The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC), in partnership with the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), has announced a new home for the Community Arts Education programs that have been a part of GCAC since 1976. The programs will be transferred to the OAAE effective July 31, 2012. GCAC will continue to advocate for and support arts education.
GCAC’s Community Arts Education programs include the Artists-in-Schools program, the Franklin County Neighborhood Arts grant program, the out-of-school-time Art in the House program (in partnership with TRANSIT ARTS and the Columbus Federation of Settlements), and professional development in arts integration for K-12 teachers. All programs will continue without interruption and Community Arts Education Director, Tim Katz, and Program Administrator, Oulanje Regan, will continue to manage them as employees of OAAE. Associate Artist, Jim Arter, will remain with GCAC until his retirement at the end of 2012.
A leading member of the national Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE) makes an excellent new home for the Community Arts Education programs. OAAE was founded in 1974 and has established and maintains a network for communication, cooperation, and advocacy for arts education. OAAE has more than 8,000 members including students, parents, educators, administrators, citizens, artists, and arts advocates.
“The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education is dedicated to continuing the existing programming and partnerships in service to all of the individuals and organizations currently engaged by the Community Arts Education programs,” said Donna Collins, OAAE Executive Director. “All resources dedicated to the programs will continue to be focused in Columbus and Franklin County.”
The decision to transfer the programs was made as a result of the Columbus Arts Market Sustainability Study and GCAC Agency Review, two studies completed in 2011. The Sustainability Study was prepared for The Columbus Foundation and endorsed by the Columbus Partnership. Both studies pointed to a need for GCAC to focus on its mission as a granting agency and its current work to secure a lasting arts funding solution that will make the entire Columbus cultural community more vital.
GCAC President Milt Baughman, said about the program transfer, “OAAE has an excellent national, statewide, and local reputation and strong working relationships. With its mission focused on access to quality arts education for all citizens (especially K-12 students), an active and committed board of directors, and its dedication to providing outreach services, OAAE became the clear and obvious choice to assume responsibility for the Community Arts Education programs.”
More about the Programs:
Artists-in-Schools (AiS)
Since 1976 the Artists-in-Schools program has linked professional artists and arts groups to Franklin County-area K-12 schools; enabling teachers to integrate arts learning with core subjects, such as English, social studies, science and math. Annually the program books over 500 activities, engaging more than 85 individual artists or arts organizations at approximately 150 public, charter and private school buildings, and serves tens of thousands of K-12 students.
Franklin County Neighborhood Arts Grants Program (FCNA)
The FCNA program, launched in 2004, increases community participation in the arts by providing small grants to local organizations of all kinds for neighborhood projects in all arts disciplines. Three rounds of applications and awards are generated annually. Public funding for these community projects leverages local contributions at a 1:7 ratio. In 2010 this program provided $54,000 in grants.
Art in the House, in partnership with TRANSIT ARTS
Modeled after exemplary and award-winning afterschool programs dating back to 1991, the Art in the House and TRANSIT ARTS programs offer free, year round programming to underserved youth in the city’s most challenging neighborhoods through partnerships with the Columbus Federation of Settlements (settlement houses) and dozens of other community organizations. These programs engage over 1,000 young people, ages 5-21, annually in active learning that helps them develop a sense of personal responsibility, develop skills in creative, constructive action, and boosts self-esteem, confidence, and awareness of community resources. These programs typically employ two dozen professional teaching artists and also offer youth paid teaching, entrepreneurial, and management apprenticeship opportunities as well as non-paid internships with other arts and cultural businesses and institutions. The programs prioritize skills development and the prevention of destructive behaviors as opposed to more costly measures of intervention conducted only after destructive behaviors are established.
Professional Development in Arts Integration for K-12 Teachers
The professional development program has long-established collaborations with local performing arts organizations and Columbus City Schools in providing training for K-12 teachers in arts integration. This effort has included BalletMet Columbus and the Jazz Arts Group as primary partners. Based on a model developed by these collaborators, K-12 arts and classroom teachers learn and utilize methods of integrating performing and visual arts using differentiated instruction while adhering to district and state academic content standards in Fine Arts, English Language Arts, and other subject areas.
About the Greater Columbus Arts Council: Through vision and leadership, advocacy and collaboration, the Greater Columbus Arts Council supports art and advances the culture of the region. A catalyst for excellence and innovation, we fund exemplary artists and arts organizations and provide programs, events and services of public value that educate and engage all audiences in our community. GCAC thanks Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the AEP Foundation, the City of Columbus, and the Ohio Arts Council for their ongoing support of the Community Arts Education programs.
About the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education: The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education is a statewide service organization whose mission is to ensure the arts are an integral part of the education of every Ohioan. Since 1974 the OAAE has provided services and resources that support high quality arts education in-school, out-of-school, and in communities statewide. As a leader in the areas of professional development, building collaborations, and advocacy the OAAE works at the local, state, and federal levels. The OAAE is supported with financial and human resources from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Music Education Association, Ohio Foundation for Music Education, Ohio Art Education Association, OhioDance, Ohio Educational Theatre Association, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Greater Cincinnati Alliance for Arts Education, and its members.
CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
