Blog Posts for Arts Education

Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.


Kate McLeod

Engaging Partners on Art Education for Students with Visual Impairment

Posted by Kate McLeod, Sep 11, 2019 0 comments


Kate McLeod

“You mean an artist made this for us?” A student with a visual impairment is seeing a work of art for the first time at an art museum. The student had just been told that a visual artist recreated Native American on Horseback by Ronald Lockett for their group especially. The group is part of a program called STARS (Social, Therapeutic, Academic and Recreational Services) at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, Georgia. This year-long program is for students with visual impairments and helps them “gain the self-confidence and skills necessary to thrive.” The Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) is in Midtown Atlanta, less than two miles from the High Museum of Art. CVI and the High officially began a partnership in 2016 through a Museum Access for Kids contract from the Kennedy Center VSA. Through this partnership and others, High Museum staff have received training on working with visitors with various abilities.

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Ms. Kerry Kriseman

An artful partnership that creates connections and accessibility

Posted by Ms. Kerry Kriseman, Sep 10, 2019 0 comments


Ms. Kerry Kriseman

Spider Man, Black Widow, and Captain America combine with skyscrapers, skylines, and life-sized pop art. Hands form clay and mouths elicit the spoken word. Creative Clay’s six-month Artlink Apprenticeship Program is yielding a diverse collection that will adorn the walls and fill the spaces of St. Petersburg’s Museum of Fine Arts. Collaborators work in tandem to create art that celebrates each partner’s unique talents and touches. These collaborators weren’t colleagues back in March when they met for their first Artlink session, but today, they’re partners, friends, and advocates. The Artlink Apprenticeship Program is one way that Creative Clay, a non-profit in St. Petersburg, Florida, creates accessibility for all through the arts. Artlink pairs a professional artist with a member artist from Creative Clay’s Community Arts Program, one of seven programs that serves individuals with neuro-differences.

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Ms. Argy Nestor

A Reflection on the Current Climate for Arts Educators in Schools

Posted by Ms. Argy Nestor, Sep 10, 2019 0 comments


Ms. Argy Nestor

Summer is coming to an end and schools across the country once again are opening their doors and welcoming learners of all ages. The education systems of 2019 are shifting to meet the needs of these learners, and this is an ongoing and huge challenge for school leaders. Some students aren’t returning to a traditional school, while others never stopped their learning when the last school year was “officially” over. Fortunately, we have excellent educators across the country leading with innovative ideas to tackle aspects of these differences. As a veteran arts educator of 43 years, this blog is a reflection of what is circling around in my head.

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Ms. Erika Atkins

Leadership in Arts Education

Posted by Ms. Erika Atkins, Jul 24, 2019 0 comments


Ms. Erika Atkins

In early May 2019, I had the honor of being one of 75 participants of the Spring 2019 American Express Leadership Academy (AELA). I gathered with others from across the country to explore our own personal strengths and weaknesses as leaders, and to collaborate on strategies to take that information and be better. Towards the end of the week, we each met for 90 minutes with an executive coach who’d reviewed all of our assessments, self-reflection, and organization information. We also began to reflect on how we could practically use our epiphanies and discoveries. The experience was incredible. Never before have I been afforded the luxury of three and a half days to focus on myself, not just myself in the context of the work I do. The information I received allowed me to ruminate on what I was learning and how it specifically impacts leadership in the field of arts education—and what I can pass on to my colleagues in the field. 

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Ms. Jill Tutt

Arts & Military Connections: Missouri American Legion Tom Powell Post #77 Celebrates 100 years

Posted by Ms. Jill Tutt, Jul 02, 2019 0 comments


Ms. Jill Tutt

In September 1919, American Legion Tom Powell Post #77 in St. Louis was the first of its kind to become chartered as an all African American Post, decades before the military would desegregate. Post #77 takes pride in having members who served with distinction with the Tuskegee Airmen, Buffalo Soldiers, Montford Point Marines, and many other distinguished military units. Post members also have a proud history of assisting disabled and unemployed veterans, and a strong legacy of providing community youth arts programs. Tom Powell Post #77 was instrumental in bringing the concept of competitive marching music to the community through the development of the Spirit of St. Louis senior drum and bugle corps, and mentored the famed American Woodmen Cadets junior drum and bugle corps programs. The Tom Powell Post Junior Drum and Bugle Corps was organized on September 1, 1935, to help curb juvenile delinquency in and around the neighborhood and to provide music to the Post members marching in the American Legion parade held in St. Louis. The Corps as a competitive group won many honors, including perennial Missouri State championships and placing in the top 10 of numerous national conventions. The Corps was the only Black Corps in the country participating in American Legion competition.

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Mrs. Kelly Lamb Pollock

Creating Space for Human Connection

Posted by Mrs. Kelly Lamb Pollock, May 28, 2019 0 comments


Mrs. Kelly Lamb Pollock

Every day, the sound of jackhammers provides a soundtrack to my workday. My organization, COCA–Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis, is expanding with a 50,000 square foot addition. Historically, arts organizations have built facilities and spaces in service to their art, such as grand museums and acoustically pristine symphony halls. In planning for our expansion, we have done more than our fair share of discussing, debating, and decision-making about the technical specifications and “performance” of our new space. However, as the project has evolved, I’m more interested in thinking about how our space, and our art, can be in service to humanity, not the other way around. Can we, as arts organizations — with our abundance of theatres, studios, museums, and community spaces — do a better job of serving as cornerstones of community connectivity and human engagement?

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