Tag Archives: Arts Education

One of many fun touches at a recent ArtSource event in Tempe

It wasn’t glasses filled with candies plopped on to the center of round tables that made arts educators’ eyes look large as round peppermint candies. It was the chance to spend several hours together, away from day-to-day operations and in the midst of fellow creative souls championing the cause of arts and culture in Arizona schools.

L to R: Teniqua Broughton, John Huppenthal and Nicole Stanton at ArtSource

A recent gathering of arts educators and arts organizations dubbed “ArtSource” opened with remarks by Teniqua Broughton, executive director for Act One Foundation, who introduced Linda “Mac” Perlich. Perlich and her husband, founders and owners of ON Media Publications, started the foundation to provide arts and culture field trips to Arizona students.

Both grew-up enjoying plenty of field trips to see symphony, ballet and other performance art, “Mac” here in Arizona and her husband J. Russell in Michigan. Never mind that they weren’t particularly talented in creating art, she says. Time with the arts fueled attitudes and skills applicable in other areas of life — and taught them the importance of arts audiences and arts advocates.

John Huppenthal talks arts and education at ArtSource in Tempe

John Huppenthal, Arizona State Superintendent of Education, spoke as well — also confessing that while he was never all that gifted in the arts, he’s a firm believer in the power of arts to mold and motivate creative, engaged citizens. Huppenthal shared stories of early encounters with arts and literature, sharing one thought he’d found particularly profound — the idea that mastery requires 8,000 hours of practice.

EPIK Dance Company performs Make a Move at ArtSource in Tempe

Next up was a work in progress that already feels plenty polished — an anti-bullying piece called “Make a Move” developed and performed by EPIK Dance Company. It opens in a classroom, then moves to other spaces where students sometimes mock and mistreat those whose outer appearance differs from their own. I’m eager to see the finished product when it’s rolled out for public performance.

Make a Move by EPIK Dance promotes bullying prevention

I sat with Step Raptis and Lisa Chow during the presentations, telling Chow how much I enjoy reading her Arizona Dance Coalition newsletters and asking Raptis what he’d be performing during October’s Festival of the Arts at the Herberger Theater Center. Raptis shared news of other festival plans too, and I made a mental note to give him a call to talk more about Step’s Junk Funk.

The day also included grant workshops and a casual roundtable discussion, and lots of time visiting displays highlighting arts education programs and other offerings of local arts and culture organizations. Think music, dance, museums and more. “ArtSource” was a lovely demonstration of the fact that Arizona has a wealth of arts education resources for students of all ages.

As I passed the Ballet Arizona table, decorated with soft mounds of tulle and pink pointe shoes well-worn by the dancers who’d later signed them, I shared that my daughter had trained for ten years with the company’s school – just a few years behind David Hallberg and several of the School of Ballet Arizona students who now dance with Ballet Arizona and other esteemed companies.

I ran into several Tempe Center for the Arts volunteers while peeking into the gallery being prepared for the next exhibit. One shared their four-point approach for engaging visitors in conversations about exhibited artworks, told me a bit about docent training and responsibilities, and even shared her enthusiasm for several of the classes she’s taken through the Tempe Public Library. I was thrilled to share that Stephanie Solis, a teen who recently exhibited at the TCA Gallery, is featured in the current issue of Raising Arizona Kids magazine.

ArtSource event presented in Tempe by Act One Foundation

I enjoyed a lovely bit of roundtable time with women from the Phoenix Symphony, Musical Instrument Museum and Arizona Family Theater, talking with the theater’s producer about their upcoming production of “Junglabook” and their outreach to elderly audiences throughout the Valley. I recalled how impressed I’d been watching a MIM docent explain music and physics to a group of students, and enjoyed learning about the symphony’s upcoming Day of the Dead concert. Soon the conversation turned to Phoenix First Fridays, and the impact of arts on the city’s development.

Greg Stanton talks art and economic development in Phoenix

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who first crossed my path during Arcadia roof rat meetings a decade or so ago, channeled a similar theme — crediting arts and culture along Roosevelt Row with drawing new construction to the area. Stanton encouraged folks to share their “big ideas” for Phoenix’s future via the city’s website, and invited questions from the crowd.

I decided to share my question with Stanton after his formal remarks ended, curious about what sorts of art he’d made as a child that his mom liked to display on the fridge or around the house. Seems he had a thing for making Shrinky Dinks. Like other distinguished “ArtSource” guests, Stanton noted that while he never exhibited great artistic talent, he fully appreciates the importance of experiencing the arts and the role of arts and culture in driving economic development. And he graciously thanked me for writing about his wife’s bullying prevention work.

I learned from the Desert Botanical Garden folks that they’ve got two new art exhibits coming to the garden in October, plus the return of their outdoor concert series. I visited their website when I got home, and was pleased to learn about a monarch butterfly exhibit — which reminded me of Manolo Valdes’ “Butterflies” exhibited at the New York Botanical Garden.

Representatives from the West Valley Arts Council shared news of their “Big Read” plans, and I talked with Childsplay folks about Lois Lowry coming to town thanks to Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe. They’re performing “The Giver,” adapted from one of Lowry’s books, at the TCA in October — and hoping Lowry might join them for a rehearsal. Next I explored the Latino Film Series and other Phoenix Art Museum offerings.

Heard Museum display at ArtSource at Tempe Center for the Arts

When I visited the Heard Museum display, I remembered lingering over Katsina doll exhibits with my son. At the ASU Gammage table, I recalled more than a decade spent seeing touring Broadway shows with my youngest daughter. At the ASU Art Museum table, I recalled times spent admiring various works of sculpture. At the Mesa Arts Center display, I learned that community members have already started contributing yarn art for next year’s yarn bombing affair.

I shared with folks from Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts my enthusiasm for not only the center, but also several nearby venues – including the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (including its young@art gallery), the Scottsdale Civic Center Library and the Scottsdale Historical Museum. And I overshared a bit by noting that I’d gone into labor with my son while strolling paths throughout the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall.

Soon I stumbled on another reminder of just how fast time flies — a presentation by the Arizona Arts Commission noting that it’s once again time for schools to register for the Poetry Out Loud competition. It seems only yesterday that I was watching state finalists do poetry proud at Phoenix Center for the Arts before one young poet was selected to represent Arizona in the national competition.

Those who missed the “ArtSource” gathering can learn more about the organization’s support for arts education by visiting www.act1az.org.

– Lynn

Coming up: A little love for Broadway, Remembering 9/11, Jersey girls tour