95753
Diversity Makes Us Smarter
Edgar Smith, Chairman and CEO of World Pac Paper, LLC and BCA Executive Board Chair, gave closing remarks at a recent discussion on cultural equity and the arts, and the role that business leaders play in advocating for both the role of arts and the need for diversity in all aspects of the creative and business worlds.
95736
Nothing Funky Happens in Idaho
...or does it? Actually, this is where the new rural-urban arts-centric landscape is happening!
95742
On the Full Creative Life Cut Short
The shooting in Orlando is horrible, full stop. The invasion, the breaking of the space, the wrenching away of the core creative life of not just those 50 people who died but the 250 other people who were there—and, in a lesser way, of all of us who once found our solace in gay spaces—is where the howl emerges from me.
95730
Vans Custom Culture 2016: That’s a Wrap!
This week, we've been featuring stories from high schools around the country that were awarded arts education grants funded through the Custom Culture partnership between Americans for the Arts and Vans. On June 8, the winner of the annual Vans Custom Culture shoe design contest was announced at a special event in Los Angeles. It was an incredible celebration of a program that proves that when businesses partner with the arts, everyone wins.
95719
Empowering Teenagers through the Art of Street Photography
Thanks to Vans and Americans for the Arts, more than 27,000 sets of eyes will see photographic offerings by students from Belmont High School every week at Trader Joe’s in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. This grant placed updated camera equipment in the hands of inner city teens, who relished the opportunity this semester to hone their skills behind the lens. 95 percent of my students do not own simple point and shoot cameras, which made this gift even more special.
Each week, students embarked on a photographic scavenger hunt as they applied the principles of street photography, capturing life as it unfolded around them.
95718
JazzGirls—Welcoming and Encouraging Girls’ Creative Voices
From August 2015 to February 2016 in California:
There were ZERO young women instrumentalists in the Grammy Band (out of 18)
There was ONE young woman instrumentalist in the Monterey NextGen Orchestra (out of 20)
There was ONE young woman instrumentalist in the California State High School Honors Jazz Band (out of 18), and
There were ZERO young women instrumentalists in the California State Middle School Honors Jazz Band (out of 18).
Just in case you weren’t keeping score, that’s a total of TWO young women instrumentalists out of 74.
95706
Artists & Communities: Vicky Takamine and Kahikina de Silva in Conversation
“Our people can’t live without hula and hula cannot live without our people. Both of them need to continue along with all of our other cultural practices." Read on for a thoughtful, illuminating conversation between two native Hawaiian cultural practitioners who are keeping sacred traditions alive in their daily life, work, and advocacy.
95717
Paint + Walls: A Recipe for Welcome in a New Home
When Fenway High School moved to a new building in August 2015, I was struck by one thing: vast canvases of blank, white walls.
Our old building, which we shared with another high school, was a cozy warren of classrooms all branching off of a single, low-ceilinged hallway. That hallway was alive with color: with the help of visiting artists, students over the years had painted murals representing their heroes, their neighborhood, and their activism. Between classes, 350 students packed the brightly painted halls, which matched the vibrancy of their shouts and laughter. When we moved our school across the city, our piles of books and equipment came with us, but those walls couldn’t budge.
95716
Lights, Camera, Take Action!
My name is Matthew Waynee, and I currently work at LAUSD / USC Cinematic Arts & Engineering Magnet, where I serve as the head of the Cinematic Arts Department and co-chair of our annual Festival of Arts that takes place on USC's campus. I have taught Filmmaking 1 & 2, AP Studio Art, Documentary Filmmaking, Ad Design, Digital Photography, Yearbook, Cartoon & Animation, and Game Design. In May, I was the recipient of the National Magnet Teacher of the Year Award, which is given by the Magnet Schools of America.
95712
How to Engage Millennials in Public Service
Music has always possessed the remarkable power to engage and empower young people. Personally, I cannot recall any time from my teenage years that came even remotely close to empowering me as much as the days I spent devoted to bringing music to others.
I was not charitable in the traditional sense; you wouldn’t find me at 6 a.m. on a Sunday scooping soup. Instead, I’d be on a three-hour drive to Goldsboro, North Carolina (a town seriously lacking in live music venues at the time), unloading equipment, playing my heart out for a hundred other teenagers, running sound, packing up, sleeping on floors, and finally driving home, all on my own dime.
95711
It’s Time to Get the Marching Band to Dance!
The Dublin Coffman Marching Band, from Dublin, Ohio, has officially started! Our season will kick off with an exciting visit from John Escalante, a visual designer/dancer from Las Vegas, Nevada. Through a grant from Vans and Americans for the Arts, Mr. Escalante has been hired to provide our students with a wider range of marching and dancing fundamentals. He will not only design and implement a body warm-up for the students, but also choreograph two sections of our marching band show. This year our students will perform their show titled “Colorº” (Color Squared), which will reflect the various moods of color represented in the music and through dance and drill designs. John will be bringing color to life!
