Berkeley Rep invites interested teens to a teen arts advocacy conference on Sunday February 12 entitled CLAIM: Your Education. Your Voice. Your Arts. It’s intended as a kick-off to a larger advocacy initiative led by the kids which will hopefully include sending a Berkeley Rep Teen Council delegation to Arts Advocacy Day in D.C. (pending funding.) This is the second year of the teen Arts Advocacy committee, born out of Berkeley Rep students’ desire to engage and mobilize their peers around these issues. The kids have the right impulses; they just need the tools, some encouragement, and a platform, which is where Berkeley Rep stepping in. Click for info and registration form, downloadable at www.berkeleyrep.org/claimyourarts and via email to teencouncil@berkeleyrep.org. 

Craig Watson has an extensive background in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Prior to his position with the Arts Council for Long Beach and other recent work in the arts, he held senior executive positions in the telecommunications field in Rhode Island, New York and California. His earlier career in the arts included positions with the Sonoma County Arts Council and Rural Arts Services in Northern California, as well as a fellowship at the National Endowment for the Arts, participation in the Coro Foundation's Arts Management program, and a co-directing position at Santa Barbara Arts Services.

A visual artist in addition to his experience the business sector and as an arts administrator,  Watson studied fine arts at Occidental College, trained as a sculptor and worked with renowned artists such as Christo. "I have a strong, working knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for artists and I expect to bring that experience to the work of the Arts Council," said Watson.

The new Director agrees with the governing Council that access to the arts for all Californians is vital for the state. "My goal is to help the Arts Council fulfill its mission in making the arts and arts education available to all Californians. If we succeed, we will help our citizens reach their highest creative potential, in whatever fields they choose, while advancing our 'creative economy' that has been such a hallmark of California's unique standing in the world."

He also feels his experience in both the arts and business world have given him insight into how the arts can play a role in California. "I have seen first-hand the power of the arts to revitalize economically and culturally challenged communities," he said. "Recent studies are compelling -- access to the arts and arts education pay huge dividends; educationally, culturally and economically."

Watson joins the California Arts Council at a time when several U.S. state legislatures and governors have questioned their ability to invest in the arts during the economic downturn and budgets have been slashed. The California Arts Council has a unique funding structure, where more than 60 percent of its current funding comes from the purchase of the "Arts License Plate" by California motorists.

"One of my key responsibilities will be to grow this source of funding, the Arts License Plate program, for the arts in California," said Watson. "The Council and staff expect the 'Million Plates' campaign to raise $40 million for the arts and arts education in California."

Local experts praise Watson's work at the Arts Council for Long Beach. "Craig inspired the entire City of Long Beach with his broad and inclusive vision for the arts," said Alex Slato, Executive Director of LA Artcore and former Senior Vice President of the Museum of Latin American Art. "From activating empty city lots with hip hop, poetry and new media to his creation of GLOBAL -- the nation's largest celebration of Arts and Humanities Month -- Craig has developed the respect of local artists, community activists, elected officials, business leaders and the arts community alike."

Watson also has arts experience outside large metropolitan areas, notes Libby Maynard, co-founder of Eureka's Ink People Center for the Arts and the former board chair of Rural Arts Services. "Craig's experience with organizations such as Rural Arts Services bodes well for his leadership of the California Arts Council and for those of us in the field who represent smaller, culturally rich communities in rural California."

Watson expects to have a strong and productive relationship with state elected officials. He is a veteran of the advocacy process in the state Capitol, where he spent considerable time with legislators during his career in the telecommunications business.

Arts graduates find jobs, satisfaction

Posted elsewhere by Nick Rabkin:

Yesterday the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities released an important report, "Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future through Creative Schools."

It calls for expanding the roles of teaching artists in schools, collaboration rather than competition among approaches to teaching the arts in schools, development of arts integration as a particularly hopeful innovation, more research to understand and demonstrate the power of arts education to improve student outcomes, and more leadership at the federal level to encourage states and local districts to develop arts education capacity. This is a very important and hopeful development!

Check out the report at http://www.pcah.gov/sites/default/files/photos/PCAH_Reinvesting_4web.pdf

Americans for the Arts reports that on April 15, Congress and the president approved the FY 2011 appropriations bill which included restoration of the federal Arts In Education program – the only education program to be restored from being cut or terminated earlier in the year.

Last week, Americans for the Arts published its National Arts Policy Roundtable final report which captures the recommendations from an event co-convened at the Sundance Preserve by President and CEO of Americans for the Arts Robert L. Lynch, and Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute.  Officials from both the U.S. Department of Education and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities participated in the National Arts Policy Roundtable. The report identifies four key recommendations, including the need for increased research, strong public policy support, and better casemaking efforts from the field.

The need for increased federal research cited in the National Arts Policy Roundtable recommendations will be answered, in part, by two new federal studies being released this week:  

U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics is releasing the preview of a study on the national status and condition of arts education -- it has been almost a decade since the last one was published!  The full study is scheduled to be released by the end of 2011 and will be a key measurement of access to arts education.

 And the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is set to release their study “Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools” which will promote successful arts education models and best practices.

Visual Inquiry: Learning & Teaching Art, a new internationally peer reviewed journal dedicated to exploring the complex processes of learning and teaching art in the classroom, studio and beyond. 

(Posted by Dale Davis, Association of Teaching Artists, NY)

Aims and Scope    Visual Inquiry is a new journal from Intellect that looks to create a forum in which to engage with the multifaceted and intricate process of learning and teaching art. The journal recognises that art instruction has a powerful influence on the way new art is created, yet the majority of degree granting art programmes have no stage to discuss what good teaching looks like.

Addressing this issue, Visual Inquiry seeks to construct a platform for reflection on the teaching of art in a variety of contexts. It will engage art appreciaton experiences, share scholarship in instructing artistry, and facilitate a wide spectrum of perspectives on the rich traditions of art making and teaching.

Aiming to be accessible and useful yet challenging and visually engaging, the journal will move away from the selectivity of much published material related to art education, and enhance the readability and scope of teaching and learning in the arts. Highlighting the contributions, thinking processes, and successes of artist-teachers the journal will renew an excitement for teaching and learning in the arts.

For more details and information on how to subscribe to Visual Inquiry, please visit the journal online at :http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=201/

Call For Papers   Papers are currently being invited for Visual Inquiry. The new peer reviewed journal from Intellect will launch its first publication in 2011, with three issues per volume.

The journal seeks a serious yet experimental approach to publication that values the myriad of visual art processes in contemporary culture. Readable to the outsider yet encouraging and challenging to the experienced artist-teacher, the journal will fill a niche in art and art education with a breadth and enthusiasm missing in contemporary art and art education journals. The journal seeks original research papers, interviews, art, and work in progress that address issues related to learning and teaching art.

Submission Details   Submissions are welcome from scholars and practitioners. All contributions will be peer-reviewed, and all papers must be submitted in English. Please refer to the Intellect Style Guide before submitting a paper: http://bit.ly/dkiD4I.

Article submissions: an initial submission of a 150 word abstract, including in the information the intended word count of the article. Include the word ‘Article’ in the subject heading should be sent via email in Word Format and include author biography (stating affiliation/position – not to exceed 80 words).    All submissions will be blind refereed.

Correspondence for submissions should be directed to the principle editors:

G. James Daichendt
Azusa Pacific University
gdaichendt@apu.edu

Publisher Contact Info   Intellect is an academic publisher based in Bristol whose focus lies in areas of creative media and popular culture. Please contact James Campbell for further info, or to purchase a copy of the title.

Email: james@intellectbooks.com

 
The California Alliance for Arts Education tracks all bills in the state legislature that may have an impact on access to arts education. This session the Alliance is sponsoring ACR 25 (Campos), a resolution that champions Arts Education Month, as well as SB 789 (Price) which would, for the first time, promote and foster opportunities for creativity and innovation in schools. For an update on all the bills we are following, visit the Legislative Update.