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Briana Zavadil White

Briana Zavadil White is the Head of Education at the National Portrait Gallery. The Education department serves the museum’s access, adult, teen, youth and family, and student and teacher audiences. Inquiry and object-based learning provide the foundation for education programs at the museum. By reading portraiture, the education team hopes visitors will look closely in order to spark meaning making and springboard into rich conversations about biography, history, and art.

Stories from this author

Theaster Gates, Ground rules. Free throw, 2015, wooden flooring, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2017.40, © 2015, Theaster Gates (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

How Art and Metaphor Help Students Unpack Complex Ideas

Smithsonian educators share how they frame artworks to explore complex ideas with students.