MCLA Receives Grant to Increases Arts Education
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Fine and Performing Arts Department’s arts management program at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has received a $15,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support a collective impact project, “Leveraging Change: Improving Access to Arts Education for Rural Communities,” to increase access to arts education throughout the region.
MCLA, along with the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Vermont Arts Council and the Berkshire Readiness Center, will add to the emerging body of literature on rural arts education initiatives by examining and compiling best practices in rural areas of the United States that have been successful in increasing access to arts education.
“Berkshire County is rich with assets in arts and education – we could be a national model for regional collaboration if we activated a more connected approach. This research will allow us to develop tools that will help us think and work together to catalyze a regional vision for arts education so that every student has access to the diverse artistic offerings the Berkshires are known for,” said MCLA arts management professor Dr. Lisa Donovan, grant co-director.
The partnering groups will review existing data and research tools that can be employed in making the case for the importance of arts education access, and consult with national and organizational thought leaders who can offer insight into best practices, Donovan explained.
The project will culminate with the production of a workbook to help organize initiatives in rural communities.
The grant is one of seven Art Works awards recently created by the NEA under a new category, “Collective Impact,” placing MCLA in the first cohort of arts education collective impact grantees. Collective Impact grants focus on arts education programs that encompass entire schools, school districts and/or states.
According to Ayanna Hudson, NEA director of arts education, these bold and innovative “Collective Impact” projects are changing the conversation on arts education by moving it from an isolated exchange about a specific program to a shared discussion about how to fundamentally transform an entire school district, or an entire community, by ensuring that all students have access to an arts education.
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts.
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