Jaime West is naturally curious, so opening a random envelope that was not addressed to her was not unusual. What she found inside was a stack of pictures and a letter that ended with a simple message, If you are interested in the complete collection of my 35 year’s experience teaching art history in high school, please contact me at the number above.

Karan Nemser, a retired art history teacher from New York City, had spent 35 years curating a collection of materials and she wanted to pass on that legacy of art education. West, who carries a deep passion for all things art related, reached out. “I happened to be the only teacher to call back at the right time because she had just gotten sick, so I told her I would go get it,” West said.

The materials include ten large looseleaf binders of art history information including a course curriculum and two slide projectors that West had to learn to use. “After teaching Art History for 30 plus years, and pouring my heart and soul into my lesson plans, tests, term papers, homework assignments, art projects, and of course, into my wonderful AP Art History students, I could not see my life’s work just stored in my closet collecting dust after I retired from teaching. I had to ‘Pay It Forward’ and share this material so other teachers and students would benefit from my years of experience,” Nemser said.

For West, who has only taught Advanced Placement Art History twice, the binders, projects, lesson plans, assignments, and physical slides she received will allow her to elevate her students’ experiences in class as she guides their artistic journeys. “A lot of students aren’t exposed to art history in a formal setting, but we are exposed to art every day without realizing it. Artists have always had to study the past to innovate the future,” West said.

With Nemser’s passion for art history and West’s hope to create an inclusive classroom, West ensures her students are welcome to follow their dreams without prejudice, the same way art is meant to be expressed in any form. Having lacked that initial support for her own artistic dream, she understands the significance of encouragement.

“I’ve been there where students don’t feel accepted; this is meant to be a safe space, not one that makes anyone feel like they’re in prison,” she said. “I prefer to support nearly anything my students do, as long as it is safe for them.”

Having created that safe space within her class through a shared love of art, West’s students, like club co-president Vincent Alvarez, have helped with digitizing the material to Nemser’s history across the country, connecting students through art but also through community. “Everyone’s welcome here. It’s a non judgmental space. Ms. West has even defended me when people have been transphobic. She’s just really supportive.” Vincent said.

“Art and history in general are always changing because you discover what was hidden or left out,” West said. “Not everything has been recorded or deemed worthy, so it has been difficult, but it’s possible with time. Although it is a little daunting, I think it’s inspiring to see the shift in how we talk about art history and what has been included. Updating everything is really innovating to me.”

After all, had she not taken the decades’ worth of materials, history would have been thrown away. And in history, moving forward requires looking back. As art constantly evolves, keeping the ties between the past and the present is a step worth taking.

“Art builds on itself,” West explained. “You never have to ask, ‘If someone has already done it, what is the point?’ If someone didn’t do it first, you never would’ve known you could do it too. That’s why the past is something we have to look at.”

By Nemser sharing her extensive experience, and West modernizing it, two passionate art educators are engaging in the very process of art history itself. Like teaching, creativity and art are a forever-evolving story reminding us of the past.