To make this expanded range of arts-integrated learning possibilities more concrete, the project yielded a series of examples of wide-ranging visual arts integration taken from contemporary practice in and out of schools, for a range of ages and audiences, using different approaches.
The following materials were compiled, and are now published, to elevate the practices in the field.
Case Studies
This case study focuses on the community and family engagement work at the Barnes Foundation, a museum in Philadelphia, PA, specifically, the museum’s partnership with Puentes de Salud, a health clinic serving the growing LatinX immigrant population in South Philadelphia and the ways in which the arts have become a source of healing and well-being for both young children and their families.
The Exploratorium, a San Francisco museum of science, art, and human perception, uses the power of informal learning through performances, public art, events, and open-air exhibitions in shared public spaces to awaken its visitors. The case study focuses on the museum’s “Middle Ground” exhibition.
This case study focuses on A+ Schools of North Carolina, a network of schools within the National A+ Schools Consortium. This portrait of A+ Schools of North Carolina provides insight into the overall design, evolution, and impact of the A+ Schools model, the longest-running, arts-based whole-school reform model in the nation.
This case study focuses on SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning (SPARK!), a community partner of the John F. Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child initiative. Founded in 2014, SPARK! works as a collaboration of local artists, arts organizations, business and community leaders, the city of Missoula, Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS), parents, philanthropists, and the University of Montana to ensure equity and access to a comprehensive arts education ecosystem for all K-8 MCPS students.
Innovation Spotlights
A thematic inquiry into impact measurement in arts integration settings, featuring research on socio-emotional learning, neurophysiological impact, and artistic impact, with examples from Crystal Bridges’ school field trips, the Kaleidoscope Headstart Program sponsored by the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, and the New Victory Theater.
A thematic inquiry into the applications of technologies such as augmented reality, gaming platforms, and coding technologies, visitor engagement technologies, and virtual reality in museum and educational settings, featuring examples from The National Gallery in London, Tate Galleries, the Scratch Foundation, Cooper Hewitt, and the Barnes Foundation.
A thematic inquiry into the role of arts integration in community development, featuring examples from Partners for Rural Impact (formerly Partners for Education) in Appalachian Kentucky, The Vermont Community Learning Network, and ArtPlace America.
A thematic inquiry into scaling strategies in arts integration, featuring examples from Expeditionary Learning, Ingenuity, Boston Public Schools, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program in Utah (BTS Arts), Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) developed by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine, Billboard Art Project, and the National Orchestra Institute and Festival.
OPEN-ACCESS COURSE
To explore these multiple facets of arts integration, a course was created to encourage the engagement with the perspectives of educators, youths, artists, administrators, researchers, and museums from around the country in several different ways, including the above case studies, “Innovation Spotlights” on specific practices, video presentations, and recorded interviews.
In mid-2023, an open-access course will be published and made publicly available for the field.
For attendees and contributors to the Thinkific course utilized in the October 2022 convening, please contact info@creative-generation.org for access.