Leveraging Change—Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas

On May 31, 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts hosted a robust discussion about arts education in rural areas. The webinar began with a short presentation by Lisa Donovan, professor of Arts Management at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Maren Brown, of Maren Brown Associates, about the recent release of their working paper on the challenges and opportunities of increasing access to arts education in rural areas. Following the presentation were responses to ideas and effective practices that emerged from the report from three individuals working in rural communities: Tim Lampkin, CEO of Higher Purpose; Jake Eberwein, dean, Division of Graduate and Continuing Education, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; and Laura Forbes, education program director at Alaska State Council on the Arts. The webinar included time for a discussion among the participants, led by Ayanna Hudson, NEA arts education director, and questions from the public. See the Storify recap of the tweets from webinar.