Alex Sarian

Arts Education, by the very nature of our work, is a hybrid profession.  As such, I’m sure many an arts education administrator or fundraiser can share tales of woe about having to explain to board members or funders how our work is both artistic and educational – a task which only a few people, in my opinion, have managed to accomplish in our field.  But where some people see confusion as a result of not being able to label, others see collaboration… the overlap of a Venn diagram.  What fascinates me about our work is that we are the combination of two ecosystems and a place where community takes on a whole new meaning.

While all that sounds lovely, there are (too) few concrete places where one can achieve a professional sense of community – a space where folks can come together from different cities, organizations and professions to share, discuss and dream about what arts education can achieve.  For me, one of these places is American for the Arts – specifically, the Arts Education Network.

In 2011, a year in which many of us and our organizations were dealing with the ripple effects of a massive economic meltdown, I very quickly became overwhelmed by the sense of isolation and surprised by how most in our community quickly reverted into a survival mode that prevented us from seeing beyond the walls of our institutions.  We became so focused on making sure our organizations could make it through the crisis, we inadvertently turned our back on the solution: us.  I, along with everyone else, was starving for perspective. 

Since then, serving on the advisory council for the Arts Education Network has not only allowed me (and my employers) the benefit of a national perspective, but it has allowed me to play a role in shaping that perspective for others.  Through my involvement, I am able to congregate with 14 other people from communities around the country who represent cultural institutions (of all shapes and sizes), higher education, and K-12 education to explore how our work is similar, different and attempting to raise the tide for all boats.  Not only do we come together from all corners of the US, but just as importantly, we meet all over the country and experience firsthand how communities define arts education and community involvement.  Since joining the council, I’ve had the privilege of convening with my colleagues in Dallas, Mesa, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Washington DC and I look forward to Tulsa in January.  Our time is spent meeting amongst ourselves, meeting local organizations and observing artists and teaching artists at work.  My involvement in the council also led to an invitation to translate the Arts Education Navigator, something which I will always consider a professional highlight.

We come together, not just as professionals representing organizations and regions of the US, but we do so under the guidance of Americans for the Arts staff, who shape these experiences and share with us the latest news coming out of congress and Capitol Hill, and call on us for our expertise and local perspective.  Whether I’m attending Arts Advocacy Day, or conversing with Narric Rome and Kristen Engebretsen, I have never felt so in-tune with the pulse of our field – whether at the local or national levels.

I look forward to welcoming our incoming council members and to the perspective they will both bring and create.