As the world continues to grapple with the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the deep and systemic effects of racial injustice, no education challenge is as urgent as the one that our schools are facing as they welcome students back into school environments that have been fundamentally changed. School districts across the country are tackling tough challenges in education, including learning declines, disruptions in student academic, social and emotional growth, families in crisis, and teacher recruitment and retention.
In spring 2022, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art launched an exploratory phase of work, alongside Creative Generation and WolfBrown, to seize this critical moment as an opportunity to explore how the arts can support learning through arts integration. The exploratory phase aimed to address how the arts can foster learning, creativity and engagement as well as academic, social, and emotional wellbeing for students in a post-pandemic education landscape.
The exploratory phase of work culminated in a two-day convening in Bentonville, Arkansas on October 3 & 4, 2022. The event was attended by 55 guests with a wide range of perspectives including high school and college students, artists, teachers, teaching artists, school administrators, after-school arts programs, museum staff, foundations, and government officials, as well as researchers and experts in education policy and entrepreneurship.
Watch the below video or read the report at right to learn more about the convening.
How to Use This Resource Center
As part of the public mandate of this project and the commitment to supporting the field by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the following resource center has been made available to the public with hopes to continue to advance the discourse on arts integration. Powered by Creative Generation, this body of work will be publicly hosted throughout 2023 and then migrated to the virtual resources of the museum.
Check out the three sections below to engage more with the materials, grow your own practice, or contribute to the dialogue!
This section contains materials capturing the learning of the exploratory phase and its participants in the project throughout 2022.
This section contains summaries of the big ideas emerging from the initial and ongoing body of work exploring the futures of arts integration.
This section contains the stories of the individuals and organizations enabling arts integration in a variety of learning environments, policy contexts, and more!