Abaigeal Duda: a-duda.com

Argentine Tango footwork
Tango Performance

Friends, Family, Pets

Abaigeal offers more than 10 years of experience in creative educational instruction. Her approach is lively, engaging, and interactive. Currently, she is completing her Ph.D. thesis at Boston University. (See Current Research)

Abaigeal's background includes many years at such prestigious organizations as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she contributed as an author of American Folk, an exhibition companion publication. For three years, she taught art history courses at Berklee College of Music.

In January, 2004, Abaigeal began working for a partnership program, Salem in History, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The job description stipulated that the position must be filled by a "master teacher" who is able to share a broad range of educational expertise. In addition to designing lessons and working directly with students, Abaigeal offered skill-building workshops for teachers in the Salem area to help improve their lessons and classroom performance.

View two of Abaigeal's projects for Salem in History: an Educators' Guide for the American Collections at the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem in History website.

In 1998, Abaigeal began studying Argentine Tango and has danced and performed locally and internationally. In 2001, she began sharing her love of tango with others through instruction that focuses on controlled movement and spontaneous expression.

Giving back to the community was a feature of Abaigeal's childhood through her parents' many contributions, and it has been part of her commitment to excellence and service to others. Proceeds from her performances, instruction, and merchandise designs associated with tango support charitable causes. In addition, she volunteers her time to non-profit organizations. On the North Shore, she served as a mentor for Lynn-based organization, RAW Art Works, a youth arts organization with their "Project Launch" that helps high school juniors and seniors plan their future and apply for college. In 2007, she was asked to take over production of a documentary/oral history of immigration on the North Shore for the MAC (Museum Action Corps) program for 16-21 year olds at the Peabody Essex Museum.

**Sample Work (Downloads/Streaming):**
Old Places, New Faces: Immigrant Experiences Shaping Boston’s North Shore *About the Film* (2007-8) This is the MAC project that I am currently supervising. The film will premiere at the Peabody Essex Museum on 26 January 2008.
Free! Salem Women and Abolition (streaming video, 2006) Several women from Salem promoted abolition by leading efforts to obtain freedom, rights, and material well-being for African-American. Art historian Abaigeal Duda discusses how this inter-racial progress culminated in a movement that writer and artist Lucy Cleveland (1780-1866) concisely captured with the pronouncement, Free!
*Native Encampment at Salem* (2006) Sample from the Object Guide for Educators that I created for the Peabody Essex Museum’s American Collections. The website includes objects, architecture, and suggested documents, and each object guide features historical and art historical context, suggested guiding questions, and correlated Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
*Itinerary, Salem* in History Summer Institute** (2006) This is the itinerary that I produced for the 5-day summer program for preK-12 teachers.
“Salem’s Friendship” (2006) Articles that I wrote for Calliope, a magazine for children ages 9-14 and for teachers. Article titles included: "Economy of the Spice Trade" "Salem's Friendship" "What is a Logbook?" "Life on Board" "The Friendship Replica Today" "Meet Friendship's Newest Team"
*About SALEM* in History** (2004-2006) In-depth description of program that I co-organized and for which I served as a researcher and musuem educator
“An Historic Legacy Revealed” (2006) Advertisement for a lecture on the abolitionist family, the Remonds. I organized this group presentation and was one of the speakers. The following year (2007), I offered a related lecture on Salem Women and Abolition that was included in the WGBH on-line forum
“Objects and the Classroom: Learning through PEM Collections” (2005) Co-written article that discusses SALEM in History and object-based learning
“The Little House Schools Students Visit…” (2002) A newsletter article that I wrote for the Forest Hills Educational Trust (a nonprofit organization associated with Jamaica Plain’s historic Forest Hills Cemetery). This multi-visit program was done in partnership with the Little House Alternative School in Dorchester, MA.
*Pelican Feeding Her Young* (2001) Sample object entry that I wrote for the MFA exhibition catalog, American Folk