COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART, PORTLAND
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, PORTLAND OVATIONS AND PORTLAND STAGE
Portland, Maine – Four major Portland arts organizations are partnering on a new
educational initiative to connect students to the arts. Culture Club-Portland is a
collaborative program between the Portland Museum of Art, the Portland Symphony
Orchestra, Portland Ovations and Portland Stage to deliver accessible, consistent,
diverse, high quality arts experiences to students. Funded by an anonymous donor, the
goal of Culture Club-Portland is to provide consistent access to the partnering
institutions and their programs to every K-12 student in the Portland Public School
district to build a lifelong relationship with the arts and to embrace these vital
resources. As Mark Bessire, Director of the Portland Museum of Art, states: “Donors are
always eager to see organizations collaborate with one another, and this partnership is
an ideal way for us to work together on an educational initiative which we strongly
support.”
The anonymous donor is a Portland resident who has been tremendously supportive of
the arts and has offered to support Culture Club-Portland through the first three years
of the program in order to allow the partnering organizations time to focus on building
a great program rather than worrying about fundraising.
Culture Club-Portland will advance arts education and make Portland Public Schools a
model for other districts. The project will inspire students by providing them access to
quality arts and will build community by making the arts and these institutions a
consistent part of students’ lives. As Anita Stewart, Executive & Artistic Director at
Portland Stage, states: “Culture Club is new not just to Portland but nationally as well.
We are working to develop a program model that can be replicated by other cities
around the country. We are thankful that an individual has stepped forward to help us
realize this visionary project.”
The partnering organizations believe that losing the arts in education is devastating to
our culture, our community and our future. As organizations bringing high quality art
and artists into our community, they recognize their potential to impact the learning
Culture Club-Portland, a new educational arts initiative environment of students in public
schools. As Aimée Petrin, Executive Director of
Portland Ovations, states: “Over the past decade, we have seen funding for arts in
education continue to fall while study after study details how this loss of funding is
contributing to a decline in student ability across all disciplines. Culture Club is a way
we can help impact arts learning and have a positive effect on the entire learning
experience.”
Culture Club-Portland will ensure that each student in the Portland Public School district
can participate in at least one program per year offered by each of the partners,
resulting in each student in the district having four unique arts experiences every year—
Every Child, Every Year. As Lisa Dixon, Executive Director of the Portland Symphony
Orchestra, states: “Through this program students currently in Kindergarten will have
the opportunity to participate in 13 art events with each of the four partnering
organizations, building a strong connection to these arts institutions as a part of their
lives.”
Portland Education Foundation, a foundation focused on supporting the Portland Public
Schools, is administering Culture Club-Portland for the 2012 school year. "The Portland
Education Foundation is pleased to help connect the schools with our vibrant arts
community through this innovative and exciting program," says Mary Gross, PEF board
president.
David Galin, chief academic officer for Portland Public Schools, echoes this enthusiasm:
“Portland Public Schools welcomes the opportunity provided through Culture Club-
Portland for our students to build on the wonderfully rich cultural opportunities in
the city.”
Culture Club-Portland commences September 2012 in conjunction with the new school
year. In the first year of Culture Club-Portland, the partnering arts organizations plan
to reach 50% of the Portland Public School population through the program. In the
second year, they anticipate reaching 75% of the population with 100% participation
reached in the third year.
About the Partner Institutions’ Education Programs:
The Portland Museum of Art offers K-5 students Focus Tours featuring sketching
activities, storytelling, and gallery games designed to connect students with works of
art in the Museum’s collection and exhibitions. Focus Tours are grade specific. Students
in grades 6-8 are invited to participate in Access PMA tours, curriculum-based tours
inspired by the Museum’s 19th-century American art collections connecting social
studies, language arts, and visual arts. Students in grades 9-12 can take part in Art in
Process tours, which focus on the creative process, connecting art to other classroom
disciplines as well as other art forms. All PMA school tours feature online lessons and
suggested assessments.
Culture Club-Portland, a new educational arts initiative
educators with the performing arts in significant ways both on and offstage.
Performances, study guides, and web-based resources complement existing curriculum,
connect to Maine Common Core State Standards and promote arts integration in our
schools, communities, and alternative learning spaces. Performances include nationally
and internationally acclaimed dance, theater, and music presented at Merrill Auditorium
and Hannaford Hall.
Portland Stage provides students and teachers with access to professionally produced
theater through grade-appropriate programming both in school and at our facility. Play
Me a Story is an interactive, literature-based, school outreach performance/workshop
program that connects elementary school students to theater while teaching literacy.
Early Show performances bring middle and high school students to Portland Stage for
Mainstage productions which connect to Common Core Standards through post-show
discussions with artists and in-depth show-specific resource guides, plus exposure to
the art and magic of professional theater.
The Portland Symphony orchestra offers grades K-3 KinderKonzert ensemble
performances, brought directly into each elementary school along with online preconcert
materials for teachers. For students in grades 3-6, attendance is available at
one of four morning Youth Concerts at Merrill Auditorium along with online pre-concert
materials for teachers. Students in grades 5-12 are also invited to attend one of several
daytime Open Dress Rehearsals at Merrill Auditorium.
For more information, you can contact the executive directors of each of the
organizations:
Mark Bessire, Portland Museum of Art: portlandmuseum.org
Aimée Petrin, Portland Ovations: 207/773.3150
Anita Stewart, Portland Stage: 207/774.1043 ext 106
Lisa Dixon, Portland Symphony Orchestra: 207/773.6128 ext. 303
To register for any of the programs, Portland Public School teachers should
contact:
Portland Museum of Art: tours@portlandmuseum.org
Portland Ovations: offstage@portlandovations.org
Portland Stage: theaterforkids@portlandstage.org; or dburson@portlandstage.org
Portland Symphony Orchestra: education@portlandsymphony.org
No comments:
Post a Comment