Let our voices rise up and travel on the winds to all the people of the world; let us be heard.
On Friday, President Obama released a report (“Re-Investing in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools“) encouraging the arts in education. Anyone who’s met me knows that I’ve been saying this alongside artists and teachers for quite some time now. In fact, my very first blog here cited the importance of community, culture and arts in education. It seems our collective voice is finally being heard, perhaps in part by celebrity endorsements and reactions to proposed budget cuts which would cripple the art community. But even though the battle isn’t over – there is hope.
The report reads: “Arts integration models, the practice of teaching across classroom subjects in tandem with the arts, have been yielding some particularly promising results in school reform and closing the achievement gap. Most recently, cutting-edge studies in neuroscience have been further developing our understanding of how arts strategies support crucial brain development in learning.” But for whatever reason you can imagine, budget cuts are still being made to arts programs in schools everywhere, and arts instruction is on a “downward trend”.
However, this doesn’t stop you from making the changes and sharing the wealth of creativity you have at your fingertips to children of all ages. Take for example the Arts Immersion I wrote about last week. The benefit from these culturally saturated programs is unmatched and essential to growing minds. Thanks to everyone who takes part in sharing the arts, our children have a chance to be more creative and bring new innovations and ideas to our world.
The arts will always need your voice to help protect and preserve the continuity of our artistic community, and there’s no greater voice in Sedona than the Sedona Arts Center (SAC). Not only does the arts center have a wonderful educational curriculum on campus, SAC supports local artists and programs in schools, creates outreach programs and opens its doors to artists of all ages. Last week SAC gave a tour to the Tuba City Boarding School Gifted and Talented Program’s 3rd and 4th graders. And, if young aspiring artists can’t come to Sedona, we often go to them and share the joy of creativity.
Outreach programs, Art Immersions and benefits are needed to continue the growth of our renowned cultural hub here in Sedona. This month on May 21st, Sedona Arts Center is presenting the first annual “Sedona Fine Art Auction” at the old Sedona Public Library on 395 Jordan Road in Uptown Sedona. The SFAA is a benefit fundraising event supporting the educational mission and ongoing programming of the Sedona Arts Center. With free admission, artist demonstrations all afternoon and wine and hors d’oeuvres, this is sure to be a spectacular event for art lovers and collectors and you! This is just one of many programs designed to bring art and culture to our community.
So let’s all cheer the fact that the importance of arts education is being recognized – but let us also continue to do our part in donating, volunteering and supporting neighborhood programs and benefits that contribute to the arts in our community. Get smart – support the arts.
Remember: grow; learn; conserve; preserve; create; question; educate; change; and free your mind.
About: Kelli Klymenko is an artist, a faculty member and the Marketing & Events Coordinator at Sedona Arts Center: a gathering place where artists can learn, teach, and exhibit their works at the center’s School of the Arts and Fine Art Gallery in uptown Sedona.
