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 Arts Education News
from the Montana Arts Council
In This Issue
In the Spotlight: Photovoice
Artists in Schools and Communities Grants
Opportunities
Advocacy and Research
Cool Resource of the Week
Articles of Interest
Job Opportunities
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July 23, 2014

Greetings,

 

July is not just a great time for recreation of all kinds in the Big Sky, it's also a great time to take in loads of family-oriented arts activities, and many of them free and outdoors.  Just last weekend, my family joined about 15,000 other music lovers at the Helena Symphony's Symphony Under the Stars, and this coming weekend there will be any number of art fairs, concerts and live theatre to enjoy (check out the tour schedule of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks here).   

 

It's also a peak time for planning for the fast-approaching school year, and I've been fielding many phone calls and emails from artists and potential sponsors about arts learning projects eligible for funding in our Artists in Schools and Communities grant category.  It is not too late to receive funding for this year!  We'll give away the funds until they are gone. See below for more information about bringing a teaching artist to your school, after school program or community organization.  Did you know we fund programs that provide hands on learning in the arts to adult learners, too?  Call me for more information. 

 

Below you will also find links to opportunities, resources, advocacy, research and articles of interest to arts educators and advocates.  Click on anything underlined and it will take you to the link. 

 

Don't forget you can also follow the Big Sky Arts Education blog here and get daily news and information about arts learning from my Twitter feed @BigSkyArtsEd

 

Look for a big announcement in August's first newsletter!

 

Cheers, Emily 

 

 

 In the Spotlight: Photovoice 
KELSEY JAE WARDWELL Missoulian
Photo by Kelsey Jae Wardwell/Missoulian
 
This summer, students from C. S. Porter and Washington Middle Schools in Missoula are participating in the inaugural Photovoice project through the Flagship programs at both schools.  Students are honing their photography skills under the tutelage of photographer Brian Christianson, and learning to explore Missoula with a photographer's eye.  The program capped off with an exhibit of student work at the Zootown Arts Community Center, and you can read more about it in the Missoulian.  The project was funded in part by an Artists in Schools and Communities grant from the Montana Arts Council. 
 
Artists in Schools and Communities FY15 Grant Cycle open and funding is STILL AVAILABLE
Grants for Arts Learning Projects through June 30, 2015
The Montana Arts Council is now taking applications for its FY15 Artists in Schools and Communities grant program.  Grants will be available to Montana schools, arts organization and other community organizations with not-for-profit status for arts learning projects that strengthen participants' knowledge and skills in the arts by providing hands-on, participatory learning in the arts. 
  
Artists in Schools and Communities Grant updated guidelines for projects occurring between July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015 is posted on the MAC website.  The grant application process is online.  Grant requests may be made for amounts up to $10000 and require a 1:1 cash match.  Please contact Director of Arts Education Emily Kohring at (406) 444-6522 or ekohring@mt.gov with questions. 
  
Opportunities

 

P. Buckley Moss Foundation Accepting Applications for Arts-Integrated Education Programs

The mission of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education is to promote the integration of the arts into all educational programs, with a special focus on children who learn in different ways.

The foundation is accepting grant applications from educators who need financial assistance to maintain or implement an arts education program. Grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded to support new or evolving programs that integrate the arts into educational programming. Although the purpose of the grant program is to assist teachers who wish to establish an effective way of using the arts to teach children who learn differently, proposed projects must serve all children in the classroom, including those with no trouble learning in a general education setting.  Teachers of pre-K-12 children are eligible to apply.

 

 Arts Education Partnership National Forum, Pittsburgh, September 11-12, 2014

Register now the AEP 2014 National Forum on Arts and Education: Preparing Students for the Next America in and through the Arts.  Featuring 21 concurrent sessions on issues in arts education from presenters across the nation.

 

IRS rolls out new 1023-EZ for exempt applications
This may be of interest to any artists or arts groups who have ever been interested in incorporating as a non-profit organization to access funding--the process just got easier:  

Last week, the IRS gave the official launch to the new Form 1023-EZ, a shorter version of the traditional application for groups seeking 501(c)(3) exempt status. The tax agency announced a streamlined version was forthcoming in March and solicited public comments. According to the press release, as many as 70 percent of 501(c)(3) hopefuls are eligible to submit the three-page form, edited down from the 26-page original, which is available to certain organizations with gross receipts up to $50,000 and assets up to $250,000. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the change will reduce wait times for applicants and enable his agency to "devote more compliance activity on the back end to ensure groups are actually doing the charitable work they apply to do." Unlike its longer counterpart, the Form 1023-EZ must be filed electronically. Some sector leaders raise concerns about the new form, including the fact that applicants miss the educational benefits inherent in completing the full Form 1023. Source: IRS Press Release, BNA Daily Tax Report
 

Teachers Can Earn CEUs for Attending Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering 

Rhonda Long, Superintendent of Schools for Fergus County has announced that again this summer, teachers can earn up to 6 hours of Continuing Education credit for attending various sessions at the 29th Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering, August 14-17, 2014 in Lewistown, MT.  

The 6 hours of credit can be earned by attending the 50+ hours of cowboy poetry and western music offered in the day sessions at The Yogo Inn on August 15 and 16, or by attending the Saturday night Grand Stage Show starring SONS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN at the Fergus Center for the Performing Arts on August 15th.   Schedules and details are available at:  MontanaCowboyPoetryGathering.comMontana Cowboy Poetry celebrates and presents an oral history of the American cowboy of the upper Rocky Mountain west and the Montana Territory through poetry verse and music lyrics. 

 

 Advocacy and Research

How Playing Music Affects The Developing Brain

A 1993 study of college students showed them performing better on spatial reasoning tests after listening to a Mozart sonata. That led to claims that listening to Mozart temporarily increases IQs - and to a raft of products purporting to provide all sorts of benefits to the brain. In 1998, Zell Miller, then the governor of Georgia, even proposed providing every newborn in his state with a CD of classical music. But subsequent research has cast doubt on the claims.
 
A very interesting infographic with lots of cool facts and data in support of not just increased STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, but also STEAM (insert the A for arts!) education in schools. 
  
 Cool Resource of the Week
The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) provides a very thorough webpage with information that can help classroom teachers, arts specialists, teaching artists and administrators make the link between the arts and the common core standards.  It also includes resources for the new National Core Arts Standards. 
  
 Articles of Interest for Arts Educators 

Art is Freedom 

A recent high school grad says public schools need more arts education. His eloquent essay explains why, from the perspective of a young person. 

 

Michelle Obama salutes the Grammy Museum, music teachers, advocates for arts education

Michelle Obama says every arts organization in the country should embrace the mission of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which focuses on education. Six million American children attend schools with no art or music classes, she said at the museum's inaugural Jane Ortner Education Award Luncheon.

 

iPads allow kids with challenges to play in high school's band

A great model for inclusion in the music room--a classically-trained instrumental music teacher uses everyday technology to allow students with disabilities to play. 

 

Art is Vital

From The Atlantic magazine, argues that the best education enables artistic voice and creative habits of mind

 

How we are teaching the arts is important as the fact we're doing it

Good food for thought for all arts teachers. Not all arts education is equal. 

 

 Job Opportunities

Professional artists are invited to apply to the Nevada Arts Council's Artists in School + Communities Roster.

An online resource for schools, organizations and communities seeking to engage teaching artists, the roster will offer two tracks - an Education Track for arts-based learning experiences in pre-K-12 settings, and a Community Track for arts-based learning experiences in community settings. Artists may apply in one or both tracks. Application is not limited to Nevada artists. Applications and support material from artists and ensembles, including those in the folk and traditional arts, will be accepted through August 15, 2014. Roster applications will be reviewed by a panel of specialists in the early fall.  For questions contact: Maryjane Dorofachuk, Arts Learning Coordinator, 702.486.3738.

 

CEO, The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), Washington, DC

NASAA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership association that unites, represents, and serves the nation's state and jurisdictional arts agencies which support excellence in and access to the arts. NASAA looks to fill the position of CEO. A passionate and knowledgeable advocate for the arts and effective arts policy, NASAA's CEO will have a well-rounded set of competencies that distinguish him/her from others in the field as a persuasive leader with the ability to set and attain goals.

 

 
  
The Montana Arts Council is the agency of state government established to develop the creative potential of all Montanans, advance education, spur economic vibrancy and revitalize communities through involvement in the arts.
  
Sincerely,
  
  
Emily Kohring
Director of Arts Education
Montana Arts Council
ekohring@mt.gov / (406) 444-6522
Twitter: @BigSkyArtsEd