High Museum Institute for Teaching with Art
Monday, July 27–Friday, July 31, 2026 | 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Location: High Museum of Art
Registration Required
The High Museum Institute for Teaching with Art (MITA) is a weeklong professional development program that offers a cohort of museum educators intensive study and practicum in teaching with art. This application-based program is organized around two key values—growth through inquiry and connection to self, others, and the wider world, providing powerful opportunities for people to see and think together about works of art.
MITA is open to anyone who is employed full time as a museum educator in a museum that presents visual art, with preference given to applicants with five to eight years of experience. MITA is an intentionally intimate, cohort-based experience: No more than 15 people will be accepted.
The deadline for applications is March 6, 2026. Applicants will be notified by March 23.
Curriculum:
- discussing the theory and practice of gallery learning and engagement;
- tracing the literature and history of teaching in American art museums;
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studying original works of art on display at the High Museum of Art;
- engaging multiple teaching strategies, including art historical discussions, movement, and art making.
During an average day, participants will experience:
- readings and group discussions;
- individual reflection and small group practice;
- scaffolded guidance on teaching preparation and implementation;
- in-gallery exercises and teaching demonstrations;
- development of individual teaching philosophies and techniques.
Over the course of this weeklong intensive, MITA participants will expand their knowledge of museum education as a discipline, deepen their practice with peers, and articulate their individual teaching philosophies. Upon successful completion, they will receive MITA certification and be positioned to excel as leaders in arts-based learning and civic engagement.
Program Fee:
There is no application fee. Once accepted, confirmed participants must pay the $250 program fee by May 1 to secure their spot. Snacks and water will be provided each day, with lunch provided Monday and Friday. Travel, lodging, and transportation to and from the museum are the participants’ own responsibility.
Organizers:
MITA is organized by Andrew Westover, PhD, Eleanor McDonald Storza Deputy Director for Learning and Civic Engagement at the High, in conjunction with two key staff: Laurel Humble, Associate Director, Lifelong Learning and Accessibility, and Kate McLeod, Assistant Director, Education. Together, the three hold over fifty years of experience teaching and facilitating learning experiences in art museums.
MITA will take place from July 27 to July 31, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants must take part in the entire program. If you cannot attend in full, please consider applying for a future year instead.
MITA Testimonials
“My experience as part of the 2025 MITA cohort was transformational. If you are considering applying, do it! Each hour of the weeklong intensive was thoughtfully designed to challenge and inspire us to consider how we want to contribute to museums as spaces for social good. MITA continues to shape my leadership and vision at my institution, especially as I mentor a team of college students in gallery teaching. I keep my MITA binder next to me on my desk as a reminder of the knowledge, friendships, and dreams that I gained during the week. I am deeply grateful to the High’s team for making this experience possible for educators.”
“As a newcomer to the field, MITA was an invaluable accelerator! Participating built my toolkit, skills, and confidence as a gallery teacher thanks to intentional program design on the part of the High Museum team. It challenged me to put a stake in the ground on my teaching philosophy and style—and equipped me to answer that challenge through readings and discussion, observation and case studies, practice and feedback. I left my week in Atlanta fired up and full of joy. And I can’t say enough about my fellow cohort members. I have new mentors and friends from this brilliant and funny bunch of educators.”
“My time participating in the Museum Institute for Teaching with Art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta was truly transformative. Five days of rich, deep, grappling with the practice of gallery teaching with a cohort of educators from institutions across the country made me a better educator. It also helped me develop a more succinct vocabulary and theory around my practice of gallery teaching and my work at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. Often, I’ve found myself confident to teach in the gallery but have struggled to find the language and vocabulary to describe the choices, techniques, and tactics I’m using to adapt to the audience I’m working with. MITA was an opportunity to return to fundamentals like VTS, Project Zero, Constructivism, and Discussion-based pedagogy whilst updating and enhancing the capability to decode what often occurs instinctively for me as an educator. As an educator working in the field for just over a decade, this experience allowed me to solidify my teaching foundations, develop new techniques, and learn from a cohort teaching with vastly different audiences and museum interests. This was possible because of the wholesome balance between teaching observations and debriefs, theoretical discussions, and practical teaching. Taught and facilitated by museum educators at the top of their respective games, I highly recommend MITA for those looking to grow their teaching practice or enhance their already existing toolbox.”
“The High Museum Institute for Teaching with Art (MITA) reinvigorated my approach to teaching in an art museum. The expertise of the High’s museum educators combined with the program content and cohort model provided a rich learning environment that fostered personal reflection, a curious mindset, and professional growth. I left the program feeling stimulated by fresh perspectives and inspired to apply new strategies into my gallery teaching practice.”
“Two things were top of mind when I applied for the MITA at the High Museum: first, my deep interest in art and contemplation and, second, my desire to learn more about museum education and my fledgling identity as a museum educator. I had recently departed a tenured professorship to pursue theological education and was looking for ways to more clearly articulate and refine my new public-facing teaching practice, which centered art, community, and spiritual care. MITA was exactly what I needed. As a participant, I was brought into a vibrant community of museum educators who hailed from various arts and cultural institutions around the country. We studied together, enjoyed art and the city of Atlanta together, and learned together from MITA’s top-tier teaching faculty. And as all of this happened, we were encouraged to think deeply about our personal teaching practice and how it could ultimately serve our institutions, communities, and our personal need for beauty and self-inquiry. MITA was and remains one of the most important opportunities of my professional and personal life.”