The year 2020 forcibly exposed anti-Blackness in America and led to civil unrest across the United States in response to the pandemic of racism and White Supremacy. In our sector, communities are now experiencing a new kind of revolution where the goal of a complete arts and cultural education is intertwined with the continued struggle for freedom from oppression and fight for equality. Therefore, this project – and the team working on it - desired to elevate the knowledge of leaders from communities engaged in conversations about the intersection or race, power, culture, and learning.
Read moreYoung Artists Reflect on the Future of Education
In the Fall of 2020, UNESCO’s International Commission on the Futures of Education released a paper outlining nine ideas for public action in education in a post-COVID world. In addition to submitting written responses, they solicited artwork from students. They recently released a synthesis report about the 218 pieces they received.
Read moreUnlearning Ageism: Expanding the Definition of Mentorship in Arts & Cultural Education
In this model, each individual’s experience is honored from their own lived experiences. As an asset-based approach to mentorship, focus is placed on individual strengths and the diversity in thought, culture, and traits. We must ask ourselves, is that not essentially what arts education aims to do: amplify creative practices and embolden the perspectives of young people for the benefit of communities?
Creating Creators - New Report from the Lego Foundation
LEGO takes a holistic view when it comes to reimagining learning by highlighting the ways in which children’s physical, social, cognitive, creative and emotional skills complement and interact with one another through play. When these skills are being successfully cultivated, it makes an essential truth of the arts and culture field abundantly clear: creativity matters! To drive this point home, the LEGO Foundation is publishing a series of reports that “convene a broad spectrum of viewpoints and opinions focused on creativity in education systems.” Their most recent report is Creating Creators.
Read moreThe Roles of the Arts during COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Nigeria: Music, Nigerian Films, and Visual Arts
As part of its findings, the study shows that the majority of respondents from Nigeria resorted to using different art forms during the lockdown to assuage loneliness, depression, and boredom. These art forms include music, dance aerobics, visual arts expressions such as painting, sculpting, and ceramics. Simultaneously, the majority relied on the Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood for its cross-cultural heritage and entertainment transmissions.
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