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Engaged and Empowered

American Artscape | 2013 No. 1
Cover artwork by Inocente, the subject of the Academy Award-winning short documentary Inocente by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine. Our talk with her is one of the Web Features below.
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About this Issue

Whether it was making a pinch pot, performing in a play or dance recital, or singing in the choir, most of us can remember participating in the arts during our school years. Recent research by James Catterall found that we were not just learning dance, music, theater, and visual arts -- he discovered that students with access to in-school arts instruction performed better academically, participated more actively in extracurricular activities, and were more likely to pursue higher education.

In other words, arts education doesn't just teach skills to future practitioners of the arts. It teaches children the creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills needed to succeed in the 21st century. (You can read the full report here.)

In this issue of NEA Arts, we'll visit communities that are ensuring students have opportunities to learn in the arts -- communities that are putting the Catterall research into action. From turning around failing schools thanks to the Turnaround Arts initiative to promoting musical composition among Hopi and Navajo youth to rigorous dance education in St. Louis, and to school districts from Austin, Texas, to rural Gates County, North Carolina, including the arts as part of core curriculum in communities across the country is empowering students.

In the coming months, the NEA will be unrolling a new plan for arts education. By leveraging our investments, driving data collection and research, collaborating with public and private partners for collective impact, and developing strategic leadership, we hope to ensure that every child, in every state, is engaged and empowered through an excellent arts education. Stay tuned as we announce this exciting new strategy!

Included in this Issue

The Batiste Cultural Arts Academy Marching Band participating in its first Bacchus parade during Mardi Gras 2013. Photo by James Wanamaker

The Art of Turning Things Around

PCAH's New Arts Education Program for Low-Performing Schools
T.S. Cooper Elementary kindergartners experience math concepts by creating original artwork in the style of the artist Henri Matisse. All photos by Michelle Mazan Burrows

It Takes a Community

Integrating the Arts into the Learning Process in Rural North Carolina
Man in mid-air with arms and legs extended during dance move.

Dancing to Success

The Honors Program at COCA in St. Louis
MindPOP partner Drama for Schools/UT Austin uses shadow puppetry to teach drama-based strategies to Austin public school teachers. Photo courtesy of Drama for Schools

Mind Pop

Austin Independent School District's "Aha!" Moment
Michael Begay (second from left) working with the ETHEL String Quartet as part of the NACAP activities to bring musical education to Native-American communities. Photo courtesy of NACAP

Composing Enlightenment

Bringing Musical Education to Native-American Communities
Students investigate an exhibit at the Holter Museum of Art. Photo courtesy of Sondra Hines

Art and Storytelling

The Cultural Crossroads Program at the Holter Museum of Art
Students perform in dance production at South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. Photo courtesy of Emily Allen

Learning and Living Through the Arts

Diverse Approaches to Arts Integration
A second-grader at Quatama Elementary in Hillsboro, Oregon, lights the sculpture she created when a visual arts residency was integrated with the study of electrical circuits. Photo by Janis Hill

The Right Brain Initiative

A Talk with Marna Stalcup
Matt D'Arrigo and Inocente at the Oscars, 2013. Photo courtesy of Matt D'Arrigo

Art Saved My Life: Talking with Inocente

Audio Available

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