fine arts education EXPRESSIONS
Spring 2023
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Spring 2023
Look How Far We've Come
As I was watching the Oscars, I was reminded of the book, which is also now an Oscar Award Winning short, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. I was introduced to this story a few years ago during an Orff Workshop. It was during the height of the pandemic and the I remember feeling lonely sitting in my classroom as I attended the workshop with others online. This book inspired me to change my mindset. Here I am with "my peeps" other fellow music educators learning new content and refining our teaching approaches.
As I reread The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse recently, I was struck by this passage, "We have such a long way to go," said the boy. "Yes, but look how far we've come," said the horse. Look how far we've come. How often do we do that? How often do we stop to reflect and appreciate what we've accomplished? The arts help us to see beauty in the world. The arts help us to connect to what it means to be truly be human. Often as artists, musicians, performers, and educators, we forget that we need to fill our own cup because we give so much of ourselves in all we do. As the hustle and bustle of the end of the school ramps up, I hope you'll start and look how far you've as a teacher, as an instructional leader, as family member, as a friend, as a coworker, as a human.
Seeing how far we've come doesn't mean we stop. It simply means we allow ourselves to reflect, rejuvenate, and be kind to ourselves to we are able so we are able to move forward. Look how far we've come. -Cody
More Ways Art Museums Can Help Me Teach - Monday, March 27, 2023
Peg from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s (SAAM’s) is back this month with More Ways Art Museums Can Help Me Teach. Learn how interacting with artworks can sharpen your kids’ critical thinking skills and help them learn key concepts in STEM, ELA, History, Social Sciences, Visual Arts, and more. You’ll get a chance to select topics you want to explore and walk away with lessons you can use with your students the very next day. Learn how to find primary resources to start digital collections using the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab. Best of all? These resources are free! Register today!
More Ways Museums Can Help Me Teach will be offered via zoom on Monday evening, March 27, 2023 at 7 PM CT/6 PM MT via Zoom. Registration is required!
You can view the recording of the first part of the series, Art Museums Can Help Me Teach? from February 2023. The slide deck is also available. Be sure toggle on the presenter’s notes.
Artistic Discovery Contest - US Congressional Art Competition
Hurry! The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, April 12, 2023, for the 2023 Congressional Art Competition. Submit entries to Debbie Kippley.
USDE Call for Performing Artists
Eyes, Mind, Hands, Heart, Create
The following is from Joan. Try to imagine life without the arts, without aesthetics. We cannot imagine it because art is embedded in our lives in everything. We are humans and art is vital. We cannot exist without art. With this being said, how can we get students to understand what art is and its purpose when there are no 'right answers’? Students are trained to search for the right answers. They are conditioned that they are either right or wrong. In the fine arts the goal is different as there is no exact formula or right answer. For the student, this is difficult to process since the rudimentary practice has to happen. Then all of a sudden, they are expected to create with an unforeseen outcome. Students are constantly comparing themselves to others and their expected outcome.
Creating is not just representing reality like our technology can. Think about the fact that we each are unique in our perception, ability, and emotions. When we create, the result is not expected to be the same. Even if the whole class is painting the same subject, the results are very unique. The battle is real. I have a unique mindset for students as they create art.
"Our eyes see things differently, our mind interprets things differently, our hands have different levels of skills, and our hearts interpret things in our own way. This is what makes art art!" When we embrace this thought process and share it with students they will be more accepting of their own art and their uniqueness. - Joan Swim
Walk to Unlock Nebraska
Walk 2 Unlock supports the whole child, working to provide activities to support body and mind. The program features an interactive map of Nebraska that allows users to track their locally achieved physical activity miles to make progress on virtual trails across the state. As students travel across the virtual trails, they will encounter checkpoints to learn more about the state through STEAM lessons appropriate for grades K-8th. Check out for Walk to Unlock Nebraska for more information.
Arts Ed Search: Hub for Research on the Impact of Arts Education
Arts Ed Search is administered by the Education Commission of the States and is a partnership between the NEA and USDE.
Smithsonian American Art Museum Rural Engagement in Art, Culture, and History
SAAM resources are available in various formats and can be self-guided or interactive. Contact Peg Koetsch at koetschp@si.edu for more information.
Nebraska State Capitol Virtual Tour
Art and design are all around us! Take Nebraska Public Media's virtual tour of the Nebraska State Capitol. Get up close to the artwork and the architecture. Learn how our state's history is reflected in the building and while you're looking around, don't forget to sing or listen to our Nebraska State Song, "Beautiful Nebraska."
Nominate a Nebraska Teacher of the Year
Opera Omaha's Poetry and Music Project.
Nebraska Arts Council Celebrates 50 Years!
The Nebraska Arts Council is celebrating 50 years of serving the state through the arts! Check out this amazing video showcasing the Nebraska Arts Council's work to positively impact the lives of Nebraskans through the power of art. To celebrate, they NAC has unveiled new (temporary) logo that will be used throughout the year, as well.
Follow NAC on Facebook and check out their website throughout the year for more 50th Anniversary Announcements!
Nebraska's Certified Creative Districts
Nebraska currently has six Certified Creative Districts with many more working through the process. Check to see if your community is one of them. If so, consider teaming up with the Creative District in your community to see how fine arts education and community arts can come together for arts for all Nebraskans.
Scholastic Art Awards National Exhibit
Merryman & Lied Center present BeatBox MEETS Popping
The Merryman Performing Arts Center in Kearney is partnering with the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln to present international artists Amirah Sackett and Ahmed Zaghbouni, AKA “MR MiC”, and their program “BeatBox MEETS Popping”. Together, they are dedicated to preserving and sharing hip-hop culture with the next generation and audiences around the world.
Teachers interested in bringing students should contact the Merryman Performing Arts Center for more information at 308.698.8297. The matinees are Thursday, March 30, 2023. Funding for this project is provided by the Nebraska Arts Council/Nebraska Cultural Endowment and Humanities Nebraska.
Media Arts Edu
Beyond School Bells: Homegrown Theatre
Beyond Schools Bells worked with Homegrown Theatre to develop materials for theatrical arts activities. Get ideas for creating your own school production for shows like shows like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sword in the Stone, Treasure Island and The Mitten. Check out these resources and materials that aligned to Nebraska Standards.
Calibraska
The Calibraska Arts Initiative is in its 10th year of offering summer arts programs for all ages. Our mission is to reach rural and/or disadvantaged communities where access is limited to technology, cultural institutions, professional mentorship, and resources to the creative industries. We offer unique arts classes both online and in person across the state of Nebraska in Scottsbluff, North Platte, Lincoln, and Omaha. Each of our offerings are taught by professional creatives on the coasts including producers, animators, actors, directors, college faculty, and beyond!
Each summer we respond to the interests of the communities we serve and have a variety of offerings in the arts including Animation, Film, Writing, Acting, Design, and more! On deck for this summer is a High School Animation Camp in partnership with 4-H and its Big Red Academic Summer Camps. There's also Music Video Camps, Animation classes, Video Game Design classes, Creative Writing, virtual artmaking sessions with Nickelodeon Animation, and more!
Visit Calibraska's Website to sign-up for our newsletter and find updates on our summer programs. We hope to see you this summer!
NEWS FROM NEBRASKA'S ART EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS
Great Plains Orff Chapter
The Great Plains Orff Chapter will host their spring workshop with Kris Olson at Westbrook Music Building on UNL's campus on April 1st. Kris will present The Moving Classroom. We hope you will come move, sing, and play with us!
Nebraska Art Teachers Association
NATA is excited to host the state-wide K-12 Youth Art Month Celebration in Lincoln, March 19 - April 1, 2023. A celebration honoring artists and educators will be held on Saturday, April 1st. More information can be found on NATA's social media pages.
Nebraska American String Teachers Association
Nebraska Music Educators Association
We are excited to announce our Summer Leadership Symposium on June 9, 2023, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Open to all NMEA members, this one-day symposium will explore how to “Identify and Activate Your Leadership Style” in your classroom, school, and community. Be sure to register for this event today!
Nebraska State Bandmasters Association
NSBA's next student events are the NSBA Concert Band Festival on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at Kearney High School in Kearney, NE, and the NSBA State Jazz Festival on Thursday and Friday, April 13 & 14, 2023, at Elkhorn South High School in Elkhorn, NE. Visit NSBA to find out more information.
Nebraska Thespians
Nearly 100 school theatre students from across the state met in Lincoln on Tuesday, March 7th to share their talents, and discuss and promote the work of theatre education.
Upcoming opportunities for Nebraska Thespians:
- State Board Meeting on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 4:30-6:30 PM, Millard South High School. Open to HS theatre teachers and up to three representatives from each school as well as members of the local theatre community who wish to support theatre in our schools.
- International Thespian Festival, June 19-23, 2023, in Bloomington, Indiana. Brownell Talbot School will bring their performance of I Never Saw Another Butterfly to perform and over 40 Nebraska Thespians are already registered to attend. It's not too late to register! Students perform, compete, attend workshops and see amazing nationally recognized productions. Check out more information at the EdTA Website.
The mission of Nebraska Thespians is to shape lives through Theatre Education. Our goal is to quality theatre programs in every school across our great state. If you would like to start a thespian troupe at your school, or know a school that doesn't have a thespian troupe, please email board@nebstatethespian.com so we can get the process started.
Plains States Kodaly Organization
Plains States Kodaly Organization (PSKOR) offers workshops and resources throughout the year. The spring workshop will feature Singing Games for Older Students presented by Tanya LeJune, April 22, 2023, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Announcements and information are also posted on PSKOR's social media pages.
National Dance Society - National Conference in Omaha Summer 2023
You can partake in the full conference, even if you're not a member of NDS. If you're a member of SHAPE Nebraska, you are eligible for the membership/partners rate.
Check out the evening events, too! These are open to public.
- Opening ceremonies at Stinson Park (67th & Center Streets, in Omaha) at 7:30 PM, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Featuring Native American musicians and dancers from Nebraska. This is event is free.
- Gala Performance on Friday, June 30, 2023 at 7:30 PM in the Dance Lab (Room 229) at UNO's Health & Kinesiology Building showcasing major dance companies from the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Tickets are $10.
Be sure to check the National Dance Society's website for more information.
Information from Nebraska's Arts Education Organizations is provided as a resource and is not an endorsement of the NDE.
Do you know of another organization not listed? If so, have them contact Cody.
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Nebraska Arts Council School Bus for the Arts
The Nebraska Arts Council announces additional School Bus Arts (SBA) grants are now available for the remainder of the current school year! This is great news for schools and organizations looking to provide students with enriching arts field trips. Even if your district office has already included your school in a multi-school grant for a different field trip, your school may still apply for individual field trip grants. Apply soon, as grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Remember, applications must be submitted at least four weeks in advance of your planned field trip. Individual school grant requests are subject to caps based on student enrollment. Don't miss out on this opportunity to provide your students with the joy of an arts field trip!
Nebraskans for the Arts Shares Two Programs
Announcing the Inaugural Willa Cather Residency Program. This new initiative provides a unique opportunity for a small cohort of writers—and eventually artists of all media—to reside and create in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Applications will be accepted online through April 15. Selected writers will gather in Red Cloud on October 15-29, 2023, and will be provided with comfortable housing, a separate quiet place to write, a meal allowance, and planned activities. Visit the The National Willa Cather Center for more information and to apply. Come write!
Populus Fund - $10K grants available! An exciting funding opportunity has arisen for artists called the Populus Fund; a re-granting initiative organized by The Union for Contemporary, through the generous support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Populus Fund will award a total of six $10,000 grants for projects with a visual arts component proposed by artists or artist groups residing within 80-miles of The Union for Contemporary Art in Omaha. Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2023. For any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to populusfund@u-ca.org.
Humanities Nebraska Grant Opportunities
For more information, including grant categories, eligibility, deadlines, and applications, visit Humanities Nebraska.
TECHNOLOGY TIDBITS
Explore Nebraska Public Media for a variety of short films, lesson plans, and more. Materials are available for all content areas and are aligned to state and national standards. Here's one example: Images Can Tell Powerful Stories. If we expand the frame and examine the moment it was taken, a different story can emerge. This new collection of resources uses a series of documentary shorts hosted by Harvard University historian Dr. Vincent Brown to explore media literacy concepts and historical thinking that encourage students to look deeper and more critically at popular photographs.
Youth FX is designed to empower young people ages 10-24 by teaching them the technical and creative aspects of digital film making and media production. Youth FX develops leadership, creativity, and critical skills through collaborative, artistic processes.
Check out the Smithsonian Education News! All 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo help keep you updated on key resources and events. They even have a newsletter that can be delivered right to your inbox.
There's lot to see and do at the Nebraska State Fair. Don't forget to check out their competitions. There might be a perfect category for you or your kids to showcase new work.
Are you students considering a career in the theatre? Check out Careers. Broadway for ideas on how to build a theatre career.
Discover Nebraska Access - information on art museums, architecture, dance, film & movies, music, photography, theatre & drama, and more - researched and curated by Nebraska Librarians. There's even the 10 Best Songs About Nebraska.
Band teachers from ESU 10 are talking about Handy Dandy Randy Standy Bandy and the many free charts (that's music teacher talk for sheet music) from composer Randall Standbridge.
Assigning and grading homework can be hard with so many kids. Teachers at ESU 8 shared how they go paperless with Flipgrid.
Want to know more about Poetry in Nebraska? Nebraska State Poet, Matt Mason shares The Poetry Menu, one of his favorite resources for "All Things Poetry" in Nebraska.
Like daily sketching in your visual art classes? Running out of ideas? The Inspirational Sketchbook comes highly recommended by teachers at ESU 17. Not only does it include sketch prompts, it also includes information about the artists.
Want to get kids more engaged in your lessons? Take it up a notch with Blooket. Teachers at ESU 8 describe it as "like Kahoot, but better."
ESU 17 Visual Art Teachers were talking about the ideas they found on Art Ed Guru.
Need to get those smells out of a costume? Have a stain that just won't go away? The folks at the Denver Performing Arts Center have some tried and true methods to keep your theatre program's costumes looking sharp. (Marching band directors and Show choir directors, you may want to check this out, too!)
Check out Arts ARE Education, a national campaign in support of arts education for all students.
If your ESU had a visual art or music professional learning workshop or conference session, don't forget to checkout the landing page for the resources, presentation, and collaboration notes from that day!
The digital tools shared in this newsletter are shared with teachers to increase their knowledge on how the application or site could be used in the classroom however, students should only use digital tools and resources and only those tools and resources that have been approved by the teacher’s school district for student use.
Do you have a favorite site, app, or tech tidbit you'd like to share? Email Cody to include your idea in the next edition of the EXPRESSIONS.
Connect with Nebraska's Fine Arts Education
Let's connect and work together for all kids in Nebraska to have access and opportunities in arts education.
- Sign Up to be on the NDE Fine Arts Education mailing list. You'll receive newsletters, invitations to events, and special announcements.
- Follow Nebraska Fine Arts on Twitter at @NDE_FineArts. Use the #FineArtsEdNebraska to highlight the many amazing Fine Arts Education opportunities, events, and learning.
- Find out more about Fine Arts Education in Nebraska and view past editions of the NDE Fine Arts Expressions Newsletter.
Nebraska Department of Education
Mailing: PO Box 94987, Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
Email: cody.talarico@nebraska.gov
Website: education.ne.gov/finearts
Phone: 4023147822
Twitter: @NDE_FineArts
Links to third-party websites do not constitute an endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of the sites.
Decisions about curriculum and instructional materials are made locally by individual school districts and classroom teachers. The Nebraska Department of Education does not mandate the curriculum used within a local school. The digital tools shared in this newsletter are shared with teachers to increase their knowledge on how the application or site could be used in the classroom however, students should only use digital tools and resources and only those tools and resources that have been approved by the teacher’s school district for student use.
Pictures from photosforclass.com (no attribution required), capitol.nebraska.gov, or provided by the school or organization and used with permission. Organization logos used with permission. Quotation from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy allowed under in publication permission for brief quotation.