Artists-in-Schools › Program Structure And Policies

Guidelines | Artist Residencies | Artist Participation

Guidelines for: Scheduling and Payment of Artists-in-Schools Engagements

Scheduling:

1. Requests for artist bookings will be accepted throughout the year, although artists' availability may be limited.
2. Requests are processed in the order in which they are received at the offices of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, 100 E. Broad Street, Suite 2250, Columbus, Ohio, 43215.
3. Requests must be submitted electronically via the online directory, or in writing on a hard-copy Schedule Request Form (available for download from the online directory, or through the GCAC office.) Telephone requests will NOT BE ACCEPTED.
4. For written requests, be sure to indicate the name of the activity on the form in the space provided (Activity name). State exact time(s) of visit/performance, grade/age levels, number of participants, and fee structure. Failure to answer all questions accurately may cause delays in scheduling. Because many artists in the program are extremely busy IT IS CRUCIAL TO CHECK ARTIST'S AVAILABILITY as listed in the Directory before selecting dates.
5. When selecting dates for an artist visit, first and second choice of dates MUST BE LISTED where applicable. Whenever possible, we will attempt to accommodate your first choice date.
6. GCAC will mail out a written confirmation for each engagement to the school/other site and to the artist/arts group as soon as possible after receiving a request.
7. Artists are required to re-confirm the booking with the school by telephone at least TWO WEEKS prior to presentation. If a school does not hear from the artist, it is the school's responsibility to phone the Artists-in-Schools office for confirmation. In the event of an emergency, the artist is required to notify the school as soon as possible to reschedule. PLEASE NOTIFY THE Artists-in-Schools OFFICE IMMEDIATELY IF ANY ARTIST FAILS TO CONFIRM AND/OR CANCEL A BOOKING.
8. Any site wishing to cancel a scheduled engagement must do so at least three weeks prior to the date of the activity, or be subject to possible fee payment as determined by the Artists-in-Schools office.
9. Snow Days - In the event of inclement weather, it is the responsibility of the school/site to contact the artist. Failure to do so will result in compensating the artist in full. At the site's earliest convenience, please contact the Artists-in-Schools office to reschedule the artist for another presentation.

Payment:

1. Following an artist's presentation, the school contact person or principal will need to sign a pay voucher supplied by the artist. IT IS AGAINST Artists-in-Schools POLICY FOR ARTISTS TO ACCEPT DIRECT PAYMENT FROM THE SCHOOL.
2. Invoices are sent to the school following an artist's presentation. PAYMENT IS DUE UPON RECEIPT. Any questions regarding invoices, credits, or billing procedures should be directed to the Artists-in-Schools Program.
3. All outstanding balances must be paid before the end of the school year.
4. An Administrative Reimbursement Charge (ARC) of $7.00 is added to the artist's fee. The ARC, retained by GCAC, is primarily used to fund professional development seminars for teachers and artists. The ARC also serves to offset a small portion of the general administrative costs for Artists-in-Schools.

Finally, any questions regarding the program offerings or artists' availability should be directed to GCAC's Community Arts Education Program Administrator, Ms. Oulanje Regan (e-mail: oregan@gcac.org or tel: 614-221-8625). If you would like someone to speak to your parent-teacher organization or if there is any way we can make the program serve you better, please call our offices at (614) 224-2606.

Artist Residencies

Artists-in-Schools residencies are designed to provide an in-depth arts-based educational experience. Residencies may last a full day, several days, or longer. While in residence, the artist or company is expected to function as a teaching artist, not a classroom teacher or substitute teacher.

These guidelines are intended as suggestions only to help you plan a successful residency. Residencies can be structured in many different ways to suit the needs of the site and/or to accommodate specific learning objectives or different art forms. If you have any questions, please call the Artists-in-Schools office. (Note: The term ARTIST is used to denote artists working in all arts disciplines.)

Shaping the Residency
The site should provide for an orientation and planning meeting with the artist several weeks before the residency begins. This meeting is required and should include all site and community personnel involved in shaping the residency. The site must give the Artists-in-Schools office advance notice of the date and time of the meeting. If possible, a staff member will attend the meeting.

The artist wants to give his/her best; therefore, it is essential to provide a comfortable schedule. The artist's day should be discussed and scheduled at the planning meeting. While the artist is expected to be at the site for the full working day, his/her schedule is to consist of no more than four contact sessions if she/he is not doing an evening workshop or presentation, and no more than three contact sessions if she/he is doing an evening activity. (CONTACT SESSIONS are defined as the number of meetings with classes or small groups of students, not the number of hours in the working day.) Additional time in the day is to be used for artist's studio time, group preparation, and time to meet with students and teachers on an individual, informal basis. Studio time is an important element in building a successful residency because it enables residency participants to observe an artist working in his/her own discipline.

Core and Peripheral Groups
Plans should include core and peripheral group contact with the artist. The CORE group meets repeatedly with the artist during the residency, providing the opportunity to work very closely with him/her. For example, core groups meet with the artist three or more times during a five-day residency. PERIPHERAL contact groups meet with the artist fewer times. Core and peripheral group size should consist of no more than one regular class (15-30 students), except in the case of presentations. Group size should be discussed with the artist at the planning meeting. Teachers are expected to participate in residency activities with their students to gain additional understanding of the art form presented.

Teacher Workshops
Teacher workshops are an essential part of the program and are designed to increase a teacher's awareness of an art form and to enhance his/her experience with the artists. Adequate time should be set aside for the artist to work with the staff at the site to introduce him/herself, present his/her art form, and discuss projects and follow-up activities. These workshops count as contact sessions. Some sites plan residencies with teachers as one core group.

Public Presentations
Public presentations can be an effective way to enhance the cultural life of a community and share the residency activity. A presentation should not overshadow the residency. Informal activities such as receptions, lecture-demonstrations, open classrooms, exhibitions, formal concerts and presentations are all possibilities. The site and the artist should discuss a public presentation at the planning session. The more elaborate the activity, the more time the artist should have in order to prepare. It might, therefore, be necessary to reduce the number of daytime contact sessions accordingly.

A residency is an intensive experience. Because the artist will be new to your site and unfamiliar with the staff and residency participants, appropriate introduction and welcoming activities should be planned for the artist. We also ask that you acknowledge the artist's need to assimilate and organize information unique to each residency by respecting his/her planning time during the day.

The range of residency encounters are varied and unlimited; therefore, careful planning by the artist and site facilitators is necessary to determine the activities that best serve the needs of those involved. The following are examples of the kinds of activities that might occur in a residency, where children have extended and intensive sessions with artists:

• The overall goal of a storytelling residency might be to develop a sensitivity to the human values and potential of a particular culture. The purpose might be to engage participants to strive toward multicultural awareness. The folktale might be presented as a device to explain the interaction of human and spiritual forces in ones life. An artist's performance of narratives might challenge listeners and enliven their imaginations for exploring and extending the stories of their lives. From this initial introduction, a CORE group of children could work toward creating, performing and writing a story. With the artist's assistance, the students might explore strategies in library research, writing and revising drafts, participating in peer review, and possibly working toward developing genealogy charts. Intensive activities of this nature might increase skills in creative and critical thinking and problem solving.
• A dance residency might consist of a dancer/choreographer working with a group of children on an exploratory movement experience. Working with a specific theme, the students experiment with a variety of shapes and forms, creating and then telling a story without words. They might also design costumes and sets to complement their original dances. Besides costume and set designs, another activity which might encourage cross-discipline relationships in this residency could be journal writing.
  
  Throughout the residency, the youngsters would be challenged to reach beyond their physical limitations, utilizing their bodies as instruments for expression. One of the highlights of this residency might be an informal presentation of the youngster's choreography and dances.

Site Responsibilities

• Attend scheduled orientation and planning meeting for site and chosen artist(s). In order to implement a successful residency it is important that the site liaison and arts specialist (if applicable) attend. It is also useful for other centrally involved persons such as principals, staff coordinators, core group teachers or directors to participate.
• Provide appropriate facilities and/or studio space per resident artist specifications.
• Provide supplies and materials for residency activities.
• Provide for school personnel in attendance at all residency activities to assist in classroom management.
• Arrange for publicity and promotion of the artist and residency within the community.

Fees
Residency fees will vary and are negotiated individually with the artist, or art organization

How Artists Join and Participate in Artists-in-Schools

Recruitment Process
GCAC accepts applications from professional artists and companies wishing to participate in Artists-in-Schools every two years, with applications due in February of odd years.

Artists-in-Schools accepts applications in the following categories:

• Architecture and Design
• Dance/Movement Arts
• Film and Video
• Literary Arts
• Multi-Disciplinary Arts
• Theatre
• Traditional and Ethnic Arts
• Visual Arts
• Music

Applicants should submit proposals that are well thought-out and carefully designed to be appropriate for school age children, K-12. Services may include performances, lectures, workshops, master classes, readings, or multidisciplinary experiences. Time may range from a single class period to extended visits or residencies. The artist or group sets the fees for their services.

A Prospective Artist Workshop is held prior to the application deadline. Attendance to this workshop is mandatory for those who are submitting an application for the first time. During this workshop, the selection criteria and the policies and goals of the Artists-in-Schools program are discussed.

Artist Selection Criteria: The Artist Selection Criteria are a set of standards maintained by the program and used when evaluating artists.

• The artist should be a producing artist who devotes a substantive amount of his or her time and energy to the art form.
• The artist should demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively with elementary, middle and/or high school students.
• The artist's program(s) should be designed so that the artist does not act as an arts teacher, but offers students an opportunity to experience the arts from the artist's point of view.
• The artist's program(s) must be one which classroom teachers would be unable to offer. It should be beyond what classroom teachers could learn from an instructional package or an in-service workshop

Artists-in-Schools Screening Panels
Panels of professionals in each of the above disciplines evaluate applicants on the basis of their proposed programs, credentials, and in-school live auditions/interviews. Artists are selected according to quality, educational value and professionalism of their presentation, and their ability to articulate their art form to an audience.

Deadlines
Artists-in-Schools applications will be available in November 2008. The Prospective Artist Workshop will be held in January 2009. Application deadline is February 2009.

Selected applicants will be invited to audition to join the program. Auditions will be held in April 2009.

Contact Oulanje Regan at oregan@gcac.org for application materials and to sign up for the Prospective Artist Workshop.

Artist Agreement
Artists accepted in the program are required to sign an agreement detailing the terms of their participation.

Curriculum/Study Guides
Each artist is required to submit a curriculum/study guide which must be on file and approved by the Program Director. Each artist is required to review and if necessary revise their curriculum/study guide every three years. This study guide should be related to artists' presentations and designed for use by classroom teachers. The material may include suggestions to teachers for pre-visit and follow-up activities as well as additional references or resources. The artist agrees to produce this material and deliver it to the schools in advance of his/her appearance.

Artists-in-Schools Directory
Artists recommended by the screening panel and approved by GCAC are listed in the Artists-in-Schools Directory, found within GCAC's website, www.gcac.org. The Directory summarizes programs offered by each artist, including fees, special requirements, and the artist's credentials. Users can submit requests for artists electronically via the directory as well.

Contractual Relationships
As an arts resource network, the Artists-in-Schools Program is intended to provide and facilitate a direct relationship between arts professionals and instructional personnel. In doing so, GCAC acts as the broker, taking a nominal administrative reimbursement fee ($7.00 per pay voucher) which is added to the artist's published fee (as listed in the online directory). Artists must be available to schedule services in the greater Columbus area during the school year. Touring artists or artists who will not be available for the entire year must indicate the dates of their availability.

Scheduling and Confirmation
Artists are notified of bookings by GCAC staff. In the event that an artist arranges an activity directly with a site, the artist is required to notify GCAC at once. After an artist has confirmed an appearance, he/she is responsible for notifying the site of any special requirements not described in the Directory. The artist should be available for contact with the school prior to and after the appearance. Artists are responsible for the transportation of their own equipment to the school.

Payment and Evaluation
After an Artists-in-Schools visit, the artist is required to complete a pay voucher, present it to the site liaison/principal for signature, and return it to GCAC. The artist is also required to complete an Artist Response Form evaluating the activity. Full payment to the artist is made by GCAC on either the 15th or the last business day of each month. GCAC will later bill the school/other site for the cost of the Artist-in-Schools visit.

Artist Preview Night
Teachers, school administrators, PTA & PTO representatives, and other community members attend Artist Preview Night,a free event that is open to the public, to observe artistic demonstrations and to become acquainted with the variety of arts education offerings in the Artists-in-Schools program. Many Artist Preview Night attendees choose to schedule Artists-in-Schools engagements as a result of their experiences at Artist Preview Night. The Artists-in-Schools program staff will schedule all artists on a first-come, first-served basis, depending entirely on the artist/arts group's availability.

Professional Development Seminars
The Community Arts Education Program offers professional development services to educators and AiS artists. The Summer Teacher Arts Institute is an annual program that supports the integration of arts into the general school curriculum. Throughout the year, GCAC may also provide other special opportunities for artists, such as workshops on marketing, program planning, or preparation of curriculum materials.

Grounds for removal from the Artists-in-Schools program include, but are not limited to the following: failure to abide by the contractual agreement; a lack of professionalism; lack of willingness or ability to make appropriate programmatic changes; lack of responsibility in communicating with teachers and site liaisons; ineffective integration of arts into the curriculum when appropriate; and others as determined by the Program Director.

Automatic Review
Artists receiving one scheduled activity or less in a two-year period may be invited into the office for an interview/consultation to discuss and review their program(s). Unsatisfactory evaluations (either from outside evaluators or the school response forms) are also cause for review. Artists in the inactive status (those without any bookings in a two-year period) will be required to participate in the screening panel review process or be removed from the program.