At-Home Art Activities Inspired by “Dawoud Bey: An American Project” May 6, 2022

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Create your own art with these projects inspired by the exhibition Dawoud Bey: An American Project. Dawoud Bey received his first camera as a gift when he was 15, and he went on to become an influential photographer. Working mostly in portraiture, he portrays communities and histories that deserve greater representation.

Use the step-by-step activity guides and how-to videos below to get started. Want even more ideas? Visit the exhibition in person to see Bey’s photographs up close.

Art-Making Activity | Exploring Images in Black & White
Frame an image through your own lens, allowing your subjects to represent themselves.
• Activity Guide PDF

Art-Making Activity | Exploring and Striking a Pose!
Investigate modern and contemporary portraits and the art of posing in portraits. 
• Activity Guide PDF

Art-Making Activity | Exploring How Artists Shape Light in Photographic Portraits
Create a portrait of someone you know or admire, using light and shadows to enhance your work. 
• Activity Guide PDF

► Plan Your Visit
See Dawoud Bey: An American Project at the MFAH through Memorial Day, May 30. Tickets are included with general admission, which is free on Thursdays. Ages 12 & younger, and MFAH members, receive free general admission every day.

Family Programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive generous support from the Junior League of Houston, Inc.

Learning and Interpretation programs receive generous funding from the Jerold B. Katz Foundation; H-E-B; MD Anderson Cancer Center; Institute of Museum and Library Services; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; Sterling-Turner Foundation; Susan Vaughan Foundation; and additional generous donors.

All Learning and Interpretation programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive endowment funds provided by Louise Jarrett Moran Bequest; Caroline Wiess Law; Windgate Foundation; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Fondren Foundation; BMC Software, Inc.; the Wallace Foundation; the Neal Myers and Ken Black Children’s Art Fund; Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Ballard; Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Tate; the Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation; Virginia and Ira Jackson; the Favrot Fund; CFP Foundation; Neiman Marcus Youth Arts Education; gifts in memory of John Wynne; and gifts in honor of Beth Schneider.

“Dawoud Bey: An American Project” is co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Generous support provided by:
The African American Art Advisory Association (5A) at the MFAH
Krista and Michael Dumas
Merinda Watkins-Martin and Reginald Martin
Nancy Powell Moore
Joan Morgenstern