Rewiring the Arts Organization: February 10

Feb 10: 2nd arts ed session: ANALYZING YOUR ORGANIZATION'S FUNCTIONS: present your criteria, report back site visit date and location, discuss the multiple roles of arts education programming
homework: read WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA WRITING PROJECT STRATEGIC PLAN,
write your own strategic plan, site visits

Program design criteria: each student is to develop a one page document listing his/her own criteria for a quality arts education program, and present their criteria to the class

Cultural Diversity
The program should be inclusive and resepctful of different cultural perspectives.

Community Involvement
The organization and its' programs should have a presence in the community, the programs should not be seen as a "service" for the community, rather, a collaboration and exchange of ideas should take place.

Develop student's critical thinking skills
Students will be engaged in applying what they learn through the specific disciplines to other subjects and to broader contexts.

Develop creative expression, through hand-on studio or discipline based activity
Students will develop their own creative style through art making component of program.

Remain true to the mission of the organization
The program should support the mission and goals of the organization, it is important to stay focused on the goals and objectives and not become involved in ancillary projects that are not related to what the oganization is committed to offering.

Curriculum integration:
The art should support and complement other subjects students are studying and vice versa.

Melinda Block
Rewiring the Arts Organization
2/10/99
Educational Program Criteria

The Following criteria are established to help create educational programs at 1926 The Exhibition Studies Center. So far, the gallery does not have any programs. Shows are produced by specific classes for the gallery, but the rest of the school community and visitors have no opportunity to participate in educational programs.

I. Planned -- programs need to be properly prepared, especially at 1926 where decisions are made by both academic and administrative departments. The planning process will also anticipate questions, and work toward answering them prior to program activation.

II. Challenging -- being an SAIC facility used mainly for graduate students, the programs offered must be above and beyond a normal “classroom” experience. The programs should be well researched and able to support a large range of discussions, as well as serve as pre-professional experience.

III. Multi-disciplinary -- programs should encompass the large range of media offered at SAIC -- from writing and art history to performance and sculpture.

IV. Collaborative -- One purpose of 1926 exhibitions is to allow for disparate groups of students to work together for a common result. Educational programs should foster this same collaborative spirit.

V. Community Building -- 1926 exhibitions take place in a space off campus, therefore, relationship building is of extreme importance. 1926 programs should encourage students to create relationships with other students, as well as with people both within and outside the school community.

VI. Innovative -- discovery of new techniques and methods by which to approach educational programs should be of the utmost importance.

VII. Respectful -- programs should encourage all students to participate and have their opinions heard. It is necessary to create an environment in which students fee comfortable and significant to the learning process.

The program is based on a Los Angeles nonprofit space called Side Street Projects. They have implemented a educational program for elementary school children called Alternate Routes "education on wheels" the goals of the project is to "teach children to use hand tools safely, and effectively." The classes are held in a bus or mobile classroom which travels to local schools and community centers.

I.
Encourages:responsibility, organization, decision making, problem solving, creative thought process, individual team work, goals and achievements.

II.
partnerships/collaborations: with community, artists, parents, school administrators, teachers etc.

III.
Diversity: race, ethnic, age, creed, class, gender, disability IV.
Creativity:
dynamic, stimulating, innovative, enhancing
The programs curriculum integration would be equal to other areas of study and serve the schools with programs they need.

(I am taking into consideration that I am looking at a performing arts organization)
· There must be an attempt at cross disciplinary learning.
· The material must be challenging.
· The programs must be hands on as much as possible.
· Every attempt must be made to move beyond the facility-whether that be to explore other music/art programs/museums/performances-to offer students the experience of playing/performing for others, or for recruitment/outreach.
· Programming must make every attempt to have a positive, proactive, involved relationship with the community.
· Every attempt must be made to recognize and embrace the diversity of the subject matter as well as of the students.
· It is important to find out what the students are interested in and want to learn about.
· Education must involve discussion and feedback.
· The organization, and thus the program, must have a policy for the handicapped (to make every effort to include and welcome them).

Philosophy preceding the outline of the criteria list
Arts Education should be a fundamental component of public education. Arts educational services provided by non-profit arts organizations should not replace but supplement public education with offers schools can't provide.

Method of education:
Both observation/analysis of art work & art processes as well as the actual engagement in the making of art look like appropriate methods of teaching art to me. Observation/analysis of art- work helps students to approach a specific art form from a novice position and develop an understanding about the cultural/social context of the work or the lines of thinking/working of an artist. This approach appeals to the intellectual as well as the more practical student. The hands-on-method can involve an intellectual as well as a creative learning process, but the individual experience is certainly more linked to the developing/expanding of creative skills and learning about different creative techniques.

Program features:
The programs should be adapted to the needs of "different students with different backgrounds". The programs should be constantly evaluated for their meaning to the students, their cultural and social relevance and the applied method of teaching. Everything that is taught should be well researched. The program should be continuously refined and regularly supplemented with new offerings. The experience should be powerful and inspiring for the participant as well as for the teacher.

Communication with the community:
The educational programs should be discussed with representatives from different educational and outreach institutions in the community (schools, youth and neighborhood centers etc.). Their advice and experiences should be considered and integrated in the programs. Ideally, a partnership can be reached that leads to educational programs that tackle questions of individual and social interest.

Use of new technology:
Any medium or technology that is used in order to provide knowledge or to interact with the students should be appropriately chosen to the educational background as well as the age of the addressed person. It should be used to build up a real discourse and should avoid a one-sided communication (e.g. adult communication imposed on teenagers). New media shouldn't be used just for the "sake of being up-to-date." It should be carefully and meaningful applied.

The teacher:
Ideally, the instructor is an artist, a teacher and a critical thinker. He/she should be able to assist the student in the creative as well as the reflective process and be able to push the students in different directions of thinking, experimenting, questioning.

Work frame:
Participation in the program should allow a lot of freedom. An open and flexible atmosphere where a variety of approaches can be explored and discovered about the subject taught should be favored. Ideas should be shared and discussed in groups to help build up the student's skills in expressing his/her idea.

1. INFORMATIVE: Those involved should leave with knowledge they did not possess before about the particular subject.

2. CORRECT: Information dispersed should be accurate. There is nothing worse than sending people out of an educational experience with the wrong information.

3. ENTERTAINING: What is being discussed should be worthwhile. There are many places people can go and learn while enjoying themselves.

4. FUN: Programming should truly engage the child, adult, etc. . . Once someone has been engaged in a fun learning experience, odds are they will return again.

5. OBJECT BASED: When teaching about the various aspects of the arts, nothing helps more to keep attention and interest than the use of original objects. When these are not available, good replicas will suffice.

6. SURPRISING: Is half the battle they used to say, and indeed it is. Wonder and suspense are an effective tool to keep children, and adults, engaged in your programming.

7. ARTISTS: Having actual artists participate in your programs can lend an immediacy to your activities that may not be possible when using docents.

8. DIVERSITY: When possible, bring in aspects of other cultures into your programming. Very few ideas in this world are the product of one culture acting alone.

To learn not only about art and its forms from different perspectives and cultures but also explore art as a journey towards igniting one’s creative self.

To be a bridge to explore and understand other fields of study like music, math and history.

To create two way communication between the participant and program creator/coordinator for the exchange of ideas and build a dialogue towards a sense of ownership of the program.

To involve different entities like educational centers (schools, universities, libraries, etc.), business, nonprofits, community members and government to reflect the connected relationship of art in our daily lives.

Innovation: Always look for new ways in which to connect the learning process. Whether it be in concept, product, or materials used: innovation should be continual.

Collaboration: In order to bring the learning experience to its fullest potential it is necessary to collaborate with others in our thinking and attitudes.

Diversity: Recognize and celebrate diversity in all its forms. Whether it be color, texture, personality, composition, ethnic background, history, age, gender or thoughts.

Emotion: Awareness of the emotional side of learning within the arts. Be sensitive and accepting to the diverse reactions and learning experiences within the arts.

Connections: Show how the arts are interconnected within our lives. Whether it be dance, music, theater, visual arts. How do all art forms connect. Investigate how the human experience is essentially a “living art”.

Respect: Respect the thoughts of coworkers, parents, students and outside commentaries. Respect diverse viewpoints and find connections through the arts.

Challenge: Challenge the self and others into participating in all learning experiences on higher and diverse levels.

Research: Continually researching new approaches to Art Education and understanding the learning process as a whole.

Planning: Forethought and plans are revealed through success in curricula and approaches to the arts.

Serving and Supporting: The institution in which arts programming is provided in the most complete manner should demand support through listening and service to participants.

I. Teacher Education/Participation - Provide a focused, in-depth educational experience for those teachers who might have little or no training in the arts, before students visit. The faculty must first have an understanding, if not an appreciation, in order to better engage the children during their experience.

II. Tangible - in order for children to better grasp the experience. The arts are multi-disciplinary, and regardless of the format, children must be able to see, hear, and feel the experience for better comprehension.

III. Goal-Oriented - Establishing and working towards specific goals (implemented by the museum staff in conjunction with the faculty), regardless of their nature or scope, helps insure that the curriculum is less disjointed and more cohesive for the students as well as the teachers.

IV. Follow-through, Follow -up - to ensure that the experience is not a one-time occurrence. A second trip should be planned by the end of the first, with definite goals (implemented by the museum staff in conjunction with the faculty) for the return visit.

V. Fun - for the obvious reasons, because children, teachers, and museum staff alike would want it to be.

Planning Comprehensive Programs & Goals
To plan programs throughout the year for schools and home. Develop educational tools to be used throughout the classroom. Plan artistic programs containing a goal, a sense of achievement within the student’s participation.

Teachers
Teachers must understand their role in the program. Teachers are art educators and need to be aware of their surroundings in the classroom. They’re considered leaders, and how they teach could influence a child’s interaction and participation. Teachers need to understand the curriculum and be able to successfully teach the arts in a culturally diverse society. To teach art, the art educator makes a commitment to opening a child’s eye to the world of creativity.

Creativity & Exploration
Art has always been a way of expressing one’s ideals and passions. Programs must be made to allow children to experiment and explore new ideas. Classroom discussions promote participation and increase self-esteem. Children should not be discouraged, yet encouraged to try something new. Art programs need to be creative, to offer a different view of thinking.

Curriculum Integration
Art education should start with early childhood. The Arts are visual and can be used in many different perspectives. Teaching visual learners art, can enhance ones ability in other area of studies. Art is a part of our daily lives. To offer art programs increases the mind, and opens a new way of understanding other educational curriculum.

Cultural Diversity / Multiculturalism
Art programs need to explain, appreciate cultural diversity, and the artistic production throughout the world. It supports the study of art in all cultures. Art education is important to educate students of our nation and multi-cultural populations.

Tendai Wendy Mufuka
ARTED Programming Criteria

Educators and administrators must recognize that research is ongoing. This is crucial to providing updated information to program participants as well as being aware that there are multiple perspectives to much of the information we teach.

Our organization must be able to collaborate with others. This is in recognition of the fact that we do not operate in a vacuum, and as a new organization we may learn from other organizations as well as the community we serve.

The organization must be inclusive of people from various social and racial backgrounds as well as disabilities. Consideration of this must be made by educators when designing activities for participants.

Our organization recognizes that participants have a voice. Their interests and learning styles will be taken into consideration in planning so that they play an active role in determining WHAT and HOW they learn.

We take a hands on approach to teaching and learning art. Everyone in the program is expected to actively participate.

Learning should not be restricted to in-class activities. Our program requires educators to plan field trips for participants.

The out-of-school program at the Chicago Filmmakers encourages high school and college students to express themselves using film as an artistic media. It helps young students learn to appreciate film as an art form, instead of mere entertainment.

There will be classes on weekends every other week that teach hands on experiences of film making through the use of equipment and critiques of students’ films. This allows students the opportunity to learn hands on skills as well as problem solving and critical thinking.

This program will explore diverse traditions of film making from different cultures including those non-European traditions. It will introduce students to understand the artistic expressions developed from different cultures.

This program will develop partnership with schools to ensure that it serves the school system. Students can get credits from this program to fulfill school requirement.

Teachers of these classes should be the independent filmmakers from the community. This creates the dialogue and communication between artists and young students.

Sarah Nemerovski
Rewiring the Arts Organization
February 10, 1999
Education Plan

COMMITMENT
Once an arts education program has been developed, those involved need to be committed to its growth and development.

PARTNERSHIP
Assuming this is a visual arts program, it is important to create partnerships with other arts organizations of different disciplines, for example, dance, music, and theater. These partnerships will introduce and provide a “well rounded” arts foundation for students.

CONSISTENCY
As with commitment, there needs to be consistency in excellence in the programs that are developed and offered. The search for quality teachers, topics, materials, and programs. Obviously, budget always is an issue. With the money that is made available the most quality products should be made available to the students.

DIVERSITY
The programs offered should be diverse in topics and issues covered.

UNDERSTANDING & PATIENCE
Teachers need to be aware of students’ needs and preceding understandings. The classes offered are a place to learn and grow. Each student is unique and will have different necessities that a teacher will have to address.

ABILITY TO GROW
Whether it is the need to provide more classes or move to a larger space, all organizations should have a vision or be prepared to become more accessible.

As I think it more useful to develop criteria for an actual rather than virtual educational program., and given that I've committed to incorporating into all class exercises "real" life situations that I am involved in or wish to explore, the criteria I am proposing will be based on educational programming I hope to be involved in both developing and implementing.

The 1998: New Artists in Chicago exhibition included several different educational programs: a panel discussion on the role and direction of emerging art in Chicago at the Arts Club, gallery talks with the artists in the museum, an informal lecture in the exhibition space by an art critic, and various programs implemented through the Terra Museum's educational department with grade school children. If the initiative continues next spring with 2000: New Artists in Chicago I want to expand the educational programming designed by the project staff. Because the New Artist project is designed to promote emerging art in Chicago and also to develop new audiences for this art, educational programming will be designed to facilitate exposure to emerging art, opportunities for the artists involved in the exhibition to discuss their work, and to create and educate audiences and potential collectors about supporting emerging art.

Due to the complicated collaborative nature of the project I think the key criteria for successfully expanding the educational programming will include:

CRITICAL SELF-EVALUATION. Taking a long hard look at the educational programming for the 1998 project and assess, honestly, what was successful, what didn't work and why, were there missed opportunities, if so, what where they and how can they be incorporated into the next project, how can the programming could be expanded, what else should be included. This will necessity discussion with the convenors, artists, Terra staff, members of the launch committee, etc...

PLANNING. Rather than a one semester (roughly 4 months) project. the project should be expanded to a full academic year (roughly 9 months). This will allow sufficient time to both strengthen the relationships already established and to initiate new collaborations.

PARTNERSHIPS. The New Artists project staff collaborates with the Terra Museum of American Art and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. I would like to continue the partnerships with the Arts Club and establish further collaborations, for example, possibly a lecture at the MCA; perhaps a weekend seminar at the SAIC or UIC that would explore the importance of emerging art in a healthy art community through presentations by Chicago's established artists, educators and administrators examining the roles of not only academic institutions but also more non-traditional venues and opportunities for emerging art/artists. Other possibilies might include: a reception at the Three Arts Club; presentations at the Mexican Fine Arts Center in Pilsen and/or the DeSable Museum ; and events in the various cultural centers throughout the greater Chicago area.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY. It is important that the project staff, jurors, artists, and educators involved in the New Artists project represent a fair and equitable cross-section of Chicago's multi-cultural art community.

INTERACTION AND PARTICIPATION. It is important that all the artists in the exhibition and those artist who applied but were not selected for the show have a chance to interact with each other and with all other interested parties though programming offered by the New Artists project. Developing new audiences and educating both established collectors and potential new collectors will ensure continued support for emerging art.
By providing opportunities for various interested groups to interact in a variety of different settings will foster communication.

PR/MARKETING. Educational programming is great, but if the word doesn't get out - there won't be any audience. Audience development that extends far beyond the artists shown in the exhibition and their immediate support systems will have to be more aggressively cultivated.

Plan C
Effective Arts Education Criteria
Targets small community arts organizations and schools
Trisha Shepard
Spring 1999

Creativity

In many Arts education programs the whole concept of free expression is forgotten. An arms-length teaching methodology is important, a foundation of guidance and structure providing open-ended expectations. Arts education's most important attribute is to express ideas, thoughts, emotions and dreams in various artistic forms.

Confidence Inducing

The Arts are used as tools for many different political, social and personal agendas. Regardless of the results the arts are suppose to produce a sense of self-worth and confidence should accompany the outcome. Because art appreciation is so subjective, unlike other sciences or humanities, it is able to build self-esteem in any individual regardless of age.

Critique Oriented

Arts education programming should always include a presentation of work among peers. Display of work in a casual forum setting where a dialogue can take place is necessary. In all disciplines feedback is productive; it binds the work to an entire community taking its final outcome away from the sole artist's vision.

Cross Discipline

Arts education should not only exist among one "art" discipline. ART is to often corralled into the VISUAL arts. The use of performance, sound, dance, writing, music and storytelling (ect.)should all be introduced. Crossing the lines into different disciplines within a single project will help to redefine the role of arts in our society.

Curriculum Integration

Art for Arts sake should not be the focus of an Arts education program. Using Arts in conjunction with other aspects of daily life is essential, starting with the early childhood education. But it is never to late…everyone is an artist wearing the disguise of a student, doctor, chemist, journalist, teacher, professor, executive director, talk show host or police officer.

Cultural Exploration

Arts should be use to explore more than the individuals inner thoughts. Arts education programs are the perfect places to explore the histories, stories, and "artforms" of other cultures. Not all cultures can be explored in a single Arts education program, but the process of investigation and appreciation of another cultures can be taught in an effective Arts education program.