This second symposium was titled ‘The Practice and Prospects of Arts Education for Societies-in-Crisis’, and took place from June 27-30, 2005 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus, Trinidad & Tobago.  See recommendations of the symposium here – Arts Education Symposium 2005.

“Over the past decade, 24/7 connectivity has become reality. Living in (Shifting between) real and virtual time/space is oxymoronically natural in our lives. Technological breakthroughs enable us to be connected to each other and to address our needs and desires immediately with often a device as large as your or my hand. Often most coveted devices such as an IPhone, Alessi household appliances, and HP minibooks designed by Vivienne Tam and Tord Boontje infuse high functionality with sleek visual design, making visible an individual’s desired identity.”

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scouting venues in South, West Augusta, and Columbia County to host jazz concerts and … classic jazz festival, maybe?

By Laurie T. Schell, Executive Director, California Alliance for Arts Education

This year, it’s hard to find a news story about the holidays that is not also an account of shrinking resources and making do with less. Despite signs of improvement in the U.S. economy, the landscape is still littered with pink slips, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Against that backdrop, it is easy to understand why people tend to focus on their own interests. A sense of generosity and community-mindedness can seem like things that we cannot ‘afford.’

In the months ahead, we cannot afford not to stand together. With a state budget shortfall, hard-won arts education programs now face major cuts. Narrow agendas and self-interests will have to be set aside to build a broad base of support.  Los Angeles Unified, the second largest school district in the country and the largest in this state, has issued a preliminary budget proposal to cut 50% percent of its elementary arts teachers, 173 of 345 teachers, in 2010-11 and the remaining 50% in the following year. This program has been built over ten years with the full support of the school board and administration. I don’t believe the superintendent wants to make these cuts, but times are dire indeed. That’s why the community must make some noise, show they care, to demonstrate they know that a quality education include the arts. Other school districts are watching, other states are watching, the media is watching to see if the public is willing to fight for quality education.

Arts for LA is spearheading an advocacy campaign to protest the cuts by engaging parents, teachers, artists, and community members to stand and be heard. The California Alliance and other regional and local organizations are lending support to the effort. With the support of the Alliance, similar coalitions are forming in 20 communities across the state. Together, we are working to protect arts education from budget cuts like the ones proposed by LAUSD. Get in touch with us and get involved in your community.

History is replete with examples of generosity and courage during desperate times. The accomplishments of the California Alliance and similar grassroots organizations have been due largely to these types of coalition-building cross-sector approaches and a personal commitment to action. Every success is built on a series of small steps. And oftentimes against all odds, the outcomes are surprising and uplifting. We invite you to take part in the action. Now is the time.

For more information on the Los Angeles Unified campaign, go to www.artsforla.org/groups/lausd

My new book, Improv Games for 1 Player was just released by GIA Publications. About half of the content is taken from the big book (354 p.), Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians (also GIA) and half is new material that I have collected or invented since the publication of the big book two years ago. The great thing about the big book is its vast content. The problem with the big book is its vast content – it’s not very portable. This volume is much slimmer (56 p.) and should fit easily in any instrumental case.

The main purpose for this book is to enliven the instrumentalist’s daily routine, both musical and technical. The good thing about routines is that it gets things done: a warm-up routine is a set content that is meant to be played the same way every day. The dangerous thing about a routine is that it can become boring; the mind can go to sleep. Also, the way we’ve all been trained, we’re not accustomed to adjusting the routine – we play the set sequence no matter how our chops are today, no matter what our needs are. Life is not really like that. Things change. Times change. Chops change. We are a little different every day, every time we play the horn. Flexibility is a great musical virtue that is not normally built into a classical player’s approach to technique. This book is meant to do something about that by offering a variety of ways to do the same stuff we always do, i.e. scales,  arpeggios, and other elements of basic technique. What this book (and the big book, as well as the two other books in this series that will be coming out next year) does is to add the rather scary addition of thought to routine. Instead of mindless repetition (which is always accompanied by hope or belief that sheer repetition is sufficient) of the same old stuff, these games challenge you in a friendly way to “think in music”. A good analogy would be the difference between memorizing a bunch of Berlitz phrases of a foreign language and hoping to have an opportunity to parrot them and being able to speak (even at a very basic level) a language, i.e. being able to improvise in it to be able to express something and communicate with it.

So the book, rather than being a written-out list of octave scales that you play as is, ad infinitum (or ad nauseum), has in fact no music notation in it at all, but rather challenges you get off the page and use the technical material in a musical context. For instance, instead of just playing arpeggio notes up-and-back, you will be challenge to recast the material (e.g. major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc. arpeggios) as a fanfare. Or to play a familiar tune by ear, and then use it to train your ear and extend your instrumental knowledge of keys & chords, melodies and bass lines. It’s great fun, and hard to stop once you get going (get past the reaction inculcated by classical training of “Oh dear I’ve never done anything like this I’m afraid, I might make a mistake!”).

Thinking is so much fun and so terrifically beneficial that it’s a wonder that it’s not part of our classical training. But the classical training paradigm rigidly keeps performance, theory, history, and composition all separate (with the possible exception of piano/pianists). This book puts them all together and adds another dimension normally forbidden to classical musicians: fun.

Music isn’t supposed to be fun, is it? Music is serious!

When we think about it, it becomes clear that we don’t know how to “play” our instruments. We only serious them.

But that’s a topic for another post.

I just wanted to let you know what’s out there, in case you’re one of the few who is interested in peeking outside the box at the wonders that await the curious and the broad-minded…

PSA-Linds

Artist’s Statement- PSA

I chose to address the issue of insufficient arts education in the schools in my public service announcement. I am passionate about arts and learning so this topic interested me. It is my hope that this piece will bring its audience to realize and address the issue of insufficient arts education in the schools.

My goal is not to demand that people hear me and follow out my plans, but rather, that they will be inspired and motivated by the piece and use my creative prompting to formulate their own ideas about advancing arts education in their localities.

My intended audience is mainly parents of children who are engaged in primary education. My audience will hopefully include school board members and invested parents who are committed to ensuring the best possible education for their children. I also think, as a byproduct, it would be beneficial if students heard this and it got them thinking about, and maybe even excited about, the arts in their schools.

I utilize music and children’s voices in this piece, in an attempt to strike an emotional cord in my listeners. The music I chose is Fur Elise, by Beethoven, which adds credibility to the piece as well as an element of ethos. For those who are more hesitant to embrace the import of arts education, I added information about the positive effect that arts education has on the more “credible” or “traditional” subjects, and even on the emotional and neurological well being of the child. I included statistics and research to give the piece authority and accuracy in an appeal to logos.

In a PSA, a few well-placed words are insufficient; they also must be technically accurate. Your listener has to be convinced that what you are saying is worth listening to, and then you have to motivate them to actually do something about it. And it is not just about the words. Music and/or sound effects are almost always used, and they cannot just add interest, they have to add relevant interest and enhance the piece rather than unintentionally distract the listener, clutter up the piece, or drown out the speech.

During the recording process, some technicalities must be adhered to. The tone of voice needs to be appropriate for the subject material, the room cannot be echoey, the mouth needs to be the correct distance from the microphone so there are not any awkward sound variations, the cadence of the speech should be correct, the speech at once should not be too rushed or drag along and every word requires the correct emphasis. All of these things will invariably require several recording attempts before the optimum resolution is achieved. For my PSA, I began recording in a monotone, but I quickly realized that neither my voice nor the material I was addressing leant themselves to that approach. Putting inflection, emotion, and authority into my voice resulted in the correct tone for the piece.

The editing and layering of sounds is the most difficult aspect of composing a PSA. Audio-editing programs are confusing, do not exactly work 100% like they should, and randomly delete your projects. Every track must be edited to perfection separately and then layered together and aligned correctly with the other tracks. It also needs to be taken into consideration that the tracks may sound different on different speakers or headphones.

Working out the technicalities of a PSA to the optimum resolution is the most difficult part. The most meaningful aspect is definitely the subject matter. Anytime an author is passionate about something and invested in her subject, the composition is rarely a complete failure. One of the most rewarding parts of composing this piece for me was being able to incorporate music and words, evoking both the logical and the emotional.

As far as my own PSA, achieving cohesiveness through the technical aesthetics of the piece was the most difficult and frustrating part of the process. My peers and professor listened to my rough drafts several times and gave me many helpful tips and suggestions. Editing is just as crucial for a PSA as for any other kind of writing, if not more so. Other people will always notice things that I overlook, and it gives me an idea of how my intended audience will receive my PSA and if it will get my message across the way I want it to. In the end, I was able to iron out the technical aspects as I became more comfortable working with the audio editing software, and I ultimately achieved a concise and effective script, resulting in a fluid audio composition.

Another point of my PSA that required much revision and outside input was the script. I began with way too much information. It was bulky, confusing, and going in several different directions. In the end, I learned that less is often more- more easy to understand, keep the audience’s attention, and get the point across. Even after paring down the script, there were parts of the script that were actually offensive and politically incorrect (i.e., calling underprivileged children “unreachable”). This was not something I realized, and I am thankful that my peers were able to see this and point it out to me.

I think my PSA would be well suited for a distribution channel such as NPR, or another similar radio station.

Reading another article about cuts looming for school arts programs. This one is from Connie Llanos, a staff writer at the Daily Bulletin. “I went through 10 years of receiving pink slips every year before the district decided to make arts a priority,” said music teacher Linda Mouradian, a 31-year LAUSD veteran. “Now we’ve finally brought this joy back … and here we go again back on the chopping block.”

This is a sad state of affairs. Not only are school arts programs on the chopping block, but it’s clear that the importance of the arts is still taking a back seat to other ‘more important’ subjects. Creativity will be just as, if not more important, than any other ’skill set.’ As more and more jobs will be outsourced, we need to nurture those skills that can’t be easily passed off to others. The creative mind is priceless and invaluable in not only the world of business, but in all ventures. Daniel Pink describes it eloquently in his book, ‘A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future.’ It’s a fantastic read.

We can only hope that it’s basic premise permeates the minds of the decision makers as they sharpen their cleavers for the increasing cuts laid out on the butcher’s blocks.

Here’s a New York Times article about Obama’s recent focus on the arts and arts education.

Am I the only one or is the Americans for the Arts raisin Brahms PSA driving you insane? Enough already! It’s time for a new PSA folks. Please!

Remarks for the Arts Education Honor Societies Induction Ceremony at Northwood High School, December 7, 2009…

I’m very excited to be here tonight to celebrate your achievements as well as the establishment of honor societies at Northwood for all four of our arts disciplines!  That makes this is something of a commencement for you and Northwood as well

So, whether it’s the season of the year or the nature of the event, I thought I’d to spend a few minutes focusing on

Reflection & Anticipation:
Not a Lesson from 3 Spirits, but 3 Lessons from 1 Spirit

About 10 years ago, I read an article about a friend of mine. His life had taken a circuitous route to his present position as a pediatric anesthesiologist. The article included an 1843 quote from the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard that has turned out to be signifcant for me and I think can be for you as well.

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Keeping that in mind, I have 3 quick recommendations for you.

1) Get the best book I’ve read all year—The Element by Sir Ken Robinson. Robinson received his PhD from the University of London, led the Arts in Schools Project to improve teaching of the arts, chaired the National Advisory Committee on Creative & Cultural Education, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2003. He has served as an advisor to groups as diverse as the Royal Shakespeare Company, IBM, The Girl Scouts of America and the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation.  You can download his book at iTunes or at Audible.com. [I recommend the audiobook, because he's a great storyteller and very funny.]  Or go listen to his presentation at TED  [www.ted.com] called Do Schools Kill Creativity?

The subtitle of The Element is How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. For Robinson, “the Element” is finding the place where the things you are good at intersect with the things you love to do. We are here tonight celebrating achievements and aptitudes you have already displayed.  But only you know if music or dance or visual arts or theatre are things for which you have a passion. Robinson’s book recounts stories of lots of very successful people—artists, authors, economists, musicians—some of whom were great students. Others spent years recovering from their academic experience before finding success. They reflect on those moments of epiphany when they discovered the intersection of their aptitude and their passion.

2) Identify, Create & Participate in Significant Traditions

Traditions—personal, family, religious, social, academic, & professional surround us.

We are here in the midst of an environment full of traditions—the academic calendar, football weekends [i.e., marching band season], holiday concerts, exams. I’ve spent more than 30 years on campus and the traditions are one of the reasons why.  Tonight we start a new one here. And you’ll always be a part of this very first year when Northwood began Honor Societies in all the arts disciplines.

Traditions are made for reflection and anticipation. They are benchmarks. Traditions make you a time traveler—connecting with people and events long past and to those yet to come.  Traditions provide an invitation and a medium to interact and to bond with another essential—community.

3) Recognize the Value of Community

When you are “in your element,” you will find opportunities to make connections with people who share your passions and talents. Traditions offer a mechanism to make these new connections and to share ideas and events of significance.  Community can provide validation that you are on the right path, a sounding board for ideas, a helping hand for initiatives, support with problems, and opportunities for service and achievement that single individuals can never realize alone.

Each year, this first weekend of December is a kind culmination of all these things in my life. I am celebrating 26 years as a member of the Duke Chapel Choir and 78 performances of Messiah with 100 closest friends. Connections with new world-class performers. Music and art and performing—the beginning of the holiday season. Grand traditions and silly personal ones. During Messiah week I travel to Duke for rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday. And then back for performances Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’m quite fond of Dickens’ Christmas Carol in its many  incarnations. I listen to two particular ones on my trips to Duke this time of year. I practice my diction with Patrick Stewart’s exquisit rendition from his one-man Broadway production. And I warm up with Paul Williams’ music from Muppet Christmas Carol--a tradition i began when my kids were small [or at least that's the excuse I use].

It turns out Dickens published Christmas Carol in 1843. So the same year Kierkegard was in Denmark talking about living life forwards and making sense of it by looking backwards, Ebenezer Scrooge was in England being visited by 3 ghosts. And vicariouly through him, even today, we all have the opportunity to reflect and anticipate the possibilities ahead.

Congratulations, happy holidays, and thank you for letting me be part of your community.

Seems like this should be above the line, not below it.

“So, Rachel, you’re an actress, but studied art and art history? How do you go from one to the other?’

Huh? No, seriously, HUH?

I can only speak for myself, but I was under the impression that acting is an art form? Am I wrong? Growing up, our teachers told us that singing, dancing, drama, and drawing were all considered different forms of art. Right? The expression of thoughts, emotions … the conveying and sharing of stories … tapping into a feeling and releasing it through sound, performance, color … all art?

My focus has always been visual art (but I loved performing at school too). I used to draw comics. I loved creating characters and placing them in different situations from beginning to end. I wanted to tell the whole story through … like I do with acting. The only difference is that I’m not using a pencil to tell a story. I am using my voice, my being. I am the pencil and paper. As a child, I would go to the Met and look at the 17th century portraits and I wondered – Who are they? Where do they live? How do they live?

Eventually, I ended up at SVA (found “my kind”) and learned how to paint (I also took acting classes). I focused on portraits and minored in art education. Basically, I just wanted to live a life of communicating through art.

I live in LA now, where I get this question the most. You see, I think the question is so odd for me because I don’t equate the art of performance with the perception of “Hollywood” … and I think that’s where the line gets very blurred. Right there. I think that’s the core of the question. OK … yes, there are many actors who pursue it for Hollywood stardom. I’ve met some (not too many because I don’t attract them) but, yes, they are here. However, HOW … ever … there are many actors who really enjoy the craft. They are here too in the same grind digging deep into their psychology to find the motivation behind their subject’s actions. Unfortunately, we don’t hear much about them. In today’s world (I sound 80 yrs old) who wants to hear about someone who studies and isn’t a train wreck?

(BORING)

But it exists, folks. It does. I promise. Yes, even in LA. They are here.

So to answer that question, what can I say, for me acting is a natural transgression from my already existing fascination with how artists depict the lives of others … like we see in portraiture.

(YAWN)

I even incorporate acting into my lesson plans. We talk about the subjects. We re-enact the story …

How does Manet and Picasso’s use of color create the mood for these paintings?

What is this man about to say? What voice would you give him? Where do you think he is?

Describe the way the women are seated? How are they the same? How are they different?

What do you think just happened? What is about to happen?

This is a portrait of Van Gogh’s mother. The reference was a black and white photograph. Yet, it is painted in hues of green. What does the color green mean to you?

Describe what she’s wearing. How would you feel in that dress? Where is she? What is she doing? What do you think she is saying? To whom? What kind of voice would you give her? What does the room sound like?

To me, no different than when I get a script and ask myself – Who is the character? Where are they? Where are they from? What is their intent? What is the emotion behind the expression?

Bringing characters to life … That’s the deal … That’s what I do.

Next question:

What have you been in?

Sigh.

What this boils down to is arts education advocacy, also a new initiative at Performing Arts Workshop. For decades we have touted the importance of arts education in the classroom, but the impact seemed limited to our region. Recently we chose to broaden the focus of our work from the every day little changes we see in the classroom to institutional changes in the way arts education is defined, funded, and spoken about. The Obama Policy statement shares this goal, but what does this actually mean for arts education nationwide? While the Workshop advocates for the arts from a platform based on valuable life skills and critical thinking, the Obama Policy document argues in favor of higher test scores in non-art subjects. This is a larger issue where, due to the continuing time crunch of the school day, teaching art can only be justified if it has statistically viable affects on other subjects. But we don’t teach Science only because it enhances Math skills and we don’t teach History only because it helps with English. We teach these subjects because they are part and parcel of a well-rounded education in which art has always had a place. Falling into the art-is-okay-only-if-it-helps-with-standardized-testing trap has dire consequences as the main argument for arts education.

Testing is not the end-all be-all answer for our suffering education system. The nation has had firsthand knowledge of this through 8+ years of No Child Left Behind. Benchmarks for improvement are important for assessing students in a broad sense, but relying on test results to give us a detailed picture of a students’ individual learning is dangerous. Each student is different and deserves an education focused on their strengths and needs. By contrast, the arts education experience is individualized. At the Workshop, teaching artists adjust their curriculum plans based on the desires, needs, and pace of the students. Education systems with no flexibility intrinsically fail the students that they are trying to serve.

By using academic achievement as the main argument for arts education, it appears to be the main goal as well, and our current system evaluates academic achievement goals through test scores. Teaching to a test does not raise life skills, critical thinking, or joy in education. If we look only at test scores to evaluate the success or failure of arts education, the dynamic aspect of arts learning and the real life skills gained during that experience are ignored. The value of the art-making experience lives well beyond a 95% score in math. A student may never remember what he or she scored or even the topic of a test, but they will remember the teaching artist who taught them that they too have the power to create. The arts are about being different, the arts are about personal expression and what makes us individuals. Testing is about the same answer for every question.

The Obama Arts Policy Platform is certainly a beautiful idea. Its message heralds a new era of arts education that has the potential to “reinvigorate the kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great,” “nourish our children’s creative skills” and “encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts education” so that the arts are “a central part of effective teaching and learning.” This is an arts education dream. But if Barack Obama truly believes that, “the arts embody the American spirit of self-definition,” then he needs to re-think the rationale behind his support for the “creative economy” and how these ideas will be implemented. Will public/private partnerships continue to be mired in bureaucracy and limited to funding tied to economic growth? Or will art based education finally come into its own with innovation based on art’s inherent creativity? Will teaching artists be given a living wage, work in their own community, and the creative freedom to be agents of change? Or will they be forced into the “teach the test” box in which our overworked teachers currently find themselves? President Obama, it is up to you.

As my hand continues to heal I have had to exercise a lot of patience. That got me to thinking how important patience is in not just our coping with everyday stresses and challenges, but with our creative explorations. Young children learn to be patient and wait for results. If young children can, then certainly we adults should be able to exhibit patience. I really, really want to put my oboe together and see if my fingers will cover the keys but I have to be patient. So that’s the first P in my 3 p’s to success. The second is perseverence. Again, watching young children try something over and over reminds me that perseverence is also a key to artistic success. Professionals know this. Without perseverence, very talented artists would give up before that golden opportunity finally arrives. Finally, pride. I see our teachers congratulating and applauding those achievements of our students. Pride in all our successes, big and small, adds value and worth to our efforts. I am so proud of all of our students and faculty and their artistic efforts — I have seen the patience and perseverence that it takes to get there!

Have a rich and peaceful Thanksgiving,

Amy

Most people think of “street” art as being only graffiti or maybe even that guy on the corner playing a harmonica, but I beg to differ. There are so many different ways that people can create art in communities besides graffiti that people can interact with. To illustrate my point, I came across this video, which is not only an awesome piece of 3D art, but also  a great example of how art can bring people together, amaze, and entertain. It’s also just really cool. This video is also a great example of another one of my favorite art forms, classical music, with it’s use of Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Here is another really cool example of some unique street art, although this video depresses me a little since they end up erasing all of these awesome pieces. We should totally have a wall like this at Pitzer.

Ah the genius of what one can find by browsing YouTube.

-Jamie

To learn more about what the spirit of volunteerism can do, check out this video of Dave Eggers. He tells us all about the founding of 826 Valencia Street, a tutoring facility he started, dedicated to nurturing the written word, democracy, and the local public school. Don’t get me wrong this is 20 entertaining minutes of listening to Mr. Eggers discuss his unique idea and the impact it has had on the public schools in the community. Here’s a quote: “It’s been proven that 35 to 40 hours a year with one-on-one attention, a student can get one grade level higher.”

Once you click to view the video, click the box in the upper right hand corner to view the video full screen.

Click Here for the Video

I spent the beginning of the week following the goings-on at the World Innovation Summit on Education via Twitter and Google. The Summit was held in Doha, Qatar, and focused on innovations in education. I had hoped that there would be some reference to arts in education, but no luck. Maybe arts education will be covered in the next summit.

Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain, the culmination of a summit sponsored by The Johns Hopkins University School of Education’s Neuro-Education Initiative, focuses on the convergence of neuroscientific research and teaching and learning, with an emphasis on the arts.

This free publication features a prolegomenon by the late Dana Chairman William Safire and full text of the keynote address given by Jerome Kagan, Ph.D., Harvard University, at the Hopkins summit. Highlights of the symposium are featured in an executive summary, edited transcripts of panel presentations, and a synthesis of roundtable discussions.

Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain is available free by written request on institutional letterhead.

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“I’m a photographer, not a terrorist” is an organization devoted to the rights of photographers.  Most of us have always been wary of having our photographs taken by strangers, but right now photography is being attacked. Throughout the U.S., it seems anyone carrying a camera is targeted as a possible terrorist, no matter what their skill level is, camera they’re holding, or what they’re photographing.  This onslaught is not only limiting our freedoms, but without photography who will record the very world existing around us? This struggle is everyone’s struggle.  It effects us all– our futures and the documentation of what will soon become our pasts. We must ”stop this before photography becomes a part of history rather than a way of recording it.”

Image by mark tull (http://www.redbubble.com/people/marktull)

Twice in the past five years, there have been proposed bans of photography on all forms of public transportation in NYC as an antiterrorism measure.  This proposal was mostly enforced within the subways.   Both times these bans were proposed, they were dropped due to the level of opposition. But still! people photographing in the subways were regularly stopped by police and asked to show the pictures they had just taken or even delete them.

On April 3, 2009, the NYPD issued a “directive” to officers declaring  photography legal within the subways so long as it was not “accompanied with suspicious activity.”  Right now, the MTA agrees photographs and videos can be taken as long as they do not violate MTA regulations (…basically no use of “ancillary equipment” a.k.a. lighting, reflectors, or tripods unless you are a member of the press with “valid identification issued by the NYPD.”)

As Americans, we have been taught that limiting our freedoms in the name of  national security is acceptable.  But I have yet to hear a good argument to uphold the banning of photography on public transportation.  The subway is a vital part of life in NYC. The photographs being taken are on the platforms and in train cars, not on the tracks or in control rooms.  Almost everyone rides the subway.  I mean most people ride it multiple times a day. Taking pictures on our trains should be as legal as on our streets. Is a terrorist not as likely to bomb a train full of people as they are to bomb a building full of people? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

(information from: our good friend wikipedia, the NY Times, and “I’m a photographer, not a terrorist” website)

-Brigid

I realized I needed to add a video into one of my blogs, so I went in search of a Public Service Announcement for art education. As the three other members of my suite know (Brigid is the only one who can testify that will read this though) I SUCK at searching for and then finding things on the Internet. So this dingy little thing is all I could come up with. Even though it seems to be clay-mation and is pretty dumb, the message is still good. This kid was probably high on PCP and thought he was a superhero and could jump off a building and would actually just fly instead of having his little clay body smash into the concrete.

So basically, even though many artists like to be under the influence of drugs while creating there art, that is a specific style, and I wouldn’t recommend it for children. With society putting pressure on kids earlier in their adolescence than ever before, more positive messages should be sent to them instead of telling girls to eat less, exercise more, and wear sexually explicit clothing; media should be encouraging girls to try this thing called “art”.

Art is so fun to create, and is so gratifying once you have a finished product. Kids should be less focused on their hair, clothes, friends, and make up and more focused on things that will actually matter later on in life. No one is going to care about what you wore to that one party fifteen years from now, but it’s always a possibility that someone will care about the amazing art you made.

Aliza

This idea could be a great way to engage young artists in valuable paid work, something Performing Arts Workshop knows from experience is hard to find as a teaching artist. Most work part-time for a number of different organizations in order to pay their rent, eat, and pursue their artistic careers. While variety is the spice of life, relying on multiple sources of income is extremely inconsistent in a world dependant on funding cycles and the flush pockets of foundations (now turning up empty). An Artist Corps could stabilize this professional field, but only if it provided a true living wage for artists that would allow them to both share their skills and create their own art. Not only should this Artist Corps pay artists adequately (not just minimally), it should also provide health care. This is a top concern for teaching artists and the number one reason they leave artistic work for a more stable administrative job.

The Artist Corps should also take into consideration the advantage of local artists teaching local students. If based on the AmeriCorps model, teaching artists could be randomly shipped across the country with little say in the matter. A truly great program would realize that utilizing local talent is the best and most effective way to create local arts education communities. Such a program could provide teaching artists with employment opportunities after their tenure in the Artist Corps through exposure to the local arts education arena be it rural, urban, or suburban.

Currently a prototype for the Artist Corps, Music National Service’s MusicianCorps, is in its inaugural year. Created through a number of funding partners and with the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in March of 2009, there are some great aspects to this program. Artists are recruited locally, receive full time work, and are provided health care. Their training is extensive and some of the program’s assessment tools are based on Performing Arts Workshop’s own artist evaluations, which provide a high standard for program outcomes. However, since MusicianCorps has a limited scope, the program only serves urban areas: Seattle, New Orleans, Chicago, and San Francisco. There are only 21 MusicianCorps fellows – about 5 per urban area. In contrast, the Workshop has a roster of 35 artists serving the San Francisco Bay Area alone. One of the more interesting aspects of this program is its mixed administrative model. In some cities, the program is administered local partner Community Based Organizations (CBOs), while other locations are administered through the Music National Service organization. One of the larger questions regarding growth into a full Artist Corps is what the best program model would be: one wholly administered by a national federal agency, or one run “on the ground” by partner organizations. The findings from this initial year will offer a chance to create a model program utilizing the lessons learned, as well as provide a  benchmark for moving forward.