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D   O 


An  Education  in  the  Arts 


*9 


NATIONAL 
ENDOWMENT 
FOR  THE  ARTS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


http://archive.org/details/lifelongjourneyeOOIars 


Lifelong  Journey 

An  Education  in  the  Arts 


Cover  photo  by  Nancy  Jane  Reid 


Jane  Alexander,  Arts  Endowment  Chairman  from  1993  to  1997,  and  instructor 
Christophora  Robeers  (behind  Jane  Alexander)  with  elementary  school  stu- 
dents taking  a  class  at  the  Hand  Workshop.  Photo  by  Talor  Dabney. 


Foreword 


Lifelong  learning  in  the  arts  is  a  journey  that  begins  in  infancy.  From  our  very  begin- 
ning, we  can  use  our  powers  to  reconstruct  and  construct  an  endless  variety  of 
images.  Our  imaginations  are  boundless.  Our  minds  seem  especially  tuned  to 
metaphor  and  symbol.  From  the  earliest  age,  we  begin  to  react  to  the  world  in  signs; 
mother's  smile  is  a  sign  that  everything  is  well,  and  the  infant  soon  realizes  the  effect 
of  mimicry.  We  later  explain  the  events  of  our  lives  in  similes:  I  am  as  hungry  as  a 
horse;  her  voice  is  like  butter;  it's  as  hot  as  an  oven  in  here.  Our  arguments  take  the 
form  of  analogies.  Our  emotions  and  feelings  are  expressed  in  a  bouquet  of  roses  or 
the  highly  charged  symbolism  of  a  kiss. 

The  artist  seizes  on  our  proclivity  to  think  in  metaphors  and  symbol.  The  very 
act  of  creating  a  work  of  art:  a  song,  a  sonnet,  a  photograph  or  painting  is  itself  a 
symbol  of  our  desire  to  capture  a  particular  idea  or  feeling  and  communicate  it  with 
others.  There  is  a  poetry  in  the  power  of  the  mind  to  create. 

Our  faith  in  the  creative  mind  is  the  foundation  for  the  Federal  government's 
investment  in  education.  From  the  beginning,  the  National  Endowment  for  the  Arts 
has  channeled  its  resources  into  programs  which  benefit  arts  education.  Initially, 
schoolchildren  received  the  focus  of  our  attention,  but  it  has  become  clear  that  we 
continue  through  our  whole  life  to  learn  through  the  arts. 

Arts  education  is  central  to  fulfilling  the  mission  of  the  National  Endowment  for 
the  Arts  to  foster  the  excellence,  diversity  and  vitality  of  the  arts  and  to  encourage 
public  participation  in  the  arts.  This  pamphlet  outlines  the  National  Endowment  for 
the  Arts'  principles  for  lifelong  learning  in  the  arts  and  identifies  four  broad  areas 
which  guide  our  planning  and  support: 

•  P re-Kindergarten  to  Post-Secondary  Arts  Education 

•  Pre-Professional  and  Professional  Development  in  the  Arts 

•  Avocational  Arts  Education 

•  Tradition-Based  Learning  in  the  Arts 

These  principles  and  characteristics  of  excellence  in  arts  education  can  serve  as 
guidance  to  arts  and  education  organizations  to  help  them  develop  and  sustain  quality 
learning  experiences  in  the  arts  for  people  of  all  ages.  We  believe  that  a  quality  educa- 
tion in  the  arts — one  that  deepens  aesthetic  appreciation,  sparks  creativity  and  imagi- 
nation, and  brings  understanding  to  the  role  and  value  of  the  arts  in  each  of  our  lives 
and  our  society — begins  in  the  cradle,  must  be  nurtured  by  families  and  schools,  and 
continues  beyond  graduation.  Our  creative  life  does  not  stop  .it  IS  or  21  or  ever. 
Lifelong  learning  in  the  arts  is  a  journey  of  discovery,  a  metaphor  by  which  we  ma) 
live  our  lives  most  fully. 


Principles  and 
Characteristics 
of  Excellence  in 
Arts  Education 


Every  person  deserves  the  chance  to  learn  about  the  arts,  to  test  his 
imagination,  to  tap  her  creativity  potential.  No  matter  what  age  or  cul- 
tural background  or  level  of  education  and  accomplishment,  each  per- 
son should  be  able  to  participate  in  a  lifelong  education  in  the  arts. 
Educational  opportunities  are  best  geared  to  each  individual's  particular 
needs,  through  all  stages  of  life  and  in  a  variety  of  settings  which 
embrace  diverse  learning  systems.  Education  in  the  arts  includes,  but  is 
not  limited  to,  pre-Kindergarten  to  grade  12  and  post-secondary  pro- 
grams, career  training,  apprenticeships,  individual  study,  and  culturally 
specific  traditions  of  learning. 


Statement  of  Principles 

The  National  Endowment  for  the  Arts  maintains  that  a  quality 
education  in  the  arts: 

•  Pursues  excellence  at  its  core 

•  Provides  direct  involvement  with  artists  and  their  work 

•  Heightens  experience,  perception,  and  creativity  and  engages 
people  through  keen  observation,  discussion,  questions,  and 
reflection  on  works  of  art 

•  Expands  understanding  of  the  history,  critical  theory,  and 
concepts  of  the  arts 

•  Recognizes  that  all  peoples  contribute  to  the  aesthetic  and 
cultural  fabric  of  the  community 

•  Empowers  people  to  better  explore  their  creativity;  to  increase 
their  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  artists;  and  to  develop  skills  of 
perception,  reflection,  interpretation,  and  communication 

•  Includes  projects  and  programs  that  are  purposeful — with 
clearly  stated  goals  and  expectations,  and  that  are  supported, 
where  appropriate,  by  a  commitment  to  organizational 
leadership,  skilled  staffing,  budget,  facilities,  equipment,  plans, 
programs,  and  community  involvement. 

A  lifelong  education  in  the  arts  for  all  Americans: 

•  inspires  their  lives  and  improves  their  connections  and 
contributions  to  society 

•  connects  people  to  their  cultural  roots 

•  provides  professional  growth  and  direction  toward  careers  in 
the  arts 

•  develops  avocational  interests  in  the  arts 

•  fosters  knowledgeable,  perceptive,  and  appreciative  audiences. 


Pre-Kindergarten 
to  Post-Secondary 
Arts  Education 


Philadelphia  elementary  school  children  learn 
design  through  the  Foundation  for  Architecture's 
in-school  programs.  Photo  by  Don  Tracy. 


Our  children  start  experiencing  the  arts  the  moment  they  recognize  the 
rhythm  of  a  lullaby  or  the  shape  of  the  mobile  above  the  cradle.  It  is 
crucial  that  we  continue  to  nurture  their  natural  imagination  and  cre- 
ativity when  they  begin  their  formal  education  and  to  provide  challeng- 
ing learning  experiences  throughout  their  school  years.  The  arts  are  a 
core  subject  as  defined  in  the  National  Education  Goals,  which  call  for 
all  students  to  achieve  competency  in  challenging  subjects.  The  volun- 
tary National  Standards  for  Arts  Education  serve  as  a  guide  to  states, 
local  schools  and  teacher-preparation  programs  to  develop  academic 
standards  and  curricula  in  the  arts. 

All  students  should  have  access  to  a  comprehensive  education  in 
the  arts  that: 

•  Emphasizes  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  knowledge  and  skills 
gained  through  the  arts 

•  Stresses  curriculum-based  learning  in  and  out  of  the  classroom 
that  is  linked  to  national-,  state-,  and  local-level  standards  and 
that  meets  the  developmental  needs  of  all  children  and  young 
adults 

•  Respects  varied  motivation  to  study  the  arts — including 
personal  fulfillment,  knowledge,  skills,  and  career  aspirations 

•  Recognizes  the  different  ways  children  think  and  learn,  the 
ways  in  which  the  arts  can  unlock  their  learning  styles,  and 
the  need  for  varied  learning  environments 

•  Balances  instruction  in  the  history,  critical  theory  and  ideas  of 
the  arts  with  creation,  production  and  performance 

•  Connects  the  arts  across  the  disciplines  and  across  the 
curriculum  by  integrating  learning  in  and  about  the  arts  with 
other  academic  subjects  as  well  as  in  out-of-school  settings 
that  provide  real-world  contexts  for  learning 

•  Relies  upon  qualified  teachers  and  is  strengthened  by  regular 
engagement  with  artists,  artistic  works,  and  arts  institutions  to 
sustain,  expand,  and  deepen  students'  understanding  of  and 
competence  in  the  arts 

•  Supports  the  professional  development  of  teachers  of  the  arts 
so  they  may  improve  their  knowledge  and  skills 

•  Prepares  future  teachers  to  be  familiar  with  and  confident  in 
the  use  of  the  arts  in  their  classrooms. 


Pre-K  to  12: 


Summer  Creative  Writing  Seminars  for 
Teachers — Associated  Writing  Programs 
and  Ohio  Arts  Council 


"School's  out!"  is  a  cry,  repeated  late 
every  spring  across  the  country,  that  no 
doubt  sounds  as  agreeable  to  many 
teachers  as  it  does  to  most  students. 
After  nine  months  of  the  daily  educa- 
tional routine,  the  prospect  of  three 
months  off  is  a  remarkably  attractive 
one.  Yet  not  all  teachers  elect  to  leave 
the  classroom.  Some  of  them  return  to 
school,  as  do  the  24  junior  high  and 
high  school  English  teachers  in  Virginia 
and  Ohio  every  year  who  participate  in 
summer  creative  writing  seminars — not 
as  teachers  on  this  occasion,  but  rather 
as  students. 

Sponsored  each  year  by  Associated 
Writing  Programs  (AWP)  of  Fairfax,  VA, 
and  by  the  Ohio  Arts  Council,  the  semi- 
nars combine  committed  teachers,  com- 
petitively chosen,  with  accomplished 
writers  who  share  their  writing  and 
teaching  techniques,  and  who  visit  the 
participating  teachers'  schools  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  work  with  their  students. 
Additionally,  the  program  also  provides 
funds  for  books  by  contemporary  writers  for  classroom  use.  The  goal,  observes 
Roxanne  French  Thornhill,  who  coordinates  the  program  for  AWP  at  Virginia 
Commonwealth  University  each  summer,  is  two-fold:  "to  help  create  writers  and  life- 
long readers  of  contemporary  literature."  By  bringing  writers  into  the  classroom,  and 
building  contemporary  American  poetry  and  fiction  into  the  literature  curriculum,  the 
program  has  achieved  that  "staying  power"  that's  rarely  produced  by  more  fleeting, 
one-shot  efforts  to  introduce  students  to  the  art  of  their  own  time.  The  participating 
teachers,  in  turn,  gain  the  knowledge,  skills,  and  confidence  that  permit  them  to  con- 
tinue to  engage  students  in  the  creative  writing  process. 

The  program  administered  by  the  Ohio  Arts  Council  is  called  Change  Course!, 
and  it's  held  at  Wright  State  University  in  Dayton  for  five  weeks  every  summer.  But 
the  program,  which  combines  intensive  writing  workshops  with  nationally  known 
writers,  sessions  with  visiting  writers  from  around  the  region,  and  classes  on  portfolio 


CHANGE  COURSE!  Staff  and  participants  in  front 
of  the  restored  home  of  Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar, 
Dayton,  Ohio. 


Poet  Toi  Berricotte  at  a  book  signing,  Wright 
State  University,  June  1994  as  part  of  CHANGE 
COURSE! 


assessment  and  curriculum  development, 
does  not  end  with  the  five-week  session. 
Participants  attend  ten  follow-up  meet- 
ings on  Saturdays  throughout  the  regular 
school  year,  host  visiting  writers  at  their 
own  schools,  visit  the  schools  of  other 
participants  to  work  on  new  teaching 
methodologies,  and  take  part  in  local, 
state,  regional,  and  national  meetings. 
The  teachers  also  receive  12  hours  of 
tuition-paid  graduate  school  credit  for 
their  efforts,  credit  that  does  not  come 
easily.  "I'll  tell  you,  we  worked  12  hours 
a  day  for  that  credit,"  recalls  Mary  Ellen 
Grunder  of  Dayton.  "It  was  like  a  boot 
camp  for  writing,"  adds  Stephanie 
Corcoran,  also  of  Dayton.  "We  ate  and 
drank  and  slept  writing." 

The  program  is  designed  to  encour- 
age teachers  to  think  in  new  ways  about 
incorporating  creative  writing  into  the  language-arts  curriculum.  The  theory  behind 
Change  Course!,  explains  OAC  project  coordinator  Bob  Fox,  is  that  the  most  effec- 
tive teachers  are  both  readers  and  writers,  that  in  coming  to  terms  with  the  writing 
process  themselves,  teachers  "better  understand  their  students'  struggles  and  achieve- 
ments." The  most  effective  teachers,  moreover,  are  "professional  educators,"  accord- 
ing to  Fox,  "classroom  researchers  who  contribute  to  the  professional  conversation 
about  current  teaching  methodology  and  philosophy."  In  addition  to  underscoring 
these  theoretical  aspects  of  education,  the  Change  Course!  program  also  reinforces  the 
notion  that  all  writing,  "from  poems  to  term  papers,  is  creative,  equally  deserving  of 
respectful  attention." 

Theory  is  one  thing,  practice  quite  another,  most  educators  would  agree,  but  the 
summer  creative  writing  seminars  appear  to  be  scoring  highly  in  both  areas.  At  least 
they're  passing  the  toughest  test  of  all,  building  excitement  among  young  people  for 
both  reading  and  writing.  "As  a  writer,  now  I  learn  from  reading  books,"  wrote  one 
of  Ohio  teacher  Jody  Morton's  junior  high  school  students.  "Reading  really  gives  me 
an  idea  of  how  to  write.  The  more  I  read  the  better  my  techniques  of  writing  grow." 
"My  skills  in  writing  have  improved  from  none  to  some,"  wrote  another.  "I  can  write 
now  and  not  find  it  the  most  boring  thing  in  the  world...."  There's  still  a  lot  of 
progress  to  be  made,  clearly,  and  national  literacy  statistics — 25-27  million  functional- 
ly illiterate  adults  in  the  U.S.,  with  another  45  million  adults  only  marginally  profi- 
cient— are  not  encouraging.  But  for  a  small  and  growing  number  of  educators  in 
Virginia  and  Ohio,  who  are  improving  writing  skills  and  building  new  interest  in  con- 
temporary literature  in  the  process,  the  picture  is  definitely  improving. 


Pre-K  to  12: 

Foundation  for  Architecture 


When  one  thinks  of  elementary  and  secondary  education  in  America,  from  the  tradi- 
tional 3Rs  to  the  countless  innovations  that  have  been  added  over  the  years,  it's 
unlikely  that  the  subject  of  architecture  comes  readily  to  mind.  On  the  one  hand,  it's 
a  topic  we  tend  to  take  for  granted:  students  live  in  houses  designed  by  someone, 
attend  school  in  a  building  designed  by  someone  else,  and  travel  between  those  two 
destinations  through  a  built  environment  that  is  the  work  of  many  hands.  At  the 
same  time,  architecture  as  a  field  of  study  is  generally  regarded  as  an  area  of  special- 
ization reserved  for  college  classes  and  professional  schools.  That  combination  of 
ubiquity  and  professionalization  has  combined  to  keep  architecture  beyond  the  reach 
of  most  K-12  students,  but  Philadelphia's  Foundation  for  Architecture  is  determined 
to  change  that. 

Since  1981,  the  Foundation  for  Architecture  has  undertaken  a  unique  program 
designed  to  find  a  home  for  architecture  in  the  K-12  classroom.  The  effort  is  built 
around  three-person  teams — a  teacher,  a  design  professional,  and  a  graduate  stu- 
dent— that  plan  and  implement  the  integration  of  architecture,  landscape  architecture, 
planning,  and  historic  preservation  projects  into  the  teacher's  basic  lesson  plans.  The 
goal  is  not  to  train  young  architects  or  urban  planners,  but  rather  to  develop,  through 
hands-on  activities,  the  perceptual,  social,  and  technological  skills  that  can  be  applied 
across  the  K-12  curriculum.  The  Architecture  in  Education  program,  in  other  words, 
offers  opportunities  not  only  for  teaching  about  the  built  environment,  but  for  devel- 
oping the  fundamental  skills  that  will  enhance  the  students'  powers  of  observation, 
analysis,  problem-solving,  and  self-expression,  serving  them  well  throughout  their 
school  years  and  beyond. 

"Through  this  program,"  explains  Pamela  Carunchio,  the  Foundation's  director 
of  education,  "students  gain  an  increased  understanding  of  the  dynamics  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  the  city  around  them,  and  of  other  civilizations  and  cultures,  while  mas- 
tering the  processes  and  skills  in  a  variety  of  disciplines.  Students  also  experience  the 
need  for  responsible  design,  planning,  and  decision  making  as  individuals  and  in 
cooperation  with  others."  The  lessons  learned  are  not  limited  to  architecture  and 
design,  however.  Through  planning  sessions  with  the  classroom  teachers,  various  ele- 
ments of  the  design  arts  are  woven  into  other  aspects  of  the  curriculum,  from  science 
and  math  to  social  studies  and  history. 

Students  at  the  Alexander  McClure  Elementary  School  in  Philadelphia,  for 
example,  built  architectural  models  of  their  vision  for  a  vacant  block  in  their  neigh- 
borhood. In  place  of  weeds  and  broken  bottles,  the  children  offered  cardboard  minia- 
tures of  what  they  saw  as  essential  to  a  thriving  neighborhood:  an  apartment  com- 
plex, supermarket,  bakery,  flower  shop,  beauty  parlor,  church,  and,  because  this  was  a 
children's  plan,  after  all,  a  video  arcade.  Not  lacking  for  detail,  the  students'  model 


10 


block  included  trees  and  plants,  streetlights,  and  other  amenities.  They  had  discov- 
ered, in  other  words,  that  cities  consist  of  more  than  concrete  and  asphalt,  and  began 
to  look  at  their  own  surroundings  accordingly.  And  the  learning  process  works  both 
ways,  with  the  experts  gaining  new  insights  from  their  pupils.  "The  first  thing  I 
learned,"  recalled  architect  Edward  Paliscoc,  who  worked  with  a  kindergarten  class  at 
an  inner-city  Philadelphia  school,  "is  never  to  underestimate  the  intelligence  of  chil- 
dren, especially  kindergartners.  They  were  quick  to  grasp  the  concepts.  The  children 
wound  up  being  very  much  teachers  as  well  as  students." 

Each  year,  the  Architecture  in 
Education  program  directly  reaches 
about  5,000  students  in  public, 
parochial,  and  independent  schools 
throughout  Philadelphia  and  the  greater 
Delaware  Valley,  and  nearly  2,000  edu- 
cators nationally.  In  addition  to  the  core 
eight-week  in-classroom  program,  AIE 
also  offers  workshops  for  students  on 
timely  themes,  in-service  teacher-training 
seminars,  and  collaborative  projects  with 
community  groups,  universities,  and  cul- 
tural organizations.  The  Foundation's 
1986  publication,  Architecture  in 
Education:  A  Resource  of  Imaginative 
Ideas  and  Tested  Activities,  an  illustrated 
compilation  of  over  200  hands-on  activi- 
ties, has  been  distributed  to  educators  and  design  professionals  throughout  the  US  and 
in  20  foreign  countries.  The  Foundation  also  maintains  a  resource  center,  a  collection 
of  some  1,000  books,  3,000  slides,  and  related  educational  materials,  which  is  avail- 
able to  AIE  alumni. 

"This  was  a  golden  experience!"  exclaimed  fourth-grade  teacher  Lucille  Keyes, 
describing  her  eight-week  session  with  the  Architecture  in  Education  Program. 
"Without  a  doubt,  if  I  were  not  working  with  AIE,  I  would  not  have  attempted  to  do 
the  wonderful  project  we  offered  the  children  this  year.  Certainly  when  students 
believe  they  are  creating  something  which  is  original,  useful  and  long  lasting,  they 
remain  highly  motivated  and  learn  a  great  deal.  Students  were  proud  to  learn  techni- 
cal terms  and  wanted  to  use  them  as  they  problem-solved." 

One  of  the  fourth-grade  students  expressed  her  feelings  about  the  program  in 
simpler,  but  no  less  enthusiastic,  terms:  "We  didn't  learn  by  reading  or  listening," 
explained  Amy  Coslett,  "we  learned  by  doing  things."  That's  the  kind  of  endorsement 
that  the  Foundation  for  Architecture  hears  often,  a  tribute  to  a  unique  educational 
program  that  manages,  by  placing  the  tools  of  the  architect  in  the  hands  of  children. 
to  give  them  a  new  sense  of  their  surroundings — and  a  new  vision  of  the  future — in 
the  process. 


Building  bridges  in  the  5th  grade. 


Post-Secondary: 

Illinois  Institute  of  Technology 


"Design"  is  one  of  those  words,  like  "art"  or  "excellence,"  that  means  so  many 
things  to  so  many  people,  that  sometimes  it  appears  not  to  mean  very  much  at  all.  It 
is  a  word,  Professor  John  Heskett  of  the  Institute  of  Design  at  the  Illinois  Institute  of 
Technology  has  written,  "that  has  become  fashionable  but  is  widely  misused  or  limit- 
ed to  convenient  commercial  slogans.  Even  at  levels  in  industry,  commerce,  the  media 
and  public  life,  where  its  particular  contribution  to  the  quantitative  concerns  of  eco- 
nomic success  and  the  qualitative  concerns  of  life-values  should  be  evident,  there  is 
considerable  misunderstanding." 


Researchers  at  the  Illinois  Institute  of  Technology 
use  interactive  media  to  develop  design  curricula 
linked  to  cultural  changes  of  the  past  two  cen- 
turies. Photo  by  Robert  Drea. 


12 


Such  misunderstanding  is  especially  troubling  to  design  professionals  and  to  edu- 
cators like  Heskett,  who  are  charged  both  with  preparing  the  next  generation  of  prac- 
titioners and  with  helping  to  foster  a  greater  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  design 
to  our  lives,  not  only  among  specialists  but  among  all  Americans.  "All  too  often 
design  is  synonymous  with  fashionable  names  or  surface  decoration,"  Heskett 
observes.  "Yet  beyond  such  superficial  limitations,  it  is  an  activity  that  affects  every 
aspect  of  daily  life,  at  home,  at  work  and  play,  on  the  street  and  in  forms  of  transport. 
Moreover,  decisions  affecting  the  quality  of  design  in  products,  communications,  and 
environments  are  made  at  a  variety  of  political  and  professional  levels." 

Recognizing  that  there  is  no  quick  fix  to  a  problem  whose  roots  lie  in  nine- 
teenth-century industrialization  and  whose  branches  extend  to  twentieth-century 
mass  media,  the  Institute  of  Design  has  proposed  a  long-term  solution,  developing  a 
cross-disciplinary  undergraduate  course,  "Design,  Technology  and  Culture,"  intended 
to  help  freshmen  and  sophomores  in  the  sciences,  humanities,  and  arts  understand 
design  as  an  interdependent  field  related  to  cultural,  economic,  and  technological 
forces  in  society.  Targeting  students  at  the  undergraduate  level,  students  whose  "minds 
are  still  open  to  a  broad  range  of  influences,"  according  to  Heskett,  the  course  is 
intended  to  "provide  an  experience  and  understanding  of  design  to  an  audience  likely 
at  subsequent  stages  of  their  life  to  hold  positions  of  responsibility  in  which  they  can 
influence,  for  better  or  worse,  how  design  affects  living,  working  and  public 
environments." 

Drawing  on  key  documents  and  illustrations  from  nineteenth-  and  twentieth- 
century  America,  the  course  focuses  on  the  development  of  design  in  the  modern 
world  from  three  perspectives,  which  Heskett  summarizes  as  "the  concept,  context 
and  consequences  of  design."  It's  a  necessarily  broad-based,  long-range  view,  but  one 
that  Heskett  is  convinced  gives  students  the  historical  grounding  they  need  to  under- 
stand the  full  impact  of  design  on  modern  life.  Thus  students  are  treated  to  ( 1 )  a 
review  of  the  history  and  growth  of  design  practice  and  organization  as  a  response  to 
social,  economic,  and  technological  change;  (2)  an  examination  of  structures  and  poli- 
cies in  industry,  commerce,  and  government  within  which  design  activity  is  defined; 
and  (3)  a  survey  of  some  of  the  social  and  cultural  implications  of  the  application  and 
influence  of  design  in  contemporary  life. 

Operating  in  a  field  as  underserved  as  this  one,  the  Illinois  Institute  of 
Technology's  approach  is  an  evolving  one,  a  continuing  dialogue  with  the  field,  and 
one  that  may  soon  extend  well  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Chicago  campus  itself.  For 
along  with  developing  the  course  and  collecting  illustrative  material  for  in-class  dis- 
play, Heskett  and  his  assistants  are  putting  together  a  self-contained,  interactive  ver- 
sion of  the  course  that  eventually,  through  CD-ROM  or  communications  networks, 
may  reach  a  national  or  even  international  audience. 

The  concept  of  design  may  remain  a  slippery  one  for  many  people,  but  in  initiat- 
ing discussions  such  as  this  one,  working  with  students  who  will  be  continuing  the 
dialog  in  years  to  come,  Heskett  and  his  colleagues  arc  helping  to  make  sure  that  our 
grasp  of  design,  and  of  the  many  ways  it  affects  us,  will  only  become  more  secure. 


1  5 


Pre-Professional 
and  Professional 
Development 
in  the  Arts 


Alvin  Ailey  American  Dance  Center  students  Yaa 
Yaa  Whaley,  Eugene  Rhodes,  Apryl  Webb,  Harlan 
Blaike.  Junior  Division,  Ballet  Class.  Photo  by 
Beatriz  Schiller. 


14 


People  who  aspire  to  careers  in  the  arts  need  specialized  education  and 
training.  Aspiring  artists  and  administrators  might  develop  their  talents 
through  trial  and  effort  in  their  art  forms  or  through  interaction  with 
qualified  instructors  or  mentors. 

Pre-Professional  development  may  occur  in  a  variety  of  settings, 
from  the  classroom  to  the  studio,  but  ideally  it  should: 

•  Provide  education  as  well  as  training 

•  Acquaint  emerging  arts  professionals  with  career  possibilities 

•  Develop  aesthetic  sensitivity  along  with  technical  and 
cognitive  skills  that  make  it  easier  to  find  work 

•  Foster  mentor  and  apprentice  relationships. 

Arts  professionals  often  continue  to  study  and  learn  throughout 
their  careers,  in  order  to  augment  their  professional  qualifications  or 
abilities.  This  training  may  take  place  through  sabbaticals,  field  experi- 
ments, commissioning,  or  residencies,  and  it  may  involve  interaction 
with  peers  and  instructing  others  in  a  variety  of  educational  settings. 

In  all  cases,  professional  development  in  the  arts  should: 

•  Enable  artists  to  discover  new  techniques  and  approaches 
which  lead  to  the  creation  of  new  works 

•  Equip  arts  administrators  with  the  skills  necessary  to  promote 
and  sustain  excellent  art  through  their  organizations 

•  Nurture  the  expertise  necessary  for  arts  professionals  to  build 
and  maintain  audiences  and  advocates  for  the  arts. 


15 


Pre-Professional 

and  Professional  Development: 

Alvin  Alley  American  Dance  Center 


Mention  the  name  Alvin  Ailey  to  a  dance  aficionado — even  to  a  casual  observer  of  the 
art — and  the  discussion  inevitably  turns  to  the  Alvin  Ailey  American  Dance  Theater, 
internationally  acclaimed  as  one  of  the  leading  dance  ensembles.  Less  well  known, 
perhaps,  but  equally  important  to  the  late  choreographer's  vision  when  he  founded 
the  Alvin  Ailey  American  Dance  Center  in  Brooklyn  in  1969,  is  the  dance  school  that 
is  at  the  heart  of  that  operation.  Ailey  was  always  more  than  just  a  creator  and  per- 
former of  dance,  profound  as  his  accomplishments  in  those  areas  may  have  been. 
He  was  also  a  teacher,  convinced  of  the  importance  of  imparting  the  movement  and 
magic  of  dance  to  young  people. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-five  students  enrolled  in  Ailey's  school  in  its  initial 
year,  but  that  was  only  the  beginning.  Firm  in  his  belief  that  dance  instruction  should 
be  available  to  all  who  seek  it,  Ailey  joined  forces  with  choreographer  Pearl  Lang 
in  1970  to  establish  the  American  Dance  Center  in  Manhattan.  Today,  under  the 
direction  of  Denise  Jefferson,  the  school  trains  approximately  3,000  students  annu- 
ally, with  classes  from  beginning  through  professional  levels  for  dancers  three  years 
and  older. 

From  the  start,  Ailey  had  four 
broad  educational  objectives  in  mind. 
First,  he  wanted  to  make  dance  accessi- 
ble to  young  people  and  adults  through 
dance  training  and  innovative  communi- 
ty arts-in-education  programs.  "From 
the  very  beginning,"  Jefferson  explains, 
"our  founder,  Mr.  Ailey,  felt  that  dance 
comes  from  the  people  and  needs  to  be 
given  back  to  them.  In  his  own  experi- 
ence, his  first  exposure  to  dance  came  as 
a  junior  high  school  student  in 
California,  when  his  English  teacher 
took  his  class  to  see  the  Ballet  Russe  de 
Monte  Carlo.  The  next  year  another 
teacher  took  them  to  see  Katherine 
Dunham,  and  that  experience,  especially 
seeing  an  African  American  dance  pio- 
neer like  Dunham,  convinced  him  of  the  importance  of  making  dance  accessible  to 
young  people.  More  generally,  Mr.  Ailey  also  came  to  see  himself  as  a  link  to  all  ages, 
all  races,  since  dance  is — or  rather  should  be — a  natural  part  of  everyone's  life." 


Young  dancers  in  the  Alvin  Ailey  American  Dance 
Center  First  Steps  program.  Photo  by  Marbeth. 


16 


Upper  Division  students  of  the  Alvin  Ailey 
American  Dance  Center.  Photo  by  Beatriz  Schiller. 


Alley's  second  objective  is  to  offer 
students  the  opportunity  to  follow  a  cur- 
riculum of  diversified  dance  training  of 
the  highest  professional  caliber,  a  goal 
that  Jefferson  also  traces  to  the  school's 
founder.  "Mr.  Ailey  always  thought  that 
the  perfect  dancer  has  ballet  feet  and 
legs  and  a  modern  dance  torso," 
Jefferson  recalls,  "and  Pearl  Lang,  who 
was  highly  trained  in  the  Graham  tech- 
nique, felt  the  same  way.  We've  main- 
tained that  dual  focus  over  the  years, 
and  expanded  it,  adding  Dunham  and  West  African,  East  Indian  and  Spanish,  yoga 
and  jazz — a  vast  range  of  forms  and  influences,  since  dancers  today  have  to  be  pre- 
pared to  perform  a  variety  of  roles  in  a  variety  of  settings." 

The  Ailey  Dance  Center's  third  objective — to  maintain  a  professional  faculty  of 
exceptional  teachers,  musicians,  and  guest  artists — is  something  of  which  Jefferson  is 
especially  proud.  "We  have  a  huge  faculty  here,"  Jefferson  notes,  "and  we  try  to  get 
teachers  who  are  specialists  in  the  technique  they  teach,  rather  than  having  general- 
ists.  We  also  bring  in  choreographers  to  do  repertory  workshops — the  full  range,  from 
classical  ballet  to  cutting  edge." 

The  school's  fourth  objective,  to  train  outstanding  students  as  professional 
dancers  and  provide  them  with  tuition  assistance,  Federal  financial  aid,  and  other  sup- 
port services,  goes  well  beyond  monetary  support  alone  (although  there's  a  lot  of  that, 
with  some  50  to  60  scholarship  students  each  year).  "We  also  offer  career,  personal, 
and  nutritional  counseling,  and  we've  instituted  a  program  of  student  peer  advisors 
and  student  representatives  who  meet  regularly  with  staff,  all  in  an  effort  to  create  the 
best  environment  for  learning  dance." 

Recognizing  the  difficulty  of  making  the  transition  from  formal  training  to  a 
professional  career,  Ailey  established  a  second  company — the  Alvin  Ailey  Repertory 
Ensemble — which  serves  as  a  bridge  between  the  academic  and  professional  worlds. 
Members  of  the  ensemble  have  completed  advanced  degrees  at  the  Dance  Center, 
refining  their  skills  while  acquiring  invaluable  experience  touring  and  performing 
around  the  United  States,  and  having  opportunities  to  conduct  classes  and  lecture- 
demonstrations  in  schools  and  community  centers.  Many  graduates  make  their  wa\ 
into  one  or  both  of  the  Ailey  companies,  while  others  have  pursued  successful  careers 
as  choreographers,  teachers,  and  performers  in  film,  television,  and  theater. 

Of  course,  most  of  the  thousands  of  students  who  pass  through  the  Alvin  Ailc\ 
American  Dance  Center,  young  and  old  alike,  never  perform  professionally.  Yet  these 
students  also  reap  the  benefits  of  study,  struggling  individually  and  collectively  to  train 
their  bodies  to  conform  to  the  lines  and  movements  set  by  others.  "First,  they  learn  to 
have  a  new  respect  for  their  own  bodies,"  Jefferson  observes,  "and  they  learn  to 
respect  authority.  They  also  learn  new  ways  to  communicate,  new  \\a\s  <>t  working 
together,  lessons  that  will  benefit  them  in  so  many  other  aspects  of  their  lues." 


Pre-Professional  and 

Professional  Development: 

New  York  Folklore  Society 


Give  a  man  a  fish,  the  old  saying  goes,  and  he  will  eat  for  a  day,  but  teach  that  man 
how  to  fish,  and  he  will  never  go  hungry.  Something  of  the  spirit  of  that  axiom  ani- 
mates the  New  York  Folklore  Society's  Mentoring  Program  for  Folklife  and 
Traditional  Arts.  The  program  offers  opportunities  for  technical  assistance  and  profes- 
sional training  to  organizations  and  individuals  engaged  in  or  planning  folk  arts  pro- 
grams throughout  New  York  State.  Covering  a  broad  range  of  knowledge,  skills,  and 
methodologies,  from  fieldwork  and  documentation  to  marketing  and  presentation,  the 
mentoring  program  provides  a  crucial  link  between  artist  and  audience  that  is  particu- 
larly important  in  the  traditional  arts,  which  generally  lack  the  institutional  support 
of  the  other  arts.  "Our  intent,"  observes  John  Suter,  NYFS  executive  director,  "is  to 
enable  folklore  professionals  and  folk  artists  to  develop  or  improve  skills  that  will 
enable  them  to  be  more  successful  in  their  work."  As  a  kind  of  portable,  post-gradu- 
ate training  program,  the  NYFS  mentoring  effort  targets  key  elements  in  the  creation 
and  dissemination  of  the  folk  and  traditional  arts. 

In  the  city  of  Troy,  for  example,  professional  photographer  Marty  Cooper  of 
New  York  City  conducted  a  two-day  workshop  for  five  upstate  folklorists,  allowing 
them  to  hone  their  photographic  skills,  which  are  so  important  to  the  proper  docu- 
mentation and  presentation  of  many  folk  arts.  Folk  arts  professional  Pat  Wells  simi- 
larly traveled  from  Kentucky  to  Syracuse  to  conduct  a  workshop  for  folk  artists  to 
acquaint  them  with  some  of  the  aspects  of  professionalization — marketing,  contracts, 
health  insurance,  networking,  distribution,  and  the  like — that  will  allow  these  artists 
to  reach  much  larger  audiences. 

In  other  cases,  the  mentoring  program  has  had  a  stimulating  effect  on  a  particu- 
lar community,  spawning  new  interest  in  the  traditional  arts.  In  the  rural  upstate  town 
of  Sodus,  for  example,  a  mentoring  effort  was  conducted  to  serve  an  African- 
American  quilting  and  sewing  circle.  In  the  process  of  meeting  with  these  women, 
helping  them  to  preserve  and  celebrate  their  craft,  the  visiting  specialists  discovered  a 
rich  vein  of  traditional  African-American  hairdressing,  special  techniques  that  were  all 
but  ignored  by  the  younger  members  of  the  community,  but  which  held  special  mean- 
ing to  their  elders.  Upon  investigation,  it  turned  out  that  Patricia  Walker  is  the  only 
person  in  rural  upstate  New  York  who  still  uses  the  marcel  hot-iron  method,  the  pre- 
decessor of  more  modern,  chemical  methods.  A  new  mentoring  program  enabled  Ms. 
Walker  to  conduct  a  workshop  on  hot-iron  hairdressing,  introducing  this  skill,  long 
treasured  by  older  African-American  women,  to  their  children  and  grandchildren. 

"Our  focus,"  Suter  explains,  "is  on  communities  that  traditionally  have  been 
'outside  of  the  loop,'  that  is,  on  some  of  the  underserved  areas  of  folklore."  These 
include  ethnic  communities  striving  to  preserve  their  traditions  in  a  new  urban  con- 
text, recreating  El  Dia  Del  Nino  festivities  on  New  York  City's  Lower  East  Side,  for 


18 


example,  or  improving  the  Chinese  Theater  Workshop's  marketing  skills,  both  of 
which  have  received  the  attention  of  the  NYFS  in  recent  years.  But  equally  under- 
served,  ironically  are  such  contemporary  forms  of  expression  as  hip  hop  at  the 
Rhythm  Cultural  Institute  in  New  York  City  or  the  Haitian  band  Jazz  des  Jeunes, 
forms  whose  traditional  roots  are  often  lost  in  some  of  the  more  commercial  manifes- 
tations of  the  culture.  Rescuing  these  traditions  from  the  mill  of  market-driven  enter- 
tainment, allowing  them  to  stand  out  against  the  clamor  of  purely  commercial  fare, 
requires  both  persistence  and  specialized  training  of  the  sort  that  the  NYFS  mentoring 
program  regularly  offers. 

In  both  respects,  then,  working  either  with  folk  arts  administrators  and  pro- 
grammers or  with  the  artists  themselves,  the  New  York  Folklore  Society  offers  differ- 
ent kinds  of  professional  training  that  works  ultimately  toward  the  same  goal:  making 
more  art  available  to  more  people,  and  giving  new  life  to  old  forms  in  the  process. 


V  ~ 


Videotaping  walking  sticks  for  documentary.  "Clod's  Mother  is  the  Morning 
Star:  The  Life  and  Art  of  Joseph  Mender."  Peter  Bulla  and  Karen  I  ux,  CO 
directors;  [van  Drnfoyka-Rcstrepo,  sound  technician.  Photo  courtes)  oi 
Documentary  Film. 


19 


Avocational 
Arts  Education 


Family  Arts  Festival,  1993.  The  beginnings  of  a 
'nest'  shelter  created  from  natural  and  found  mate- 
rials. Artist:  Linna  Muschlitz.  Photo  by  Nancy 
Jane  Reid. 


20 


Outside  the  formal  school  curriculum  and  beyond  the  parameters  of 
the  job,  many  people  of  all  ages  take  an  active  interest  in  the  arts.  They 
deserve  access  to  structured  opportunities  for  avocational  arts  educa- 
tion. The  benefits  of  lifelong  learning  as  an  avocation  are  numerous — 
from  enhancing  recreation  and  leisure  time  to  engendering  civic  pride. 
Avocational  learning  in  the  arts  can  lead  to  increased  understanding 
and  appreciation  of  the  arts  and  the  culture  of  others,  greater  self- 
knowledge,  confidence  and  skills,  and  a  personal  investment  in  the 
cultural  life  of  your  community. 

People  find  arts  classes  in  a  variety  of  settings,  including  commu- 
nity cultural  centers  such  as  museums,  libraries,  schools  and  recreation 
facilities,  hospitals,  senior  centers,  or  churches  and  temples.  The  instruc- 
tion may  be  exclusively  in  or  about  the  arts,  or  it  may  be  offered  in 
programs  designed  to  improve  the  general  health  and  welfare  of  the 
participants.  In  all  cases,  however,  excellent  avocational  education: 

•  Maintains  high  standards  of  teaching 

•  Embraces  the  highest  goals  of  artistic  accomplishment 

•  Encourages  creative  thinking,  understanding  the  creative  act, 
and  the  production  of  art. 


21 


Avocational: 


Grass  Roots  Arts  and  Community  Efforts 
(GRACE) 


"Definitions  of  the  GRACE  organization,"  observes  Don  Sunseri,  founder  and  artistic 
director  of  Grass  Roots  Art  and  Community  Effort,  "are  sometimes  as  varied  as  the 
blind  man's  description  of  an  elephant.  There  is  a  tendency  to  describe  us  by  a  single 
aspect  of  what  we  do."  More  casual  observers  of  GRACE  might  assume,  for  example, 
that  the  twenty-year-old  organization  is  strictly  a  program  for  elders,  since  many  of  its 
activities,  the  workshops  and  exhibitions  in  particular,  are  carried  out  in  nursing 
homes  and  senior  citizen  centers.  Yet  that  interpretation  overlooks  the  GRACE-in-the- 
schools  program  that  targets  youngsters,  or  the  many  programs  directed  at  develop- 
mentally  disabled  persons  of  all  ages.  "The  GRACE  schedule  of  events,"  Sunseri 
points  out,  "clearly  shows  that  we  are  an  organization  with  many  facets — each 
reflects  light  on  the  others.  The  whole  piece  can  be  seen  as  a  single  shape  or  princi- 
ple— wherever  we  work,  with  'whomever'  the  population,  our  message  to  the  art 
maker  is  always  'be  yourself  and  do  it  your  own  way.'  GRACE  artists  follow  no  style 
but  their  own,  and  their  art,  because  it  is  so  personal,  has  a  power  to  reach  out...." 

More  telling,  in  any  case,  than  any  one-dimensional  appraisal  of  GRACE  is  the 
simple  one-line  description  that  adorns  the  masthead  of  "G.R.A.C.E.  News,"  the 
organization's  newsletter:  "GRACE  is  a  nonprofit  organization  dedicated  to  cultivat- 
ing the  artistic  voices  of  the  region."  The  region  in  question  is  Northern  Vermont, 
specifically  the  3,000-square-mile  area  known  as  the  "Northeast  Kingdom"  (although 
the  organization  frequently  ventures  further  afield,  including  New  Hampshire  and 
Connecticut,  and  occasionally  well  beyond  New  England).  And  the  "artistic  voices" 

are  as  varied  as  the  countryside  itself, 
with  its  rolling  hills,  glacial  lakes,  and 
pine  and  maple  forests.  "Our  mission," 
Sunseri  explains,  "is  to  discover,  devel- 
op, and  promote  'native  talent'  (some- 
times called  self-taught,  indigenous, 
naive,  outsider,  or  folk  art)  in  Northern 
Vermont."  Such  talent  is  found,  surpris- 
ingly enough,  among  the  "ordinary  peo- 
ple," retired  farmers,  housewives,  facto- 
ry workers,  and  the  like,  some  of  them 
with  what  polite  society  calls  "disabili- 
ties," but  all  of  them  with  a  remarkable 
ability  to  translate  their  lives  into  visual 
media,  from  simple  pencil  sketches  to 
elaborate  oil  paintings. 


GRACE  workshop,  1995.  Rowan-Court  Nursing 
Home,  Barre,  Vermont. 


22 


Vermont  Respite  House,  Williston,  Vermont. 
Lillian  Peri,  Christine  Dannies,  Amy  Murray, 
Quinn  Dannies,  participants  at  GRACE 
workshop,  1995. 


"The  depth  and  authenticity  that 
is  tapped  almost  effortlessly  by  the 
untrained  artist,"  wrote  critic  Lucy 
Lippard  in  GRACE'S  ten-year  retrospec- 
tive exhibition  catalog,  "has  long  been 
a  source  of  fascination,  and  a  thorn  in 
the  flesh,  of  professional  artists."  The 
GRACE  artists  themselves,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  apt  to  view  their  accomplish- 
ments in  more  unassuming  terms. 
"Don't  put  my  name  in  the  paper  as  an 
artist,"  said  Roland  Rochette,  two  years 
before  his  death  at  the  age  of  99.  "Just 
say  it's  an  old  man  trying  to  help  himself.  This  might  get  some  people  to  go  and  help 
themselves.  In  this  life,  you  need  the  will  to  help  yourself.  If  you  have  that,  you're  all 
right.  And  you  need  to  be  a  nut." 

As  the  director  of  hands-on  activities  for  such  free-spirited,  self-taught  individu- 
als, Sunseri  is  decidedly  hands-off  in  his  pedagogical  style.  "My  primary  task,"  he 
explains,  "is  to  encourage  self-expression.  A  most  important  message  is  that  each  of 
us  is  in  possession  of  a  well — a  well  of  experience  that  deepens  as  we  age.  To  draw 
from  that  well  is  to  draw  from  the  source  of  all  art.  The  emphasis  is  on  the  process  of 
art-making  as  an  adventure.  We  never  know  where  it  will  lead  us.  There  are  no  rules 
for  getting  there." 

No  rules,  perhaps,  but  plenty  of  encouragement,  as  GRACE  workshops — over 
450  a  year — are  held  on-site  in  settings  familiar  to  the  participants,  and  without  the 
rigor  of  a  formal  class.  "There  is  no  systematic  instruction  in  technique  or  style," 
Sunseri  insists.  "A  variety  of  materials  is  offered  on  tables  arranged  so  that  it  allows 
the  participant  the  choice  of  working  in  a  small  group  or  alone.  Choice  is  most 
important.  You  choose  where  you  want  to  sit,  your  materials,  and  method.  Even 
when  only  making  a  choice  between  two  colors,  in  making  that  choice  you  are  'the 
boss.'  The  workshops  require  a  comfortable,  supportive  atmosphere.  Coffee,  tea,  and 
cookies  are  offered  along  with  my  advice  to  'be  yourself.'" 

That  advice  has  paid  rich  dividends  for  GRACE,  which  has  seen  its  work  fea- 
tured in  the  pages  of  Smithsonian  magazine  and  on  the  CNN  television  network,  and 
whose  artists  have  achieved  celebrity  status  in  the  suddenly  fashionable  world  of  folk 
or  "outsider"  art.  But  for  all  of  that  success,  the  essence  of  GRACT  remains  more 
modest,  much  closer  in  sprit  to  the  observation  of  GRACE  staff  member  Michael 
Gray,  who  dismisses  the  notion  of  outsider  art.  "The  art-making  process  here  is  a  lot 
more  honest  and  genuine  than  some  'inside  artists,"  Cray  insists.  "It's  done  purely 
for  the  joy  of  making  something." 


23 


Avocational: 

Oregon  Coast  Council  for  the  Arts 


Newport,  Oregon,  is  the  kind  of  town — perched  on  the  scenic  Pacific  coast — that 
attracts  people  seeking  an  escape  from  everyday  life.  Newport's  population,  well 
under  2,000,  swells  considerably  during  the  long  tourist  season.  Yet  like  many 
American  communities,  Newport  has  problems  of  its  own,  problems  from  which  there 
is  no  escape.  The  seasonal  restaurant,  souvenir  shop,  and  motel  jobs  produced  by  the 
annual  influx  of  tourists  are  generally  low  paying,  and  certainly  no  substitute  for  the 
logging  and  fishing  industries  that  have  suffered  in  recent  years.  And  economic  strain 
is  only  one  of  Newport's  problems.  Lincoln  County,  of  which  Newport  is  the  county 
seat,  has  the  highest  per  capita  rate  of  drug  and  alcohol  abuse,  suicide,  teen  suicide, 
teenage  parents,  divorce,  single-parent  families,  and  adolescent  AIDS  in  the  state.  In 
the  language  of  the  federal  government,  Lincoln  County  is  "an  economically  and  cul- 
turally deprived  area." 

It  is  against  this  grim  backdrop  that  the  Oregon  Coast  Council  for  the  Arts 
(OCCA)  has  operated  since  1977.  If  the  Newport  Performing  and  Visual  Arts  Centers 
are  the  most  immediately  visible  of  OCCA's  varied  activities,  they  are  no  mere  jewel 
boxes  safely  removed  from  the  community's  social  concerns.  On  the  contrary,  the  cen- 
ters comprise  one  of  the  key  elements  of  OCCA's  Family  Arts  Agenda  (FAA),  a  pro- 
gram designed  to  strengthen  families  and  to  connect  them  to  the  community  through 
the  arts.  As  Harvard  professor  Robin  Ely  observed  (on  the  occasion  of  OCCA  and  the 
arts  center  receiving  a  John  F.  Kennedy  School  of  Government's  Innovation  in  State 
and  Local  Government  Award  in  1990),  "Whereas  most  performing  arts  centers  are 
developed  solely  with  artistic,  economic  and  perhaps  political  needs  in  mind,  this 
Center.. .grew  from  the  needs  of  the  community  and  with  the  involvement  of  many 
diverse  segments  of  the  community  all  along  the  way." 

"The  FAA  is  based  on  the  belief  that  every  human  being  is  intended  to  be  cre- 
ative and  expressive,"  explains  OCCA  director  Sharon  Morgan,  "and  once  people  get 
back  in  touch  with  their  creativity,  once  they  re-open  these  lines  of  communication, 
they  can  begin  to  take  control  of  some  of  the  other  aspects  of  their  lives  that  may  be 
troubling  them."  Self-expression  builds  hope,  Morgan  is  convinced,  and  that,  too,  can 
translate  into  other  areas  of  one's  life.  "The  FAA  is  built  around  those  three  things," 
Morgan  notes,  "creativity,  communication,  and  hopefulness,  which,  of  course,  can 
affect  everything  we  do." 

Among  OCCA's  partners  in  carrying  out  its  Family  Arts  Agenda  are  Lincoln 
County's  Human  Services,  Juvenile  Services,  and  the  Extension  Service,  which  work 
with  OCCA  on  arts  activities  that  target  drug  and  alcohol  addicts,  children  with  emo- 
tional disorders,  and  their  families.  In  one  project,  for  example,  a  visual  artist  worked 
with  recovering  alcoholics  and  drug  abusers  to  teach  them  to  express  their  feelings 
through  painting  and  drawing,  as  a  positive  alternative  to  the  destructive  behavior 
associated  with  chemical  dependency.  In  another  project,  a  poet  helped  victims  of  sex- 


24 


ual  abuse  come  to  terms  with  their  past  by  encouraging  them  to  write  about  that 
experience,  using  art  to  help  them  overcome  anger  and  grief.  Perhaps  the  clearest 
example  of  the  FAA  approach  is  that  of  the  singer/songwriter  who  taught  young 
mothers  to  sing  to  their  children,  a  seemingly  natural  activity  that  simply  had  not 
been  a  part  of  their  own  experience  as  children. 

The  FAA  also  involves  local  youth  councils,  Girl  Scouts,  YMCAs,  parks  and 
recreation  departments,  and  the  Job  Corps  in  enhancing  the  lives  of  area  residents, 

particularly  children.  With  an  $85,000 
grant  from  the  U.S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  for  example,  OCCA  worked 
with  the  Lincoln  County  Extension 
Service  to  establish  the  "Kid 
Konnection,"  an  innovative  project  that 
teams  at-risk  youth  between  the  ages  of 
seven  and  eleven  with  older  teenagers 
and  adults  (many  of  whom  have  experi- 
enced the  same  problems  as  their 
younger  partners)  to  work  on  circus  per- 
formance skills.  Whole  families  get 
involved,  136  of  them  in  the  most  recent 
session,  with  a  variety  of  after-school 
activities,  summer  day  camps  for  chil- 
dren, and  in  some  years,  when  the  bud- 
get permits,  a  summer  retreat  for  the 
entire  family.  "For  some  of  these  fami- 
lies," Morgan  points  out,  "this  is  the 
only  vacation  they  ever  get,  so  it's  espe- 
cially important." 

But  whv  a  circus?  "We  wanted  to 
do  something  unique,"  Morgan  explains.  "We  already  had  theater  programs  for  kids, 
and  music,  writing,  and  dance  programs.  We  wanted  to  get  at  some  of  the  underlying 
factors  that  affect  children  today,  beyond  poverty  and  abuse,  things  like  disabilities  of 
all  kinds,  learning  disorders,  anything,  really,  that  robs  one  of  self-esteem  and  that 
feeling  of  prestige  in  some  area  that  we  all  need  to  function  effectively.  And  circus- 
based  skills  are  remarkably  varied,  with  juggling  helping  to  build  eye-hand  coordina- 
tion, and  tumbling  dealing  with  large  motor  skills."  And  then  there  are  all  of  the  cog- 
nitive and  social  skills — thinking  through  problems  and  working  together — that 
putting  on  a  circus  performance  entails. 

But  the  point  of  the  Kid  Konnection  is  not  really  the  public  performances  that 
are  held  every  year,  although  these  are  a  source  of  great  community  entertainment. 
Rather,  it  is  the  increased  self-confidence,  the  new  communication  skills,  and  the  spirit 
of  creativity,  developed  in  children  and  families  that  were  sorely  lacking  in  all  three 
areas,  that  is  at  the  heart  of  the  Kid  Konnection.  "We've  seen  a  rise  in  school  perfor- 
mance and  attendance  among  the  children  who  participated  in  the  program,"  Morgan 
declares.  "We're  starting  to  track  their  parents'  interactions  with  schools  and  with  the 
community,  and  that,  too,  is  showing  signs  of  improvement.  So  the  program  appears 
to  be  working  all  the  way  around." 


Artist  Elizabeth  Rose  demonstrates  papermaking  to  a  teen 
mother  for  a  "Mom  &  Me"  handbound  book  project.  Photo 
by  Nancy  Jane  Reid. 


IS 


Tr  adition-B  as  ed 

Learning 

in  the  Arts 


San  Rafael  Mission  church,  La  Cueva,  New 
Mexico.  1991.  The  community  of  La  Cueva  has 
been  working  with  CORNERSTONES, 
Community  partnerships  since  1990  on  the 
restoration  of  this  gothic  adobe  church — one  of 
New  Mexico's  architectural  treasures. 


26 


Long  before  there  were  schools,  people  learned  about  the  arts.  Every 
culture  has  developed  systematic  approaches  and  methods  of  passing  on 
aesthetics,  artistic  knowledge  and  the  special  skills  and  techniques  of 
creating  art.  Those  old  ways  continue  to  this  day  and  are  kept  vibrant 
by  peoples  linked  by  a  common  heritage.  Appalachian  fiddlers, 
Japanese  bon  dancers,  Navajo  weavers,  African  American  blues  musi- 
cians, Puerto  Rican  santeros,  and  countless  other  traditional  artists 
learn  their  skills  at  the  knee  of  their  elders.  In  informal  home  and  com- 
munity gatherings,  tradition-based  learning  in  the  arts  deserves  our 
respect  and  support. 

Excellent  tradition-based  learning: 

•  Provides  access  to  the  best  artistic  models  within  a  particular 
tradition 

•  Links  the  educational  experience  with  the  cultural  knowledge 
and  values  that  underlie  and  are  expressed  in  the  art  form 

•  Recognizes  the  importance  of  traditional  systems  and  methods 
of  teaching  and  learning,  such  as  one-to-one 
master/apprenticeship  relationships 

•  Values  the  cultural  occasions  and  social  customs  that  are  the 
contexts  of  traditional  learning. 


27 


Tradition-Based  Learning: 

Cornerstones,  Community  Partnerships 


Much  has  been  written  about  the  disin- 
tegration of  spiritual  values  in  America, 
statements  that  range  from  sincere 
expressions  of  concern  for  our  future,  to 
patently  self-serving  campaigns  designed 
more  to  raise  funds  than  to  elevate  the 
level  of  debate.  Residents  of  New 
Mexico,  however,  face  the  specter  of  dis- 
integration of  another  sort,  not  unrelat- 
ed to  spirituality,  but  with  more  pressing 
real-world  implications  that  demand 
immediate  attention.  The  historic 
churches  of  the  state,  more  than  1,500 
of  them,  are  literally  returning  to  the 
earth  from  which  they  came.  Built  of 
earthen  materials  by  Hispanic  and 
Indian  villagers  in  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  centuries,  these  historically 
important  edifices  now  face  severe 
threats,  both  from  the  natural  elements 
of  wind  and  rain,  and  also  from  the  well  intentioned  but  improper  use  of  cement  plas- 
ter, which  can  admit  hidden  moisture,  further  weakening  the  adobe  and  actually  has- 
tening the  deterioration  of  the  structures. 

In  response  to  this  problem,  a  very  real  threat  to  the  major  Hispanic  contribu- 
tion to  our  nation's  vernacular  architecture,  the  New  Mexico  Community  Foundation 
launched  in  1985  an  ambitious  program  called  "Churches:  Symbols  of  Community." 
Although  targeting  the  buildings  themselves — some  800  historic  religious  structures 
included  in  an  annotated  survey  sponsored  earlier  by  the  National  Endowment  for  the 
Arts — the  project  is  rooted  firmly  in  the  communities  where  these  historic  structures 
are  located,  communities  that  have  much  more  to  gain,  through  training  and  collabo- 
ration, than  the  reclamation  of  the  old  churches  alone. 

"These  buildings  are  sources  of  pride  not  only  for  Hispanic  Americans,  but  for 
all  Americans,"  points  out  Sam  Baca,  program  coordinator  of  Cornerstones, 
Community  Partnerships,  the  nonprofit  organization  that  emerged  out  of  the  original 
Symbols  of  Community  project  in  1994.  "They  are  internationally  recognized  bridges 
between  epochs,  cultures,  nations,  and  faiths.  They  bridge  generations  by  maintaining 
those  values  of  sharing  and  cooperation,  artistic  genius  and  faith,  which  first  raised 
them  from  the  earth." 


Members  of  the  community  of  Ojo  Caliente  restor- 
ing their  historic  Santa  Cruz  Church  (c.1790)  with 
assistance  from  CORNERSTONES,  Community 
Partnerships.  The  church  is  now  fully  restored. 
Photo  by  Steve  Peart. 


28 


These  days  in  New  Mexico,  most  of  the  day-to-day  church  maintenance  is  car- 
ried out  by  community  members  themselves,  often  under  the  direction  of  mayordo- 
mos,  who  are  community  members  elected  to  serve  as  church  caretakers.  In  the 
absence  of  adequate  training  in  proper  adobe  preservation  techniques,  however,  the 
existing  system  was  inefficient  at  best,  deleterious  at  worst.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
the  Symbols  of  Community  project  established  its  elaborate  training  program,  devel- 
oping preservation  skills  among  members  of  the  community  (with  over  100  communi- 
ties served  thus  far),  who  in  turn  pass  on  these  skills  to  other  community  members. 
Passed  on  as  well,  Baca  is  convinced,  is  a  sense  of  tradition  and  communal  spirit  that 
reflects  the  central  role  that  the  church  once  played  in  the  region.  "The  church  was 
not  only  the  physical  and  spiritual  center  of  the  community,"  Baca  points  out,  "but 
the  social  center  as  well.  With  this  project,  training  individuals  and  encouraging  them 
to  pass  on  their  training  to  others,  we're  beginning  to  recapture  that  communal  spirit 
here  in  New  Mexico.  And  it's  not  just  the  skills  that  are  passed  on,  but  equally  impor- 
tant, a  sense  of  tradition  and  the  spirit  of  working  together  that  are  transmitted  as 
well,  to  everyone's  benefit."  Or,  as  Father  Tim  Martinez  of  the  St.  Gertrude  Parish  in 
Mora,  New  Mexico,  so  succinctly  put  it,  "When  we  repair  a  crack  in  a  wall,  we  take 
steps  toward  repairing  the  divisions  that  exist  among  us." 

So  successful  has  the  church  restoration  project  been  that  Cornerstones  has 
extended  the  concept  to  embrace  cultural  preservation  more  generally.  The  organiza- 
tion has  been  especially  active  at  Zuni  Pueblo  and  Dona  Ana,  where  it  has  trained 
tribal  youth  in  traditional  stone  quarrying  and  masonry  techniques.  Here  again,  more 
than  the  past  is  being  preserved  in  the  Zuni  and  Hopi  youth  training  program.  For 

along  with  a  vivid  education  in  some  of 
the  traditions  of  their  ancestors,  the  trib- 
al youth  who  participate  in  the 
Cornerstones  education  program  also 
receive  GED  training,  counseling,  and, 
ultimately,  marketable  skills  that  will 
translate  into  a  much  brighter  future  for 
themselves  and  their  families. 


Local  Dona  Ana  youth  learn  marketable  skills  in 
historic  building  practices  at  the  Neustra  Seriora  de 
la  Candelaria  church.  Photo  by  Kd  Crocker. 


29 


Tradition-Based  Learning: 

Zivili 


For  members  of  the  dance  company  known  as  Zivili,  education  isn't  merely  an  option. 
The  learning  process  begins,  in  fact,  as  soon  as  the  company's  name  is  mentioned. 
Nor  is  it  simply  a  matter  of  explaining  what  that  name  means.  (It's  a  Croatian  toast, 
"To  Life!")  Rather,  the  lesson  involves  what  the  Columbus,  Ohio-based  company  is, 
and  what  it  is  not.  "Zivili  is  not  a  folk  dance  company,"  insists  its  dance  and  execu- 
tive director,  Melissa  Pintar  Obenauf,  writing  in  an  essay  she  includes  in  the  compa- 
ny's K-12  study  guide.  "We  are  an  ethnic  dance  company;  we  have  a  specific,  very 
technical  terminology;  we  perform  in  a  traditional  style;  and  we  have  defined  our  own 
school  of  instruction.  In  having  built  the  preceding  foundation,  we  have  gone  a  step 
beyond  what  is  generally  referred  to  as  'folk  dancing,'  and  have  presented  folk  dances 
on  stage.  Because  we  have  taken  folk  dances  to  the  stage,  there  are  some  changes  in 
the  dances  that  are  made."  Those  changes,  always  involving  a  great  deal  of  research 
on  the  part  of  Obenauf  and  co-director  Pamela  Lacko  Kelley,  include  the  length  of  a 
work,  the  nature  of  the  musical  accompaniment,  and,  invariably,  the  location  of  the 
performance  itself.  "The  minute  a  dance  is  removed  from  its  natural  environs  and  per- 
formed for  an  audience,  rather  than  solely  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended," 
Obenauf  continues,  "it  ceases  to  be  'folk  dancing'  and  we  now  call  it  'ethnic  dance.'" 

The  lesson  of  Zivili  does  not  end  with  the  distinction  between  folk  and  ethnic 
performance,  however.  For  Zivili  is  not  simply  a  generic  ethnic  dance  company, 
delighting  American  audiences  with  Old  World  favorites,  but  rather  one  that  collects, 
preserves,  and  celebrates  the  culture  of  a  very  specific  region,  the  Southern  Slavic 
nations.  Perhaps  more  than  any  other  spot  on  the  globe,  the  warring  factions  of  this 

region  are  in  dire  need  of  the  kind  of 
special  attention  that  Zivili  offers. 
"We're  the  only  company  anywhere 
doing  what  we're  doing,"  Obenauf 
points  out.  "And  our  mission  has 
become  even  more  important,  since  the 
works  we're  trying  to  preserve  are  daily 
being  lost.  Obviously  the  people  of  that 
area  can't  be  concerned  with  preserving 
culture  right  now — they're  struggling 
simply  to  survive — and  thus  our  preser- 
vation efforts  are  even  more  important." 

Members  of  the  Slavic  dance  troupe  Zivili.  Photo 
by  Jeffrey  A.  Rycus. 


30 


Founded  in  1973  by  three  women 
of  Croatian  descent,  the  30-member 
troupe  offers  a  full  slate  of  in-school  per- 
formances, lecture-demonstrations, 
"informances,"  and  master  classes  every 
year,  reaching  some  200,000  children  in 
the  process.  The  benefits  of  these  out- 
reach efforts  are  both  practical  and 
philosophical,  according  to  Obenauf. 
"They  mean  more  paid  employment  for 
the  dancers,"  she  explains,  "but  they 
also  help  keep  the  community  informed 
of  our  activities,  so  the  educational  resi- 
dencies are  doubly  beneficial.  The  young 
people  bring  the  excitement  of  dance 
home  to  their  parents,  many  of  whom 
get  involved  in  our  community  events." 

Throughout  its  performance  activi- 
ties, both  in  schools  and  in  communities, 
Zivili  maintains  a  firm  policy  of  present- 
ing a  full  sampling  of  the  complex 

Southern  Slavic  heritage.  "Often  Croatian-Americans  won't  want  to  see  Serbian 
dancers,  or  vice  versa,  and  neither  group  wants  to  see  Bosnian  work.  But  we  precede 
each  performance  with  a  statement  that  it  is  Zivili's  mission  to  preserve  what's  good 
about  people — regardless  of  their  ethnic  background — and  that  seems  to  diffuse  much 
of  the  animosity." 

Zivili's  lesson,  then,  extends  far  behind  the  narrow  slice  of  Slavic  culture  in 
which  it  specializes,  inviting  all  who  see  the  troupe  to  share  in  its  message  of  hope 
and  renewal.  "What  the  company  is  celebrating,"  points  out  dance  critic  Dale  Harris 
in  the  Wall  Street  Journal,  "is  an  unrecoverable  past.  In  doing  so,  however,  it  is  at  the 
same  time  celebrating  the  virtues  of  the  U.S. — its  hospitality  and  curiosity,  and  its 
belief  in  diversity,  the  opportunities  it  offers  for  self-renewal.  Zivili's  animating  spirit 
may  be  an  ethnically  specific  national  pride,  but  no  American,  whatever  his  or  her 
heritage,  is  likely  to  feel  excluded  from  participation  in  the  troupe's  festive  spirit." 


Zivili:  the  next  generation.  Photo  by  Jeffrey  A. 
Rycus. 


n 


In  keeping  with  the  Endowment's  belief  that  all  Americans 
should  have  opportunities  to  experience  the  arts  as  lifelong 
learners,  Education  &  Access  is  one  of  four  major  grant 
categories  supported  by  the  agency.  To  receive  a  copy 
of  the  Endowment's  funding  guidelines,  contact  the  Office  of 
Communications  at  the  National  Endowment  for  the  Arts. 


CREDITS 

Written  and  researched  by  Gary  O.  Larson 

Published  by  the 

Office  of  Communications 

National  Endowment  for  the  Arts 

Cherie  Simon,  Director 
Katherine  Wood,  Managing  Editor 
Virginia  Cohen,  Editor 

Designed  by  Bryce  Ambo,  Arlington  MA 


People  with  learning  or  visual  impairments  may  obtain  a 
cassette  recording  of  this  publication  through  the  Office  of 
AccessAbility.  Phone:  202/682-5532.  Voice/TT:  202/682-5496. 


Second  Edition,  1998. 
First  Edition,  1996. 


An  on-line  catalogue  of  Arts  Endowment  publications  is 
available  on  the  World  Wide  Web  at  http://arts.endow.gov. 


W 


NATIONAL 
ENDOWMENT 
FOR  THE   ARTS 


National  Endowment  for  the  Arts 
1100  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  NW 
Washington,  DC  20506-0001 
202/682-5400 

32