February 2020 - Fine Arts Office Updates
Fine Arts Office Updates
Teaching Artist Meeting was a success...and more is to come!
Teaching Artists are a vital part of Maryland’s arts education ecosystem! The Fine Arts Office hosted over 75 Teaching Artists to hear the priorities of the Fine Arts Office first hand and offer their feedback and priorities. Collaboration is the core strategy for achieving equity and excellence for all Maryland students. Meeting notes are being compiled and will be shared as a resource on the Fine Arts Office website. Check out this video of attendees engaged in some collaborative meeting work!
Closing out 2019 with Maryland Arts advocates
Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan hosted arts leaders and advocates at her home for ‘A Night with the Arts.’ What an honor to bring in the holidays with arts leaders from across our state including Ken Skrzesz from Maryland State Arts Council and Quanice Floyd from AEMS Alliance.
Thank you Quanice Floyd and the team at AEMS for the invitation to celebrate the holidays with you! AEMS hosted arts leaders and stakeholders in a axe-throwing festive close to the year. Check out the Fine Arts office team’s killer throws! Alysia threw a few winning axes, and Emily took home the title of champion!
Recent #alysiavisits
InterAct Theatre Company
Thank you InterAct Theatre Company for inviting the Fine Arts Office to Empowerment Academy (City Schools), an arts integration school that collaborates with community arts partners, arts educators and classroom teachers to create an arts rich environment for learning. InterAct’s original production of Bobtail BONG BONG: A Monkey’s Tail Tale is an interactive theatre experience where children explore how they can apply elements of Social Emotional Learning in the way they treat others, even when feeling sad, angry, or misunderstood.
Baltimore City Public Schools Arts Educator Professional Learning Community
Thank you Becca Belleville of Arts Every Day for the invitation to present to the Baltimore City Public Schools NEW Arts Educators professional learning community titled TLC. This group of first year arts educators and a cohort of veteran educators, serving as mentors, meet monthly to share their experiences, advice and support!
The Wiz at ArtsCentric
Baltimore City Public Schools music educator and #bomaef2019 volunteer, Ryan Gholson gave a strong performance in ArtsCentric's The Wiz this weekend. Maryland arts educators are makers and doers of art! Toi toi toi to the cast and crew!
Visit to Baltimore City Public Schools
Thank you Channel Howard-Williams, Fine Arts Supervisor of Baltimore City Public Schools for hosting the Fine Arts Office and members of the Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel for visits to Fort Worthington Elementary Middle School and Historic Commodore John Rogers Elementary School. We were able to observe music and theatre classrooms, greet school administrators, and hear about how the arts programs impact school climate and student achievement. The visit concluded with a debrief session with John Davis, Chief of Schools and Ashley Cook, Director of Literacy, Languages & Culture for Baltimore City Public Schools.
Thank you to the following panelists for attending the visit: Dana Carr of LTYC, Keondra Prier of Walters Art Museum, Julia DiBussolo of Arts Every Day, and Quanice Floyd and Mary Ann Mears of AEMS.
Visit to Baltimore County Public Schools
Thank you Baltimore County Public Schools’ Fine Arts team, led by Douglas Handy, for hosting the Fine Arts Office and members of the Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel. We were guided on a robust visit to observe and ask questions about the dance, music, theatre and visual art programs at Deer Park Elem, Deer Park Middle Magnet, and Milford Mill High School.
Thank you to the following panelists for attending the visit: Dana Carr of LTYC, Keondra Prier of Walters Art Museum, Julia DiBussolo of Arts Every Day, and Rachel McGrain of AEMS.
Baltimore Center Stage Residency programs
Thank you Baltimore Center Stage for hosting a visit to Empowerment Academy to serve as audience for an informal sharing from 5th grade playwrights. Each collaborative writing student team presented their design and planning documentation for their original play. They then read their plays aloud and received feedback from the students, teachers and visitors. Plays ranged from political to fantastical...bravo to all!
Ballet Theatre of Maryland
Thank you Ballet Theatre of Maryland for hosting a visit to an Arts Integration residency. The 10-week residency will conclude in a few weeks with a joint performance. At week 4, students were already showing strong use of dance vocabulary and able to talk about their progress. Check out this video of their closing ritual! The teaching artist closes every session with a 1-on-1 goodbye with each student’s choice of goodbye greeting.