A Vibrant Season of Learning: Arts Residencies Reach Students Across the Region
Erie Arts in Culture’s Arts in Education program hit the ground running this fall, with programming already happening in three of our six counties.
In Erie County, we have partnered with the United Way Community Schools and Erie Insurance to offer arts residencies in all seventeen area community schools. The first residencies began with the start of the school year:
At Perry Elementary, teaching artist Ceasar Westbrook worked with students in the after school program to design and create a vibrant mural inside the school’s Cascade Street entrance.
At Strong Vincent Middle School, teaching artist Ja’Leesa Williams of Sew Royalty is working with students in an after school sewing and embroidery program.
At East Middle School, teaching artist Sara Fisher is working on acting and stagecraft techniques with Drama Club students as they prepare to mount their first production in November.
At Iroquois Elementary, teaching artist Alex “Lonesav” Staley is working with the students on a shoe design project. The students are learning about marketing and branding, and designing their own shoes. At the end of the program, they will receive their own shoes, custom-branded with their own designs.
In addition to the community schools, we are embarking on several exciting residencies elsewhere in Erie and the surrounding counties:
Teaching Artist Steve Mik
Artist Steve Mik is working with students at the Elizabeth Lee Black School at the Barber National Institute to design and create a mural on a wall near the cafeteria at their facility on East Avenue.
We are also partnering with the Barber National Institute to bring sewing to the adults in their day program in Erie with artist Ja’Leesa Williams and painting to their facility in Warren, with art therapist Kristine Peterson (through an arrangement with Family Services of Warren).
In Venango County, artists Rafi & Klee of Rafi and Klee Studios are bringing art to the students at St. Stephen School, with the help of a matching grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
We also have more exciting residencies in Erie, as we partner with Dafmark Dance Theater’s after school program, the Erie Art Museum, and teaching artist Nicholas Cardell Gore as they revive the Kids as Curators program at the Art Museum. Mr. Gore is working with the Dafmark students to design and curate their own exhibit at the museum.
Finally, teaching artist Jennifer Dennehy is working with the students at Perseus House on an exciting ceramic mask residency.
And the school year has just begun! We have so many more residencies in the planning stages, as well as opportunities for more. In addition, our pilot Educational Passport Program, funded by a grant from Erie Insurance and in partnership with the expERIEnce Children’s Museum, Erie Philharmonic, Erie Playhouse, Hagen History Center, Erie Art Museum, and Tall Ships Erie, is beginning its second year. This unique program brings arts and culture experiences to K-5 students through school visits, field trips, and tickets to our six partner organizations. This year, in addition to returning schools Pfeiffer Burleigh and Union City, we are adding Elk Valley and McKinley Elementary to our roster!
If you are interested in discussing a teaching artist residency for your school or community organization, or if you are an artist interested in joining our roster, please contact Jim Hain, Arts Education Manager, at (814) 452-3427 x 102 or at james@erieartsandculture.org.
