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Dominion Energy Honors Arts for Learning with ArtStars Award!

January 27, 2021 By Cindy Sherwood

Woo-hoo! It’s a happy day here at Arts for Learning, as we were thrilled to receive the Dominion Energy ArtStars Award for Eastern Virginia last night at the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ live virtual conference. Dominion Energy presented the award, which comes with a $10,000 prize, for A4L’s “Take 10” digital programming, recognizing the project’s innovation, enterprise, and artistic quality.

When Virginia’s schools shut down last March, more than 350 hours of our programming was canceled, threatening our mission to connect students with the power of the arts. But our mission was not interrupted. Within days, the Arts for Learning office in Norfolk was transformed into a makeshift recording studio, artists took a leap of faith and tried something new, and our program team figured it out on the fly, including how to shoot and edit video while following strict safety protocols required by the global pandemic. The result: 118 ten-minute video segments that served as engaging and educational art breaks for students and families who were suddenly thrust into remote learning.

Take 10 was a major team effort,” says Christine Everly, CEO of Arts for Learning. “We had no budget, no prior expertise, and no production studio—but we knew we had to find a way around those obstacles. Especially during the COVID crisis with students learning at home, we needed to reach them through the power of the arts. And we also wanted to provide some income for our artists who suddenly found themselves unemployed.”

Participating artists received stipends for their work on Take 10. The program ended in June, but Arts for Learning’s commitment to quality virtual arts programming did not. Thanks to an investment in new video technology and additional training for staff and artists, Arts for Learning now offers dozens of virtual arts experiences to schools, libraries, and community centers. The $10,000 ArtStars’ prize money will support Arts for Learning’s efforts to continue to build a digital library of engaging and innovative new programming to connect students with the arts, wherever and however they are being schooled.

Filed Under: Arts Integration, ArtsEd, COVID-19, News, Press Releases, Virtual Learning, Virtual programming Tagged With: 757 arts, 757 nonprofit, arts education, ArtStars Award, coronavirus, digital programming, Dominion Energy, Take 10, virtual learning, virtual programming

Artist Spotlight: Karim Nagi and “Arabiqa”

December 31, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

With all the challenges Arts for Learning has faced in the past year, there’s one very positive side effect—thanks to virtual programming, our roster has expanded to include vibrant and culturally diverse artists who live in other parts of the United States. We’re especially excited about Chicago-based artist Karim Nagi joining our team. Karim is an Arab musician, dancer, and folklorist whose program “Arabiqa” is now available for booking.

As a native of Egypt, Karim immigrated to the United States when he was eleven years old, along with his mother and father. The family settled in Boston, where Karim attended public school and where few students knew much about his home country, culture, or Muslim religion. Karim eventually became a professional performing artist. Since 1999, he has led the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, a group dedicated to preserving and presenting traditional Arabic vocal and instrumental music.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a school invited Karim to make a presentation about Arab culture to students who “only had the frightening impressions from the news.” With close to 500 presentations since that time, he’s refined his performance into a dynamic and informational exploration of Arabic culture. The program blends music, dance, language, and traditional costumes. Karim demonstrates the traditional percussion and string instruments he plays and shows different dance styles he learned growing up in Egypt, as well as folk dances from Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, and other Arab countries.

In addition to exposing students to new art forms, Karim has a more personal motive for his performances.

“If everyone relies on the news or some type of media portal to get their information about another person, they’re only going to have stereotypes and simplistic renderings and one-sided reports. When people are learning about other cultures, it’s very important that they interact with people from those cultures,” Karim says. “I believe it’s important that they learn about my culture specifically because it’s so central in news and world politics, but I’m more interested in the process of people becoming tolerant and receptive of diversity so I think it’s important for them to interact with actual people from each segment of society.”

In the twenty years he’s been performing in schools and performing and leading workshops for adults, Karim has seen a positive shift in perception.

“People are more aware that the arts have a role in sharing culture and creating dialogue between people. I think before people thought of the arts as just entertainment. But these days people really give it the credit that it deserves.”

When schools shut down across the country last spring, Karim had an advantage over many performing artists because he was already experienced working with video and audio. With his virtual presentations, he adjusts to the needs of an individual school, with both live and recorded performances available. But whatever the format of his performances, he’s committed to make them interactive.

“I still need to engage with each student behind the screen and make them feel that they need to participate. That’s the important thing, rather than just performing in a block for forty-five minutes and students having to watch. This is true in real-life, in-person performances as well. With digital, I have to make sure I still keep it engaging and in a way that students participate.”

So how does Karim know that he’s making a difference through his school presentations? Earlier in his career, the words of a student from Virginia made a big impression.

One of the fourth graders came up to me and said they wanted to be Arab when they grew up. This fueled me a lot. I’m helping people become less afraid of something that’s foreign or something that’s perceived as anti-American by some people. I was expressing my culture and a young child saw it as something that they would like to emulate. Even if they didn’t understand the difference between ethnicity and career at the time, it still meant that they weren’t afraid of it, that they could relate to it.”

Interested in Karim doing a virtual presentation at your school, library, or community center? Contact Aisha Noel at 757-961-3737 or email us at programs@Arts4LearningVA.org for more information. We may have funding available to help offset the cost of Karim’s performance!

Filed Under: Artist Spotlight Tagged With: 757 arts, 757 nonprofit, Arabic culture, arts integration, arts programs, arts-in-education, digital programming, folklore, Karim Nagi, performing artist, virtual learning

Wherever. However. Arts for Learning Introduces New Virtual Arts Experiences

August 27, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

This will be a back-to-school like no other for students attending Virginia public schools, with so many school divisions operating on a virtual basis only, at least initially. Educators have been busy preparing to provide students with quality virtual learning…. and so have we here at Arts for Learning.

Our program team and artists are collaborating closely to create a rich and diverse collection of virtual arts experiences. Check out the variety of programs we’re offering by clicking here. And be sure to contact us at programs@arts4learningVA.org if you’d like more information on specific programs or artists.

Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, we’re determined to find innovative ways to connect children with arts experiences WHEREVER and HOWEVER their schooling is taking place.

 

Filed Under: Arts Integration, ArtsEd, COVID-19, News, Virtual Learning, Virtual programming Tagged With: 757 arts, 757 nonprofit, Arts Ed, arts education, back to school, digital programming, Virginia public schools, virtual learning

Behind-the-Scenes of Take 10

May 19, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

Storyteller Sheila Arnold tests drives A4L's new lights and microphoneAt the beginning of 2020, none of us could have predicted what life would look like now in the spring. And certainly none of us at Arts for Learning could have known our Norfolk office would be turned into a makeshift video production studio.

Less than two months ago, our program team, joined by sixteen artists on the Arts for Learning roster, rallied to start creating ten-minute video segments for students learning at home, so the arts could remain part of their daily curriculum.

But there was a steep learning curve for artists and staff alike.

“It’s been a matter of working through the kinks,” as Noel puts it. From the beginning, she’s worked directly with our artists to talk through the process of creating the Take 10 videos, conversations that have taken up to two hours long and have included detailed instructions of social distancing protocols and safety measures taken before, during, and after recording. Only one of A4L’s artists had any experience producing live or recorded videos of their art. And Kirkpatrick and Noel also quickly realized they needed new equipment for better audio and video quality. The latest additions are a new directional microphone and LED lighting, made possible in part by a grant from the Community Knights Foundation.

“The quality has really expanded since the beginning of the process until now. Just watching the edited videos, it’s like, wow! Look how far we’ve come,” Kirkpatrick says. “Every session has brought with it a new lesson for me about how to approach the work.” One of Kirkpatrick’s latest projects certainly wasn’t included in his job description when he was started at A4L in January—it involved a trip to Lowe’s to buy PVC pipe and vellum paper to build a homemade light diffuser.

A4L staff members Aisha Noel and Aaron Kirkpatrick set up new equipment to prepare for videotaping.Noel is especially grateful to the artists who have participated in Take 10. “The fact that they have trusted us as an organization with their health is very important to me.”

“I’m just thankful for our artists’ willingness to be creative and share their art. Take 10 happened because artists said yes to trying something different.”

Kirkpatrick agrees. “We all have pent-up creativity right now. So to see an outlet be created and have artists come in and do their own thing, it’s really good vibes.”

So what’s next for our digital programming? Stay tuned, as they say in the news business. We’re working on the next phase and look forward to sharing details soon.

You can watch our Take 10 videos anytime on our YouTube channel, with music, dance, storytelling, crafts, and more to choose from.

Like what you see? We’re paying our artists to create Take 10 videos, but we don’t receive any money to produce them. Can you give $10 to Take 10? Donate here!

Filed Under: ArtsEd Tagged With: 757 arts, 757 nonprofit, arts education, Arts for Learning, arts integration, arts programs, arts-in-education, Covid-19, creative learning, digital programming, distance learning, Hampton City Schools, home-schooling, Newport News Public Schools, nonprofit, Norfolk Public Schools, pandemic, Portsmouth Public Schools, remote learning, Take 10, teaching artists, VDOE, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia stay-at-home order, virtual learning, VPOST

From Crisis to Opportunity: New Digital Programming for Arts for Learning

April 29, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

When Virginia schools were shut down in March for the rest of the school year, Arts for Learning had a dilemma—as a nonprofit that delivers its services to hundreds of schools in Virginia, how do we fulfill our mission to engage students IN and THROUGH the arts? And how do we pay artists on our roster who suddenly have no income, when we as an organization are ourselves facing a profound financial crisis?

The answer didn’t come immediately. Our program team deliberated and debated, reached out to artists and educators, and consulted with other Young Audience, Arts for Learning affiliates around the country. But amid all the uncertainty, Chief Operations Officer Anna Green says the A4L staff was certain of two things:

“The power of arts to enrich the lives of children in good times and in bad and the importance of compensating the artists who do so,” Green says. “So that’s what Take 10 became—a way to reach the students and a way to compensate the artists that enrich their lives.”

Launched on March 24, Take 10 is Arts for Learning’s new digital programming, making arts learning accessible to children and families virtually through live and recorded performances.

“I think that what excites me the most is that we have such a variety of talent,” says Aaron Kirkpatrick, A4L’s Artistic and Education Manager. “Take 10 is not a program of music. It’s not about storytelling. It’s not about visual art. It’s all of those things. So if you were to go to our on-demand list, which is growing every day, there’s a little of something for everybody, and it really speaks to the diversity of talent of everybody on the roster.”

Getting Take 10 up and running had its challenges. Although all of our artists are accustomed to performing live in front of audiences, few had experience recording on video or in teaching compact ten-minute learning segments. It was new territory, too, for Arts for Learning. Through some trial and error and a determination to figure it out, the program team dove in. Kirkpatrick made his Canon T3i videocamera available, and he and Program Relationship Coordinator Aisha Noel worked together to develop new methods for formalizing production techniques, establishing quality control and devising camera ready lesson plans, all while following social distancing protocols.

Participating artists are paid fees for time spent recording their Take 10 segments. Since A4L doesn’t have a production studio, artists record their segments at our office space in Norfolk, performing in front of a mural painted by artist Charles Williams in 1986.

Musician Tina Culver, the lead artist of the Strings Impact program and a public school teacher in Portsmouth, had to figure out how to teach the violin on video. With some help from the Pink Panther theme, she produced a Facebook Live segment that was fun to watch whether you had a violin handy or not.

“I think it’s really cool to be a part of it,” Culver says. “We’re impacting kids from a different perspective now, social media. Now we’re getting more people that are looking at it, you never know where it’s going, who it’s reaching. So I’m just glad to be a part of that. It’s just another way to reach everyone.”

The Take 10 programming is being shared widely, including by the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Partnership for Out-of-School Time. We’ve also received requests for original digital programming from library systems and school districts in Virginia. Green sees this difficult time as an opportunity. “There’s the excitement of the possibility of being able to reach students better statewide through digital means. There’s a unique opportunity for people to see a nonprofit taking a step into a place that they’ve never been before.”

“I’m loving the #Take10 initiative and we’ll definitely be directing folks to those videos!” Christine Hurlock, Youth Services Librarian for Williamsburg Regional Library

You can watch Take 10 on Facebook Live at 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or you can watch recorded videos anytime on our YouTube channel.

Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up-to-date on everything that’s happening at A4L as we work to bring new programming to your family!

Filed Under: ArtsEd Tagged With: 757 arts, 757 nonprofit, arts education, Arts for Learning, arts integration, arts programs, arts-in-education, Covid-19, creative learning, digital arts, digital programming, Hampton City Schools, home-schooling, Newport News Public Schools, nonprofit, Norfolk Public Schools, pandemic, Portsmouth Public Schools, Strings Impact, Take 10, Take Ten, teaching artists, VDOE, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia stay-at-home order, virtual learning, VPOST, Williamsburg Regional Library

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Main Office
Arts for Learning
420 North Center Drive
Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-466-7555
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Main Office

Arts for Learning
420 North Center Drive
Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-466-7555
Fax: 757-455-9859

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Arts for Learning Style)

No, we’re not talking about this year’s Best Picture winner (although we DID love it!) We’re talking about springtime at Arts for Learning where we have so much going on—new residencies, workshops, public performances, and more for students from Pre-K to 12th grade! Residencies Strings Impact: Fourth through sixth graders at three elementary schools in […]

Join the A4L Mailing List!

Sign up to receive the latest news on arts integration from Arts for Learning! Thank you for supporting arts-in-education.

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By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Arts for Learning, http://www.arts4learningva.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

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