AnonymousAn offshoot of the Council’s signature arts education grant program, the new Artists in Schools – Extension program supports arts education for Pre-K to 12th grade students after school and during the summer, on school sites, in artistic venues, and in community settings. The intention of this program is to offer young people sequential, hands-on training in artistic disciplines, including dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts that align to National Core Arts, California Visual and Performing Arts, Common Core, and/or Expanded Learning Standards of education.
With support from this grant, Explore Ecology’s Art From Scrap program will provide arts and environmental education to youth aged 6 to 12 in New Cuyama, CA. Students will learn a multimedia approach to artwork with the use of recycled materials. Art workshops, open to the entire community, will include screen printing, collage, assemblage, and fabric dyeing with native plants. The program will be free. Classes will be held at the Blue Sky Center, a nonprofit based in New Cuyama.
Explore Ecology’s Executive Director Lindsay Johnson, says, “We are excited to work with Blue Sky and Cuyama Elementary School. This grant will touch the lives of many students and their families. We appreciate the Cal Arts Council for giving us the opportunity to educate children in the Cuyama Valley.”
Explore Ecology is one of 136 grantees chosen for this highly competitive program, which received applications from 168 organizations statewide. News of the grant was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, which can be viewed online at http://arts.ca.gov/news/
“We know the benefits of arts education—to improve test performance, reduce dropout rates and increase participation in higher learning,” said Donn K. Harris, California Arts Council Chair. “Explore Ecology, through the Artists in Schools – Extension program, allows students real-life arts immersion beyond the standard school day. Opportunities like this help support the growth and success of California’s students by fostering creativity, innovation, and collaboration through the arts.”
To view a complete listing of all Artists in Schools – Extension grantees, visit http://arts.ca.gov/programs/
About Explore Ecology: Explore Ecology is an environmental education and arts nonprofit that works with over 30,000 children a year, inspiring them to engage with the natural world, think critically, and experience the value of environmental stewardship. Explore Ecology programs include the Art From Scrap Creative ReUse Store and Gallery, Watershed Resource Center, and School Gardens Program. For more information, visit ExploreEcology.org.
