Arts Education Collaborative Receives First NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships in the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016.  Included in this announcement is an Art Works award to Arts Education Collaborative to support professional learning initiatives. The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

“The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Supporting projects like the ones Arts Education Collaborative offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

“AEC translates artists’ ways of exploring and understanding the world and demonstrates how those strategies can enhance how students learn.” says Dr. Sarah Tambucci, Director of Arts Education Collaborative. “Leadership Academy and Community of Learners for Arts Education, the programs supported by this Art Works grant, make the arts integral to school culture and impact curriculum in ways that help educators engage students meaningfully.”

Leadership Academy is an intensive year-long professional learning opportunity that offers arts educators a close network of peers who are devoted to becoming leaders in their schools and communities. Community of Learners for Arts Education (CLAE) is a focused program to help school and district administrators explore processes and tools to support quality arts education.