Art History: Modernisms Across Mediums (Online TF, 4 Sessions)
Adult Online TuitionFree | Registration opens Monday, July 13, 2026 8:00 AM EDT
This 4-part course looks at modern art through the lens of craft, examining how textiles, ceramics, metalwork, weaving, furniture, and other material practices shaped the development of modernism. Rather than focusing primarily on painting and sculpture, students will explore how makers, educators, and craft communities, including the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, transformed twentieth-century art and design.
We will ask how craft has challenged traditional artistic hierarchies, consider the role of women artists, and examine the exchange between Western modernism and other cultural traditions to create the global Modernisms we know today.
Sessions will cover:
- Craft and the Origins of Modernism (1880s–1930s)
- Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, and Craft Education
- Craft as Modern Art (1940s–1980s)
- Contemporary Craft and Global Perspectives
This is an online class hosted through Zoom. We recommend that you download the free Zoom application on your computer, phone, or tablet in advance of the first class. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the course via Zoom. The same link will be used each week.
Tuition-free classes require an active Fleisher membership.
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Linnea West
Linnea West is an educator with over a decade of experience working in art museums. As Associate Director of Public Programs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, she works with a team that organizes talks, artmaking, performance, and a variety of other programs for adult audiences. Previously, Linnea coordinated the Contemporary & Modern Art Perspectives (C-MAP) program at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, creating research opportunities for this global art history research initiative. She holds a Master's degree in Art History with Distinction from The University of Georgia, where she focused on modern and contemporary art. In addition, Linnea has been a Fulbright Fellow at the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, a freelance arts writer and blogger, and an independent curator. She enjoys taking ceramics classes at Fleisher in her spare time.