Inspire! Artist Residencies and the Arts in Education Partnership

Inspire! is an Arts in Education partnership program between the Allentown Art Museum (AAM) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). AAM is one of twelve regional service providers throughout the state creating and supporting arts in education initiatives on a regional level. Inspire! services Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, and Southern Pike Counties.

As a member of the Arts in Education Partnership with the PCA, the Inspire! program is committed to providing the following services to its region:

• Advocating on behalf of Arts in Education
• Submitting applications to the PCA for artist residency funding
• Facilitating artist residencies at schools and community organizations
• Identifying and rostering artists to conduct residencies
• Providing professional development opportunities for artists and teachers

This project was made possible through the AIE Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. It is funded by the citizens of Pennsylvania through an annual legislative appropriation, and administered locally by the Allentown Art Museum. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Overview of Residency Program
Imagine your students learning about jazz from a Grammy nominated singer, or painting from a nationally exhibited watercolorist. The Allentown Art Museum (AAM) can help you make it happen through the Arts in Education artist residency funding program supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA).

What is an artist residency?
Residencies are substantial periods of time in which one or more visual, performing, or literary artists works intensively with teachers and groups of students on one or more long-term projects. During this time, students exercise creative control over their work. The artist's role in such work is that of mentor, facilitator, and technical advisor on important artistic concepts and skills.

How long do residencies last?
The minimum length of a residency is ten days with an individual artist or five days with a company or ensemble.

What is the Directory of Pennsylvania Artists in Education?
The Directory is the PCA's list of artists who are approved to conduct PCA funded residencies. To ensure the highest quality residencies, artists go through a rigorous application process to be included in the Directory. Artists not in the Directory cannot conduct residencies funded by the PCA. A listing of Directory artists from the region can be found in the "Artist Directory" section of this site.

What are the costs?
The PCA, through a matching grant award, can fund up to 50% of artist's fees (individual artists are paid a minimum of $185 a day), per diem expenses, and travel expenses for artists traveling more than 50 miles one way. Schools are responsible for the other 50% of these fees and expenses. Supplies for students and any supplies needed to create artwork that will remain within the school or with the students is the responsibility of the school. PTA/PTO, booster organizations, or private or business contributions are some ways in which schools cover their half of residency costs.

Who is eligible for PCA funding for artist residencies?
All public and private schools and non-profit organizations in Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Southern Pike counties are eligible to apply for funding.

What is the role of the AAM concerning artist residencies?
As an Arts in Education Partner with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the responsibilities of AAM include:

• Creating and posting residency information and artist directory information
• Writing the multi-residency grant request for Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe and Southeastern Pike Counties and submitting it to the PA Council on the Arts
• Assisting in the planning of residencies
• Observing each residency
• Recruiting artists for AAM's regional directory
• Coordinating all residency paperwork
• Organizing professional opportunities for teachers and artists
• Reporting residency information to the PA Council on the Arts on a yearly basis

How can I host an artist residency at my school or community organization?
Please refer to the "How to Host Your Own Artist Residency" planning sheet.

If you need help planning your residency or if you have additional questions, please contact AAM's AIE Manager at 610-432-4333 ext. 53 or aie@allentownartmuseum.org.

Benefits

How will students benefit from participating in an artist residency?
Organizations that participate in the artist residency program open the door to numerous benefits. Studies have shown a significant correlation between arts education and development and achievement. Skills developed through the arts are recognized by arts and non-arts communities as being essential in today's society. These skills, as noted by Robert Root-Bernstein, Professor of Physiology at Michigan State University, include the abilities to:

• observe acutely,
• think spatially and kinesthetically,
• identify the essential components of a complex whole,
• recognize and invent patterns,
• gain empathy with objects of study,
• synthesize and communicate the results of one's thinking, visually, verbally, or mathematically.

The artist in residence program also provides public education institutions with an outlet to meet the Pennsylvania education requirements for arts and humanities. Under the new standards, every student is required to have planned instruction in art, music, dance, theatre, and humanities.

Why is it important for every school to embrace the arts?

• Studies have shown that there is a significant correlation between arts education and student achievement.
• The arts, unlike other subject areas, are able to illuminate learning across all subjects in the curriculum. There is a strong link between the arts and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which is concerned with unlocking the potential of every student learner.
• The arts are pervasive in everyday life. To not include the arts in education is to ignore a huge part of American culture, one that constitutes a $400 million business in Pennsylvania.
• The arts teach skills that are attractive to employers: creativity, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, and discipline.
• Understanding new perspectives and cultural diversity can be a natural outgrowth of teaching through the arts.
• State standards, which include arts education, must be met.
• The arts have been known to be effective in intervention and empowerment of at-risk students.
• The arts make learning fun! They encourage active, enthusiastic participation in the learning process, which can translate into greater confidence, self-esteem, and achievement in other academic subjects.