Hammer Classroom Partnership Program

Engage your class with artworks by contemporary L.A.-based artists while building students’ visual literacy and critical analysis skills through the Hammer Classroom Partnership Program. 

This year-long program provides participating 4th-12th grade Title I teachers in L.A. County with professional development and a classroom curriculum focused on leading culturally-sustaining dialogues about artworks that reflect the diverse voices and communities of Los Angeles. The program also includes two free field trips to the Hammer with transportation provided, giving students multiple opportunities to experience artworks in person, engage in conversations with UCLA student educators, and build familiarity with museum spaces. 

The Hammer Classroom Partnership Program expands on the teacher and student learning in the Hammer’s award winning Classroom-in-Residence program to connect more grade levels, teachers, and schools to the Hammer’s pedagogy, exhibitions, and collections.

"This PD is what I’ve been wanting to do. It’s given me guidance on how to effectively engage with art.”

“I felt so supported as a teacher and I can't wait to use all that I've learned.”

We are now recruiting 4th–12 grade teachers from Title I schools in L.A. County for the 2026-2027 school year! Applications are open until June 1, 2026.

Find the 2026–2027 Classroom Partnership Program Application here.

Download detailed information (PDF, 698KB) about Hammer Classroom Partnership Program.

Two Field trips: Teachers receive bus funding to bring students to the Hammer Museum for two field trips over the course of the school year. (1 Fall, 1 Spring)

Teacher Professional Development: Teachers attend a series of hands-on professional development workshops over the course of the year. In these sessions, teachers engage in a community of practice, learning and practicing the Hammer’s methodology for facilitating open-ended conversations about contemporary artworks in the classroom.

Hammer Collection Classroom Curriculum: Teachers learn and implement a classroom curriculum featuring artworks by diverse L.A.-based artists who explore contemporary social and cultural issues in their work. The curriculum also includes artmaking prompts (with a classroom art supply kit) that invite creative exploration of the themes and processes in the artwork.

Community Connection: Students and their communities receive special invites to Hammer programs for multigenerational audiences and engage with the Hammer and UCLA as a space for multigenerational gathering and learning.

Click here to explore the K-12 standards (PDF, 98KB) with which this program aligns.

Questions? Email academicprograms@hammer.ucla.edu to learn more.

Academic Programs at the Hammer Museum are supported by the Elizabeth Bixby Janeway Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, and the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Brotman Foundation of California, City National Bank, McCrea Foundation, Ellen & Teddy Schwarzman, Jay Meredith Stein & Josh Zwass, and friends of the Hammer Museum's Kids Art Museum Project (K.A.M.P.).