Arts Educators Save the World

Live! from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts it’s AESTW!!! Erica and Alek traveled to Salt Lake City for a live recording at the NCECA conference with VETART Executive Director Steve Dilley and ceramicist and navy veteran Reginald Green. Our audience was moved by Reggie’s story of transformation and identity-making through ceramics… and now you can bear witness!

Dropping in our feed today is an episode from our friends at Blue Sky. Bill Burke and the Optimism Institute host conversations about positivity, including this gem with Vanessa Cooksey about her optimistic take on the future of the arts, the vital role that artists play in our communities, the joys of arts education. Onward together!

On today’s episode we journey through the amazing arts education program Disney Musicals in Schools with Broadway star L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa in "The Lion King") and Dr. Lisa Mitchell (Director of Education, Disney Theatricals). This team of artists and educators works in elementary schools across the US to bring musical theatre joy to students everywhere!

Part 3 of our ongoing mini-series "Erica & Alek Chats," where our hosts take a deep dive into a specific aspect of arts learning-and-teaching from Erica's book, How the Arts Can Save Education.

In this episode, we're sharing a story from our friend Kyle Wood, host of the delightful podcast "Who ARTed?" Kyle is a National Board Certified Teacher with 17 years experience in public schools, and his show is meant to be accessible for anyone interested in art with a focus on fun facts that are appropriate for listeners of all ages, so it's totally safe to listen with your kids!Katsushika Hokusai is best known for The Great Wave off Kanagawa, part of his series of 36 Views of Mount Fuji. His family was in the mirror business, but Hokusai showed a proclivity for art starting at a young age. When he was 14 he started apprenticing as a wood carver. He spent 4 years carving wood blocks to use as stamps for printmaking. He then went on to study under artists to produce his own designs. His first prints were of actors from the Kabuki theater in 1779. Some years later, he would shift his focus to landscapes.Follow Who ARTed: Weekly Art History for All Ages on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1485813093 

Sometimes, the most compelling mentorship relationships are mutual – where the student has as much to give as the teacher. In this wide-ranging conversation, Warrington Hudlin, founder of the Black Filmmakers of America and Loren Hammonds, head of documentary for Time Studios, talk about the importance of community and showing up for one another, and their mutual love for virtual reality and immersive filmmaking. These two are changing the face of film production!

Shaina Taub, a vibrant composer and Tony Award-winner, and Jeanine Tesori, a celebrated Broadway composer, share their insights on theater and mentorship. They discuss the significance of constructive criticism and its role in artistic growth, emphasizing the importance of community support for emerging female artists. Personal stories reveal the transformative power of mentorship in overcoming challenges. The duo celebrates the joy of artistic expression while advocating for diverse voices in the arts, making the conversation both enlightening and inspiring.

This week we're sharing an episode from our friends at The Story Pirates. In it, a magnetic, musical manatee (John Legend) tries to convince the Story Pirates to form a marching band, but is he really who he says he is? Featuring two new stories: “Butts,” a song about, well, butts, sung by Broadway star F. Michael Haynie and written by Malachy, a 7 year old from Pennsylvania, and “The Audition,” a story about the trials and tribulations of putting on a brand new musical, written by a 10 year old from Massachusetts named Nora.

On today’s episode, we explore the art of choreography with artist Parker Esse and his mentor, the legendary Baayork Lee. We ask "what do you do as an artist when words aren’t enough?"The answer?You dance!!!!

It's the second episode in our ongoing mini-series "Erica & Alek Chats," where our hosts take a deep dive into a specific aspect of arts learning-and-teaching from Erica's book, How the Arts Can Save Education.