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Arts Education Celebrations Abound in March |
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A trifecta of nationwide celebrations makes March a big official month for highlighting the value of arts education for all children and encouraging public support for quality arts programs in schools. March is Music in Our Schools Month, Theatre in Our Schools Month, and Youth Art Month. MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH® (MIOSM): From a one-day celebration in New York State in 1973, this annual event created by the National Association for Music Education has become a nationwide month-long celebration of school music. Music teachers highlight their programs and the benefits of school music through events in locations from classrooms and concert halls to parks and shopping malls. The National Association for Music Education encompasses federated associations in every state, including the Missouri Music Educators Association. Prizewinning video by Dexter, MO school – As part of this year’s celebration, Southwest Elementary School in Dexter is being honored as one of only six schools in the country to receive a grant for their music program from the Give a Note Foundation and a celebration concert with a Radio Disney artist. To qualify for the third annual Music in Our Schools – Music Inspires Tour, schools shared short videos of students performing music that inspires them. Southwest got the gold with the 1st & 2nd Grade Honor Choir singing their school song about their 3R’s – Respectful, Responsible, Ready to Learn – with original lyrics by music teacher James Eldreth. THEATRE IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH (TIOS): For the past 20 years, students, educators, actors, musicians, administrators, and supporters have joined together to promote “theatre in our schools and schools in our theatres” during Theatre In Our Schools Month, under the auspices of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education and the Educational Theatre Association. TIOS Month features performances, classroom activities, student playwriting and video contests, and regional conferences to spread the word about theatre’s powerful effects on youth development. In Missouri, student theatre is championed by the Missouri State Thespians, which is affiliated with the Educational Theatre Association, and the Speech & Theatre Association of Missouri (STAM), whose membership includes not only theatre but speech, performance, debate, and communication studies. YOUTH ART MONTH (YAM): Festivities take place every year to celebrate visual arts for grades K–12. Youth Art Month links students, art educators, parents, librarians, leaders of youth organizations, and businesspeople across the country in student exhibitions, public artworks, art festivals, and school events. YAM was created in 1961 by the Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc. and the National Art Education Association, and is nationally overseen by the Council for Art Education, Inc., which includes representatives from these two founding organizations as well as several other groups. The Missouri Art Education Association celebrates YAM every year with a student exhibit in the Capitol Rotunda. This year’s exhibit is on display through March 24. |
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Pitfalls of Planning: Predictable Problems |
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“An effective planning process can bring with it many positive elements…but planning is both bitter and sweet,” says the classic Strategic Planning Toolkit by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Success will be much more likely if arts organizations go into the process already alert to these potholes along the path: Conflict: “Skeletons will jump out of their closets and suppressed complaints will rise to the surface….Planning presents a perfect opportunity to learn how to fold conflict resolution skills into your modus operandi.” Burnout: “Key participants report spending as much as 50 percent of their time on planning-related activities during peak periods—while still having to conduct the regular business of the agency.” Turnover: “The organization may discover that the set of skills, attitudes and programs it now has will not meet the demands of its new direction.” Rumor mills: “Have mechanisms in place to communicate the relevant results of planning to key stakeholders at all appropriate moments via tools such as internal memos, distribution of meeting minutes, staff meetings and individual debriefings.” Frustration: “You can expect to move two steps forward and one step back—or one step forward and two steps back! Remaining adaptable throughout the process will help reduce your level of frustration.” Paralysis: “Because planning will encourage serious reexamination of current programs, be prepared for a stalling effect….Avoid paralysis by beginning to implement some actions during planning, before everything has been resolved and committed to paper.” Raised expectations: “As you begin to talk to stakeholders about your dreams and aspirations, visions of sugarplums may dance in their heads….When you have your sense of focus and priorities well defined, broadcast them widely and clearly.” Lack of resources: “One of the ironies of planning is that it can cause as many problems as it solves. Once your plan is in place, it is highly likely to require additional resources. This is when a strong sense of focus is necessary.” Although the Strategic Planning Toolkit has a special focus on state arts agencies, most of this practical hands-on kit is equally geared to other cultural organizations. There are tips on keeping the plan alive, self-evaluation checklists, lists of additional resources, and much more. |
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Numbers, Stories, Galleries |
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The arts pumped $704.2 billion into the U.S. economy in 2013 – and that’s just the headliner of the new 15-year look at the arts’ economic power by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. When the deadline for our FY17 annual grants struck at midnight March 1, we had 374 applications. That’s up 4% from last year. Arts education accounted for 27 applications, up 12%. This makes us happy – we live to fund! For how-to details on all our grants, check our granting website. Creative Exchange is a national platform sharing stories of artists working in community, plus toolkits for projects that make change happen. The newest kit: the 12-part workbook and video series Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists. The most popular fictional characters in all 50 states. Can you guess Missouri’s before clicking on the map? Explore highlights of a trove of civic public art. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that oversees federal buildings, is the steward of 1,000 murals and sculptures nationwide, as well as 23,000 artworks from the New Deal era. Online galleries range from Art in Federal Courthouses to Out of Sight! – artworks in secretive spots like the CIA.
A few recent chapters in the ongoing adventure of how art museums are responding to life in the digital age.
Speaking of the digital age – happy birthday, www! As the Web turns 27 on March 12, we contemplate 36 ways it has changed the world. Photo: A potter plies her craft at Chautauqua in the Park, the two-day festival produced every fall since 1985 in the city of Chillicothe’s Simpson Memorial Park by the Chillicothe Area Arts Council. The festival is one of the many arts events, programs, and organizations that won Chillicothe the Creative Community honor of our 2016 Missouri Arts Awards. An edited video of the ceremony is now online. Enjoy the inspiring remarks by all the honorees as well as by NEA Chairman Jane Chu, First Lady Georganne Wheeler Nixon, and Department of Economic Development Director Mike Downing. |
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The arts reflect profoundly the most democratic credo, the belief in an individual vision or voice. Wendy Wasserstein |
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| Congratulations to Poetry Out Loud Regional Champions |
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