levi strauss: a history of style
Gary Sexton Photography
During this unprecedented school year, our online space is open and packed with distance learning resources and programming for teachers and parents to use. Our offerings include free, live virtual tours for K–12 students; short videos related to our exhibitions and curriculum; teacher resource guides; and educator learning opportunities. Explore all of our current resources, including videos, curricula, tour bookings, and art-making projects, below. We will continue to add new resources throughout the year, so be sure to check back for updates—or stay in the loop on the latest resources and updates by signing up for our mailing list below.
For questions or more information, email tours@thecjm.org or schools@thecjm.org to be in touch!
Schedule a CJM educator–led virtual tour for your classroom! Tours are free of charge for Bay Area schools, and are held via Zoom or another online video platform of your choice. Tours are available for our current exhibitions, in addition to our Holocaust and Resistance and Adventures in Architecture programs, and are forty-five minutes long. Advanced reservation is required.
Teacher resource guides connect students to current and past CJM exhibitions, and provide insight into art, history, and culture for various ages and learning modalities. These resources are suitable for homeschooling and follow California curricular standards.
Using the invention of the blue jean as a lens through which to view nineteenth- and twentieth-century America, this exhibition follows Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss’s journey from Bavaria to California and the popularization of blue jeans into the present. Our educational resources for the exhibition, including short videos, a teacher resource guide, and a guided art-making project, explore the history of San Francisco through primary source material.
Photographer Stephen Berkman, fascinated by Victorian culture and technology, works with early photography tools to create intriguing installations that challenge our ideas of past, present, and future. Merging art, science, and magic, this exhibition’s mysterious photographs explore both Jewish life and the state of scientific understanding over 100 years ago.
The CJM is housed at the site of a former power station, originally built in 1881, that survived the 1906 earthquake and went on to power San Francisco back to life. Architect Daniel Libeskind built upon this foundation using whimsical angles and hidden Jewish symbols to create an intentional space that houses contemporary art, culture, and ideas. Today, the history and purpose of the old substation has been recharged with the art of contemporary life.
Bearing witness to the Holocaust through primary source material, including live survivor testimony, is vital. As global citizens, it is our duty to recognize the dangers of bigotry, unchecked hatred, and racism, and to connect the lessons of the past to our choices today.
The Teen Art Connect (TAC) Squad is a teen meet-up group that gives teens a behind-the-scenes look at a world-class museum and access to artist-led programs. The TAC Squad offers many virtual programs for teens this year, including virtual studio visits with artists and art-making sessions. All teens are welcome to join.
Teens are also invited to participate in this year’s online audio exhibition What We Hold. The program includes attending expert-led workshops on storytelling, interview skills, and audio editing through the fall, after which teens will record and submit their own work in December. Check out last year's exhibition here and email teens@thecjm.org if you’re interested in participating.
School and Teacher Programs are made possible by generous support from the Jim Joseph Foundation, The Bavar Family Foundation, California Arts Council, The Ullendorff Memorial Foundation, and Toole Family Charitable Foundation.