries neatly-stacked between 10th & 11th Ave. However, there are over 220 galleries packed within a stretch of 13 blocks! Many of these galleries are ground-level spaces, but many more occupy the upper floors of mixed-use buildings.

 Map of the Lower East Side including all 109 galleries listed as of 2014

Map of Chelsea including all 223 galleries listed as of 2013

As intimidating as the art market may appear to outsiders, I have tried to remove "getting lost in the neighborhood" from the list of obstacles and impediments for my students. One past solution has been to give students a list of a "Recommended Galleries" like the one below. This handout lists locations and exhibition information for select galleries that I have vetted before the trip. My recommendations are intended to help guide students who need an extra push, and they serve as places for any student to check-in with me when they have questions. Otherwise, I generally like to keep the parameters for these trips fairly open. I want to give students the ability to explore whichever galleries they choose and discover work that truly speaks to their own aesthetic interests. Students tend to splinter into small groups on these trips, and I am often impressed by the scope of work that they discover together.

Handouts listing recommended galleries served as a partial solution for orienting students in unfamiliar areas

As helpful as my "Recommended Galleries" handout may be for students who need a starting point, it does not offer a substantial solution to the problem of spatial orientation in these potentially unfamiliar and confusing neighborhoods. My work with GIS technology in this seminar has opened the possibility to create customized maps to share with my students. In Google Maps, I was able to use the "My Places" function to annotate a map of recommended galleries. My annotations can include helpful information such as images of what's on view, information about the gallery and where and when students can check-in to find me during the trip. I can even color-code the gallery locations to designate separate tiers of recommendation. Most-importantly, students can access all of this information on the trip, from their smartphones, in real time. If students start wandering into galleries off of the suggested path, they can easily observe their current GPS location in relation to the other points on the map.

Annotated map with "Recommended Galleries" list

Annotated map showing additional information for each gallery, including exhibition information and images of what's on view

Once the field trip is over, the galleries and exhibitions become discussion points for reaction essays on the students' blogs. One further prospect for GIS technology is that students can create and annotate their own maps to include in their blog posts. By creating these digital artifacts, students are able to connect experiences to locations and set the groundwork for future exploration. The maps can also become repositories for images from the trip, including locations, artworks and the increasingly-ubiquitous "artwork selfie." 

Example of an annotated student map outlining where they visited

Some field trip images and "artwork selfies" taken by students. These artifacts can be included within map annotations to further illustrate and catalog students' experiences