SPARK! ARTS
AUTUMN UPDATE
September 8 - 14, 2019
We had an absolutely amazing time celebrating National Arts in Education Week September 8-14 ! SPARK! Arts participated in numerous ways in this national celebration of arts in ed!! Check out some of the highlights below!
A trip to City Council
& the MCPS School Board to advocate!
Check out this amazing student who visited the MCPS School Board and Missoula City Council to perform her rendition of "Shallow" with lyrics she wrote about the Revolutionary War. Her former teacher, Ms. Eurling, and former SPARK! Arts teaching artist,  Rosie Seitz Ayers , provided testimonials on the importance of arts in education, and the work that SPARK! Arts provides to the district . Mayor Engen gave a proclamation on Arts in Ed too! We couldn’t be more proud of this brave student and the work that our Teaching Artists do! #BecauseofArtsEd
Great coverage from The Missoulian
SPARK! Arts Radio Spot on The Trail
Take a listen to SPARK! Arts Executive Director Sienna Solberg talk about National Arts in Education Week and SPARK! Arts on The Trail!
We shared some of our Teaching Artist & Board Members' #BecauseofArtsEd posts on social media as part of a National Campaign for National Arts in Education Week!
Want some serious inspiration?? Head to Instagram and check out ALL the #BecauseofArtsEd posts from across the Nation!
Theatre for Young Audiences:

Second Grade
SPARK! Arts Enhancement
ALL second grade students from MCPS headed over to Missoula Children's Theatre for this year's Theatre for Young Audiences Production: Charlotte's Web. Charlotte's Web was directed by Adam Ferguson and featured adult actors telling this classic tale for students. The kids LOVED this timeless tale, and thought when Wilbur got chased through the audience was the best! A huge THANK YOU to MCT for presenting this wonderful production for our students and the Missoula Community!
Arts in Education Celebration!
Students had the chance to stop by 9 locations to participate in FREE community art activities with 11 different Teaching Artists to wrap up National Arts in Education Week !

We took over downtown Missoula, and had SO MUCH FUN making art with the community !


Congratulations
to our Raffle Winner,
Sophia!
A huge thanks to our raffle sponsors:

And thank you to the businesses that allowed us to transform their space into an Art Spot for the day:
First Interstate Bank, The Top Hat, Downtown Dance Collective, Five on Black, Cloth and Crown, Missoula Art Museum, Glacier Sotheby's, and Jimmy Johns.
Supaman!!!
Eighth Grade
SPARK! Arts Enhancement
Photo credit: BEN ALLAN SMITH, Missoulian
All MCPS 8th graders made their way over to Sentinel High School to see Apsáalooke rapper and Native American fancy dancer, Supaman (aka Christian Takes the Gun Parrish) , perform. Christian grew up in Crow Agency, Montana. In the fourth grade, Christian began dancing at powwows. While in elementary school he began to write poetry and later began to rap. Supaman has been nominated for and received multiple awards for his work as a DJ, singer, and rapper, and a fancy dancer, including an MTV Video Music Award.

One MCPS teacher said "It was an amazing experience for our students. They are still talking about it!"

Seeing Supaman perform was an INCREDIBLE experience for Missoula eighth graders! And what a testament to the importance of arts in education! If Christian Takes the Gun Parrish hadn't started dancing and writing poetry in elementary school, we might not have Supaman today! Thank you, Supaman, for inspiring our students; and thank you to our anonymous donor for providing such an enriching arts experience for our students!
Cultural Mosaic: Embracing Cultures through Art Conference
" It was my first time attending the Cultural Mosaic conference and I'm still thinking about the speakers, workshops, and collaborative conversations that took place on Saturday. It felt exactly what my soul needed to continue doing the work I'm doing by building a classroom culture that celebrates and understands other cultures, while integrating the arts. "
Missoula teacher
SPARK! Arts and Global and Cultural Affairs of Arts Missoula hosted conference for educators and community members to learn more about cultures, the arts, and how to connect the two using arts integration to teach and gain global competency.

This event was held at the University of Montana in the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education & Human Sciences ALI Auditorium. Attendees learned arts integration strategies to teach cultural awareness, how cultures can be shared and embraced through the arts, and ways to connect and engage students using art.

Cultural Mosaic included an Eritrean coffee ceremony sponsored by Soft Landing Missoula, and a performance by Internationally acclaimed artist Supaman! (Check out the amazing video below!)

This conference was provided free of charge thanks to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation.
Coming up next for SPARK! Arts

 Our amazing Teaching Artists have started their residencies in MCPS schools! Did you know you can always check the Calendar on the SPARK! Arts website to see when our Teaching Artists will be in classrooms?

Support SPARK! Arts
Want to help SPARK! Arts continue to advocate and ensure equal access to arts education for all?