Arts Learning: Newsletter

This online newsletter from ACA is published periodically and intends to provide you with current, important information from the field of Arts Learning and to support vital, substantive arts learning throughout the State. Please feel free to send your comments and requests for content information. We look forward to serving your arts learning interests and needs.

How to Apply: Applications for the 2008-2009 School Year will be available on EGOR (Electronic Grant Online Resource) mid-January 2008 at http://www.culturegrants-az.org/

Deadline: Applications are due electronically submitted by midnight March 20, 2008 and supplemental material postmarked to the Commission offices no later than 5 p.m. March 20, 2008. (These grants will fund projects from July 1, 2008- June 30, 2009)

Questions? Looking for sample grants? Want to discuss your ideas? Contact the Arts Learning Staff at 602-771-6540 or visit the Commission website www.azarts.gov

National Assembly of State Art Agencies - Arts Learning Toolkit
This Tool Kit is meant to provide a research and communications framework that can be used quickly and effectively. The Research-Based Communication Tool Kit is a comprehensive document that brings together several components that advocates can use at state and local levels. It includes facts, template letters, and more: Section I: The Arts and the Creative Workforce- Section II: The Arts and Literacy Development-Section III: The Arts, Cognition, and Social Development. This diverse sampling illustrates how we can use the same research to address various policy issues, depending on the values of the community and the particular issues we are addressing.
http://www.nasaa-arts.org/nasaanews/arts-and-learning/rbc-toolkit-intro.pdf

Arts Learning Project Grants Available from the Arizona Commission on the Arts
The Arizona Commission on the Arts is committed to making the arts fundamental to education, particularly in programs that serve Pre-K-12 students, classroom teachers, teaching artists, arts specialists and administrators in school, after-school and summer/inter-session programs. How to Apply: Applications for the 2008-2009 School Year will be available on EGOR (Electronic Grant Online Resource) mid-January 2008 at http://www.culturegrants-az.org/ Deadline: Applications are due electronically submitted by midnight March 20, 2008 and supplemental material postmarked to the Commission offices no later than 5 p.m. March 20, 2008. (These grants will fund projects from July 1, 2008- June 30, 2009) Questions? Looking for sample grants? Want to discuss your ideas? Contact the Arts Learning Staff at 602-771-6540 or visit the Commission website www.azarts.gov

Picturing American - Free High-Quality Reproductions of American Arts
Picturing America is a free resource that can be readily used in every classroom and public library in the country. Images of people, places, and events illustrating American history give citizens everywhere a chance to better understand our country's past and its ideals. Picturing America is available to all eligible public, private, parochial, and charter and home school consortia (K-12), as well as public libraries in the United States and its territories. These organizations will receive a set of 40 high-quality reproductions (approximately 24" x 36") of great American art and a teachers resource book. Detailed instructions for submitting an application may be found on the Picturing America Web site. The online application will be accepted through Deadline: April 15.
http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/

March 2008 – City of Tempe Project Grants for Organizations and Schools
The City of Tempe Cultural Services Division is accepting 2008-2009 applications for Arts Project Grants. $8,000 is the maximum grant request. Applications are due by 5PM on Monday, April 7, 2008 (Note: This is not a postmark date.) To find out more about the grant, including eligibility, go to www.tempe.gov/arts/grants/project.htm. Applications are available online in Word or PDF format. Please contact Rachael Peterson or Adrienne Richwine at 480-350-5287 for additional information or assistance.

Lives of Children
World of Children recognizes individuals who make a difference in the lives of children across the globe. World of Children grants them funds to support the proven, high-impact programs they have created.
http://www.worldofchildren.org

Innovation and Inspiration in Teaching
The Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program awards $1 million annually to teachers across the United States who motivate and inspire students toward achieving excellence.
http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/features/fundamentals/overview.html

West Valley Arts Council - Creative Arts Scholarship Program
Applicant must be a senior in high school or older and seeking post-secondary education in visual or performing arts or working towards an arts related career at the Higher Education institution of his/her choice. For more information contact, Bernadette Mills, Assistant Director, West Valley Arts Council, E-mail: bmills@westvalleyarts.org Deadline: 12pm Friday, March 21, 2008.

Congratulations to La Pilita Youth Docent Program, Tucson, AZ winner of a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts, Coming Up Taller Award.
Award recipients receive $10,000 each. The La Pilita Museum, celebrates and preserves the history of Barrio Viejo, one of Tucson’s oldest neighborhoods, the La Pilita Docent Program evolved out of a partnership with the nearby Carrillo Elementary School to provide after-school enrichment and community service opportunities for its students, some of whom come from lower-income families. http://www.pcah.gov/cut.htm

Poetry Out Loud State Finals March 14th
Catch seventeen high school students participating in Arizona's first statewide Poetry Out Loud recitation contest. Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry - recitation and performance. The program builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among youth. Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. Friday, March 14, 2008, 7 PM Galvin Playhouse- ASU

G-37 - Gallery 37 West Valley Arts Council
Get paid to create art in the coolest summer job! Learn about different art forms and possible careers in the arts. June 9-July 17, 2008, Monday through Thursday, 9 AM-3 PM Apprentices- Teens, ages 15-18 are hired to work with professional artists to design, develop and install permanent pieces of public art in the West Valley. Apprentice artists will also develop foundational job skills such as resume writing, public speaking, teamwork, time management and creative thinking. Apprentices: $6.90/hour, Mentors: $7.25/hour Applications are available on-line at www.westvalleyarts.org

ARTS JAM Festival - SHOWCASE the ARTS!
Arts Jam, a Student & Community Art Festival, is a vibrant and culturally enhancing day, featuring many Kyrene, Tempe Elementary, and Tempe Union High School District students. This is a tremendous opportunity for businesses and organizations with arts programming for youth to showcase their programs. Saturday, April 26, 2008, 9 am – 3 pm, Tempe Library Courtyard, 3500 S. Rural Road, Tempe. Booths available for a limited time. For more information contact Arts Jam Festival at info@artsjam.org, 480-223-7217
www.artsjam.org

Learning, Arts, and the Brain
The Dana Foundation released at a news conference on March 4, Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a three-year study at seven universities, which finds strong links between arts education and cognitive development.
http://www.dana.org/events/detail.aspx?id=11516

New Study Shows Dramatic Declines in Arts Instruction
Last summer, a groundbreaking report verified what many in the education and policy communities had long suspected: that a majority of the nation’s school districts were increasing time spent on reading and math in elementary schools since the No Child Left Behind Act became law in 2002, while most of these districts cut back on time spent on other subjects. Today, a follow-up report issued by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy provides an unprecedented look at the magnitude of those changes. According to the Center on Education Policy, art and music instruction has declined by 35% in the 16% of schools reporting any decrease since NCLB was implemented. This percentage represents an average of 57 minutes per week of arts instruction that have been removed from those schools across the country.

On the Arizona Commission on the Arts Website

Images from SWAC31 are now online!
To view images from the 31st Southwest Arts Conference held at the Glendale Civic Center on January 25, 2008, and to read Commission Executive Director Robert C. Booker's opening remarks, click here.

Images from Arts Congress are now online!
Arizona Arts Congress is an annual event held at the Arizona State Capitol. The value and impact of public funding for the arts and arts policy are discussed and debated between legislators and arts advocates. Click here to see the images.

The Role of Professional Development in Facilitating the Practice of Arts Integration
Sponsored by the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, May 1-3, 2008. This forum is the first of an ongoing endeavor that aims to explore and analyze current practice in arts integration, with the goal of refining our work as professional development providers who facilitate its implementation in the field.