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Community Creators in STEAM Art Club: Designing 3D Prototypes

November 15, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

As part of an innovative after-school residency, 5th graders in Newport News have unveiled 3D artistic creations that are the result of weeks of brainstorming, teamwork, and hands-on design. Four teams of students at George J. McIntosh Elementary School created prototypes that address social issues, presenting their models to educators, community leaders, Arts for Learning staff and board members, and their peers in the residency.

Led by A4L teaching artist James Cooper and art teacher Tiffany Murchison, students have met twice a week after school this fall to collaborate on designing and building their prototypes that incorporate STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) concepts. James, a puppeteer with an engineering and computer science background, says he’s there to help fill in some of the gaps in kids’ knowledge, but they’re doing the real work.

“They’re fantastic,” James said. “They’re very strategic in how they think…they’re really smart, bright, and on the road to being successful adults, which is what we really hope for.” But there’s more. “They’re very feisty. It’s a great energy—they’re willing to work and ready to get it done.”

Each of the four student groups based their prototypes on a social issue they chose to address. Following an introduction by Aisha Noel, A4L’s Programs and Community Engagement Manager, students took turns presenting their prototypes and explaining their projects.

The Voyagers designed a statue of a figure holding a heart.

“We made this statue to represent peace and to stop violence—for people to see it and understand how and why they need to stop fighting,” said Andy, one of a five-member team. “I think art can make a difference because statues can represent different meanings—stop bullying, stop violence, stop cyber bullying, anything.”

Team Shine Bright Squad focused on cyber-bullying, with their prototype featuring a two-sided screen and a girl who was being bullied from her own bedroom.

For their prototype, Team Big Macs designed a food truck that would service the homeless.

Team Star Power also selected homelessness as their social issue, building a model of a home that comes well stocked with food for its residents.

After the presentations, judges, including student peer judges, voted on which prototype will be built by the group as a whole. The winner—Star Power and its house for the homeless.

The final 3-D artwork will be displayed at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center, with the unveiling to take place December 13 at a special reception for students and families. The public is invited to come view the artwork through December 22.

The excitement of seeing their artwork publicly displayed may wind up being students’ favorite part of this residency. But for now, they have different takeaways that may be even more important:

“Teamwork, to never give up, and anything can be art.” Joshua, Fifth Grade

“I learned that I can always help people when they need help. And I learned that if someone is feeling sad or something, I can cheer them up.” Treasure, Fifth Grade

“Being more interactive with other people. And learning how to speak out loud without stuttering.” Nialiah, Fifth Grade

But for Emily, the best part of the residency has been a practical one—getting to make art at school.

“I can make 3D stuff without getting yelled at by my mom to clean my room.”

Arts for Learning thanks Huntington Ingalls/Newport News Shipbuilding  for underwriting this residency, which is provided at no cost to students and their families. Additional community support is provided by Newport News Public Schools Fine Arts and STEM supervisors  and the Newport News Arts Commission. 

Filed Under: Art Exhibit, Arts Integration, ArtsEd, Grants, News, Program Spotlight Tagged With: 3D art, 757 arts, Arts Ed, arts education, Newport News Public Schools, Newport News Shipbuilding, STEAM

“Snacks” Bring Smiles

June 12, 2021 By Cindy Sherwood

Everybody loves snacks…and our Arts + Learning Snacks are no exception. Look at the big smiles on these kids’ faces as they received their free art activity kits. We handed out 250 snack kits to children who attended the “One City Wake Up and Read Summer Kick-Off” this month in Newport News. And word has it that at Virginia Beach Public Libraries, they’re flying off the shelves  because “everybody loves them.”  

Who wouldn’t love an engaging, hands-on art activity?

Seven-year-old Everly can’t wait to dig into this delicious art snack!

Find out more about our Learning Snacks by clicking here!

Filed Under: ArtsEd, News Tagged With: 757 arts, art activity kits, art enrichment, arts integration, comics, mini-comic, Newport News Public Schools, Root Beer Comics, Virginia Beach Public Libraries

New Partnership with Newport News Public Schools

May 21, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

Dancer Joppa Whitehead tapes a Take 10 segment demonstrating the basics of balletFor more than two months now, our program team and participating artists have joined together to create unique and engaging Take 10 videos for families to use while distance learning at home. We’re happy to announce we’re now partnering with Newport News Public Schools’ Family and Community Engagement Specialists (FACE). NNPS will play our Take 10 videos on their website and TV channel—that means students who don’t have reliable access to the internet will be able to enjoy our free programming.

Logo of NNPS Family and Community Engagement Specialists (FACE)

We want to ensure all members of the community are informed about the availability of Take 10, so NNPS will be contacting families by phone and email. Newport News libraries are also offering WiFi at select meal sites, which offers another way for families to access our Take 10 virtual learning.

NNPS Family Engagement believes our programs provide a service that promotes togetherness in this time of home learning, as we all work together to create a digital social network that celebrates the power of the arts.

Click here for more information about FACE and its programs.

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

Filed Under: ArtsEd, News Tagged With: Arts Ed, arts integration, digital learning, Family and Community Engagement Specialists, Newport News Public Schools, NNPS, Partnership, Take 10, virtual programming

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

Main Office

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

Community Creators in STEAM Art Club: Designing 3D Prototypes

As part of an innovative after-school residency, 5th graders in Newport News have unveiled 3D artistic creations that are the result of weeks of brainstorming, teamwork, and hands-on design. Four teams of students at George J. McIntosh Elementary School created prototypes that address social issues, presenting their models to educators, community leaders, Arts for Learning […]

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.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . 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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