VOL. 12 NO. 6
|
|||
|
|
VOL. 12 NO. 6 |
|
|
The Blue Moon is published bi-monthly by the
Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency in the
Commerce Cabinet.
Please send comments, questions and information to the Blue Moon, Kentucky Arts
Council, 500 Mero Street, 21st Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601-1987 or call
502-564-3757, toll free 1-888-833-2787.
|
 |
Starting Early with ArtsStart! Grant for Preschool StudentsA recent Rand Corporation report clearly states that early engagements through arts education may be the most important and "surest route to a lifetime of arts participation." At the same time, impressive research has shown that participation and learning in the arts have remarkable power to affect the cognitive, social, and emotional development of young people and make substantial contributions to community vitality. To help children be exposed to and learn through the arts, The Kentucky Arts Council offers the ArtsStart! program which brings professional artists into Kentucky early childcare/preschool facilities for 20 or 40 sessions to demonstrate their art forms and share their creativity with the children, directors and staff. This grant enables directors and staff of these classrooms and facilities to be directly involved in designing and implementing innovative projects through short term residencies with practicing, professional artists and promote awareness of the value the arts provide to the holistic development of young children. While the number of applications for this grant has increased in the last few months, we still consider this grant under-utilized and are encouraging more applications! ArtsStart! has an on-going deadline throughout the year. Applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the start of the proposed residency. Residencies may focus on any artistic discipline (visual arts, dance, theatre, storytelling, music, etc.) and must include a special event or activity that includes parental participation. The program director can assist prospective applicants in locating a qualified artist and assistance is also provided to grantees to assure that each residency is all that it can be! Collaborations between multiple facilities could be an acceptable variation of an ArtsStart! residency. And, new to the program, kindergarten classes may be included provided 50% or more of the residency is with a pre-school program. For either of these options, you must check with the Kentucky Arts Council for direction prior to application. For organizations participating in the STARS for KIDS NOW program, ArtsStart! would be beneficial in addressing several components of the rating scale. You can bring in an artist for twenty or forty session, with each session lasting 30-60 minutes. The artist, director, and some or all of the staff of the facility are required to meet for one session of professional development prior to the beginning of classroom instruction and at least one more later in the residency. A minimum of one session must be reserved for a parent involvement activity or a special event involving parents. It is important to remember how vital it is for the children to have multiple sessions with the artist, the more the better! After consultation with the Kentucky Arts Council, facilities and artists may agree to substitute or add special events or professional development workshops, and to spread out the on-site days if the artist lives near the facility. Any director or staff person from a Kentucky not-for-profit early childhood/preschool facility may apply. For-profit centers serving low-income families may apply for this program, if a not-for profit organization (i.e., a Community Early Childhood Council) serves as the fiscal agent. Grants of up to $1,080 are available for 40-session residencies with applicants providing a match of at least $570. For 20-session residencies grants of up to $540 are available with applicants providing at least $285. Applicants normally arrange matching funds from the facility's budget, local arts council funds, or local business sponsorship. These amounts equal the artist's fee for the residency only and applicants are responsible for providing residency supplies, materials and other incidental expenses. For complete information on this grant, please go to the following link - http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Education/aiehome.htm. This will take you to the Kentucky Arts Council Arts Education page where you will find links to all Arts Education grants and also access the Arts Education Roster of Artists and other important information. Once on that page you can click on Arts Council Programs for Childcare Facilities and follow the links to the Guidelines and Instructions and Application Form for the ArtsStart! Grant. You can look over the Kentucky Arts Council Roster of Artists and contact the ones who interest you to discuss the possibilities of a residency, or perhaps you have a local artist in mind. Again, we can assist you in locating a qualified artist. Artists not on the KAC Arts Education Roster must submit supporting materials including a resume and samples of their work (not student work) that demonstrate artistic excellence in their field and previous residency or educational work. The program director will provides technical support by providing consultation to applicants via telephone and email. We welcome all questions regarding this program and application. You can contact John S. Benjamin, Arts Education Program Director, at 502-564-8110, ext. 483 or toll free at 888-833-2787, or by email at john.benjamin@ky.gov. Or you can contact Patricia Ritter, ArtsStart! and The Alternative Connections Grant (Formerly YCIP) Coordinator, at 270-433-5605 or artmusicpat@yahoo.com. Arts Education Artist Roster Application Deadline ChangesFor over 15 years the deadline for artists wishing to apply to be included on the Arts Council's Arts Education Roster has been January 15th. No longer. The new deadline will be July 1st or, in the case of next year (2006) when the 1st will fall on a weekend, on Monday, July 3rd. The deadline change was necessary to bring the roster in line with our Arts Education residency programs. Third-year artists currently on the roster under the old schedule would rotate off as of July 1st, 2006. With the application change, they won't rotate off until November 1st, 2006. Therefore they will be eligible to apply with teachers for the Teacher Initiated Program grants on February 1st of 2006 for residencies occurring between July and December and again on October 15th for residencies occurring between January and June 2007. New applicants who are approved will become rostered in November of 2006. They will be eligible to apply with teachers on February 1st, 2007 for residencies occurring between July and December of 2007. The Kentucky Arts Council administers three grant programs that place outstanding professional artists into residencies in Kentucky schools, preschools, child care centers, and youth detention centers or alternative schools in order to work; demonstrate their art forms; and share their ideas, creativity, and talents with students of all ages. The purpose of the Arts Education Roster is to promote artists that have the qualifications to conduct these residencies, i.e., produce high quality artistic work, and have the skills and competencies needed to work with teachers and students in designing and implementing arts programs. As in the past, approved artists are placed on the Kentucky Arts Council Arts Education Roster for up to three years. To maintain his or her status on the roster during that time, each artist must submit an updated application form and resume by the new July 1st deadline each year. After three years on the roster, artists will rotate off for one year and then may reapply. Membership on the roster under the new schedule will begin and end on November 1st. Artists who are ending their 3rd year on the roster on November 1st are eligible to apply with teachers on October 15th of that year for residencies occurring from January through June of the following year. For more information, contact John Benjamin at 888-833-2787, ext. 483. Artist Residency Grants Available for Youth at RiskThe Alternative Connections Program enables the director, teachers or staff of a Kentucky alternative school or juvenile justice facility to implement an artist residency for 20 or 40 sessions. Residencies may focus on any artistic discipline (visual, dance, theatre, music, storytelling, writing, etc.), and must involve the youth, teachers, directors and staff directly in the creative process. The goals of this program are to provide youth with alternative means of expression, to provide different pathways to learning through the arts and to involve students directly in the creative process with artists who make art as a profession. While the number of applications for this program has increased in the last few months, we still consider it under-utilized and are encouraging more applications! The Alternative Connections Grant has an on-going deadline throughout the year and applications may be submitted at least 30 days prior to the start of the proposed residency. Any director, teacher or staff person from a Kentucky youth correctional facility or alternative school may apply. Grants of up to $1,080 are available for 40-session residencies with applicants providing a match of at least $570. For 20-session residencies grants of up to $540 are available with applicants providing at least $285. Applicants normally arrange matching funds from the facility's budget, local arts council funds, or local business sponsorship. These amounts equal the artist's fee for the residency only and applicants are responsible for providing residency supplies, materials and other incidental expenses, if any. For complete information on this grant, please go to the following link - http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Education/aiehome.htm. This will take you to the Kentucky Arts Council Arts Education page where you can follow links to all of the Arts Education grants and also access the Art Education Roster of Artists and other important information. Once on that page you can click on Arts Council Programs for Schools K-12 and follow the links to the Guidelines and Instructions and Application Form for The Alternative Connections Grant. You can look over the Kentucky Arts Council Roster of Artists and contact the one who interests you directly to make arrangements for a residency, or perhaps you have a local artist in mind. Artists not on the Kentucky Arts Council Arts Education Roster must submit supporting materials including a resume and samples of their work (not student work) that demonstrate artistic excellence in their field and previous residency or educational work. The Program Director will provide technical support by providing consultation to applicants via telephone and email. We welcome all questions regarding this program and application. You can contact John S. Benjamin, Arts Education Program Director at 502-564-8110, ext. 483; toll free at 888-833-2787 or by email at john.benjamin@ky.gov. Or contact Patricia Ritter, Coordinator for the ArtsStart! and Alternative Connections programs, at 270-433-5605 or at artmusicpat@yahoo.com.
|
