The Memory Project

We asked SWVAEA member Pat Carr to share her experience taking part in the Memory Project. She will also present a short q&a session about it during the Secondary Division meeting at the VAEA conference.

The Memory Project is an exciting art activity and service opportunity for skilled art students on an international basis. Ben Schumacher began this endeavor several years ago as a college student. It begins with deciding on a group of students to create individual portraits of children, registering through the Memory Project website, and paying a handling fee. Soon, you receive digital photos of orphans from another country – many of these orphans have no family and have lived in an orphanage all their life. Other orphans may have been displaced because of floods, famine, war, and death – and have been abandoned with no personal items from their childhood and families. Our students are always excited to receive and choose the child that they will recreate. I encourage our students to research the conditions of the orphan’s country - political, economic, social, and environmental. This will help them to personalize the portrait for a particular child. After completing the portraits, we display them, document them with a photo of the student artist, and send them all back to the Memory Project headquarters. Portraits should be 11”x14” or smaller, and can be rendered in any permanent to semi-permanent medium.

The NAHS club completed 25 portraits of children from orphanages in Myanmar, Kenya, and Uganda last year. Patrons and friends from the Taubman Museum of Art helped to fund this activity through their generous monetary donations. A feature article with lots of photos about the CSHS NAHS chapter can be viewed on the swo-co.com website, and in the Roanoke Times “SWo-CO” publication. Our club has participated in this activity for the last 5 years, creating portraits of orphans from Guatemala, India, Mexico, and Honduras. You can read about this world-wide “children helping children” activity at http://www.thememoryproject.org/

In addition, Ben recently sent this letter:

Dear Friends,

Well, it looks like the recession is officially affecting the Memory Project. There has been a 30% drop in artists signing up. It makes me wish more than ever that I could find a different way to fund the project, because the $15 participation fees have become too much for some schools during these hard times.

If you would like to participate this year, but are hesitant because of the fees, let me offer the following tips:

1. You are welcome to participate now and send your participation fees up to 6 months later. Just mail us this promise (www.thememoryproject.org/promise.pdf) and we'll send your pictures.

2. Consider approaching your local service organization such as Rotary or Kiwanis to request sponsorship for your artists. Such groups are eager to support youth engaged in service.

3. Form a partnership with a local bank, grocery store, or other business. The business would pay the participation fees, and then the finished portraits would go on display at the business before they are due to be sent to us. Customers would appreciate that the business is supporting local service activities.

4. Hold a gallery exhibit of the finished portraits and invite donations to cover the participation fees.

5. Students can present this letter (www.thememoryproject.org/sponsors.doc) to anyone interested in sponsoring their participation. In exchange, the student can write the sponsor's name on back of the portrait.I hope these tips can help your students participate!

Thanks very much,Ben

Arts Institute for Educators October 31

The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge in partnership with Virginia Tech is presenting an Arts Institute for Educators on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 9-3 at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, 7th floor, 108 N. Jefferson (next to the Hotel Roanoke).

The keynote speaker is from the Kennedy Center. The workshops are cross-curriculum involving not just the visual arts, but music and dance as well, so invite some non-art colleagues to join you. The cost is $20, which includes a boxed lunch.

For the details and descriptions of the workshops, check out the flyer.

Funds for the Arts in our Schools and Assessment of School Districts Support of Arts Education

Please read this important letter in full from Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, which addresses the weaknesses of the current state of arts education in our country, and where funding is available and how it should be used, including professional development. Pass this information on to those who make funding and grant writing decisions in your district, and make your principals aware of the upcoming survey they will receive.


The Secretary of Education
Washington, DC 20202

August 2009

Dear School and Education Community Leaders:

At this time when you are making critical and far-reaching budget and program decisions for the upcoming school year, I write to bring to your attention the importance of the arts as a core academic subject and part of a complete education for all students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) defines the arts as a core subject, and the arts play a significant role in children's development and learning process.

In June, we received the 2008 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in the Arts results for music and visual arts. I was reminded of the important role that arts education plays in providing American students with a well-rounded education. The arts can help students become tenacious, team-oriented problem solvers who are confident and able to think creatively. These qualities can be especially important in improving learning among students from economically disadvantaged circumstances. However, recent NAEP results found that only 57 percent of 8th graders attended schools where music instruction was offered at least three or four times a week, and only 47 percent attended schools where visual arts were offered that often.

Under ESEA, states and local school districts have the flexibility to support the arts. Title I, Part A of ESEA funds arts education to improve the achievement of disadvantaged students. Funds under Title II of ESEA can be used for professional development of arts teachers as well as for strategic partnerships with cultural, arts, and other nonprofit organizations. In addition, the Department's Arts in Education program support grants for model program development and dissemination and for professional development for arts educators. Moreover, local school districts can use funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the arts along with other district expenses.

Because of the importance of the arts in a well-rounded curriculum, the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) plans to undertake a survey to assess the condition of arts education in grades K-12. This fall, elementary and secondary principals will be asked about their schools' offerings in music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Next spring, NCES will survey elementary classroom teachers as well as music and visual arts specialists at the elementary and secondary levels about their programs and resources. In early 2011, the Department expects to begin reporting findings from this comprehensive profile, the first since the 1999-2000 school year. This data will help practitioners and policymakers make more informed decisions about arts education.

We encourage you to visit the Department's website for arts educaiton at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/programs.html to learn more about our grant programs and find resources to meet the challenges ahead. Together, we can and should do better for America's students.

Sincerely,

Arne Duncan

SWVAEA Educator's Art Show

Before you get caught up in your students' art, it's time to think about an exhibition for your artwork. We will have the SWVAEA Educator's Show at WVTF in Roanoke for members. The hanging is October 1st. We will be collecting artwork at our workshop and meeting in late September (more info to come) and will also be willing to rendezvous with those of you that are too far from Roanoke to bring your work. You just need to email annepfeiffer@verizon.net to arrange a rendezvous pick up of your work before October 1st.

The open house will be October 16th from 5-7. Edible Vibe Cafe will cater the event and the Mike Mitchell Trio will entertain us. We can thank Jennifer Villa and WVTF for the catering, music and publicity of the show.

Your 2D artwork must be framed, or if a canvas, have hanging wire attached. There is also room to exhibit sculpture and fineart crafts. On the back of your 2D work (or attached to your 3D work) attach a note with name of artist; NAEA membership number, contact information including mailing address, email and phone; title; medium; dimensions; and price (or NFS). We will have a number next to each work of art with a list at the front door. Please also add a note if you give us permission to take a photo of your work for our blog and/or a future VAEA newsletter. If you have an artist statement or postcard please include several copies for display in a binder, as well as to pass out for those interested in your artwork.

Please think about participating, especially those of you far from Roanoke. This exhibit is one way to remind the community of our presence and to build relationships, especially important during this time of budget cuts. You can also get recertification points for participation and we will mail you a certificate.

If you have anymore questions, email annepfeiffer@verizon.net.

2009 Electronic Gallery

It's that time of year again to think about what you would like to enter in the 2009 VAEA Educator's Electronic Gallery. This is a juried show of member artwork that will be presented as a continuous slide show at the 2009 conference in Richmond. The wonderful thing is that you don't need to schlep your artwork to the conference if you are accepted –all we need is the digital image. If you need more incentive other than letting more people see your artwork, most school systems accept participation in juried shows for recertification points.

Please refer to the forms and information under "Special News" on the VAEA website. The early deadline is September 1 ($3/entry), and the late deadline is October 1 ($5/entry). If you have additional questions, please email Anne Pfeiffer: annepfeiffer@verizon.net

Taubman Museum of Art and VMFA Summer Institute

Taubman Museum of Art and

the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Summer Institute for Educators

American Vision of Art & Culture, 1778-1950

at the Taubman Museum of Art, 110 Salem Ave., SE Roanoke, VA 24015,

July 31, 2009 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM, $20.00

8:30a.m. Coffee and Registration

9:00 a.m. Welcome and Introductions

9:15 a.m. An American Vision 1800 – 1950 (Lecture)

B. Scott Crawford, Deputy Director of Education, Taubman Museum of Art

What makes a work of art truly “American?” This lecture will explore the development of an American vision in painting, sculpture, photography, and film while defining the ways in which art represented the United States not only to the rest of the world but to its own citizens.

10:15a.m. American Portraits Speak (Workshop)

Tanya Gray, Museum Method Educator, Taubman Museum of Art

Following a brief introduction to American portraiture, teachers divide into small groups to work with props and selected background information that relate to American portraits. Each group develops and presents for the larger group a short living-history style presentation designed to bring their assigned American portrait from the Taubman collection to life.

11:15a.m. American Landscape Aesthetic (Lecture)

Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Educator, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Talk to illuminate how the landscape aesthetic in painting led to the great landscape photographers.

12:00 noon Lunch

At Norah’s Café – Free for Institute participants

1:00 Using Art as a Primary Source: The REED-LO Scaffolding Interpretive Matrix

(Lecture)

B. Scott Crawford, Deputy Director of Education, Taubman Museum of Art

This session will explore how to use primary documents and other manipulatives with works of art to find meaning in those works of art.

1:30 Reinventing the Textbook: Bringing the Page to Life (Workshop)

Twyla Kitts, Chair, Teacher and Student Education, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

In this hands-on workshop, teachers use primary sources, images from the Taubman’s and VMFA’s collection of American art, and loads of creativity to create colorful oversized textbook pages on American history topics. This versatile activity becomes an unforgettable learning experience for teachers and students alike.

2:30 Break

2:45 Harlem Renaissance and Writing/Collage Activity

Tanya Gray, Museum Method Educator, Taubman Museum of Art

As artist Jacob Lawrence painted he often abstracted signs of American life in witty, calculated and colorful ways. In this workshop you become a 21^st century American collage artist! Each participant will select on iconic American symbol to define, explore, and embellish. Using colored papers and many elements and principles of art and design, such as line shape, color, rhythm, space , and/or balance the room will come alive with large-scale, vibrant and attention-grabbing collages.

4:00 p.m Evaluations and awards of certificates of attendance

Teachers who complete this workshop will receive 5 recertification points.

4:30 p.m. American Architecture Walking Tour

Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Educator, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

B. Scott Crawford, Deputy Director of Education, Taubman Museum of Art

Briefly showcase VMFA’s American Architecture Educational Exhibitions with a focus on Francis Benjamin Johnston and Minds Wide Open. Then, experience the rich and diverse architectural styles existent in the heart of Roanoke including distinct landmarks –historical to current day - all within walking distance of the Taubman Museum of Art.

Mini-Workshop

SWVAEA MINI CONFERENCE
Trash to Treasure- revisited!!

June 22, 2009
10 am – 3pm (ish)

At Patrick Henry High School, Roanoke, VA

Three projects will be taught by repurposing non traditional art materials. Handouts and most materials will be provided. This conference is free for members/ $10 non members. There will be a lunch break around 12pm.

We will do our best to have examples for all levels.

1. Panty Hose Sculpture- Ciara Corrigan
2. Printmaking: collagraph and dry point – Jennifer Fowler
3. Altered Books – Anne Pfeiffer

Please RSVP by Friday, June 12 (if you will be attending) swvaea@gmail.com