Local and State Arts Success in Kentucky

These are two brief case studies of how advocates built strong arts programs for children and youth both in Louisville community centers and in schools throughout Kentucky. Local and state arts agencies played vital roles in each.

Building Youth Arts Programs in Community Centers
In Jefferson County, Kentucky, the Kentucky Center for the Arts (a performing arts center) has created a program�ArtsReach�that brings vibrant, multifaceted arts programming into 42 local community centers. For 10 years, ArtsReach has provided arts workshops, performances, a grant program, in-depth staff training, and long-term residencies for artists. Though the focus is primarily on youths, adults, and senior citizens are benefiting as well.

The designers of ArtsReach started with a huge challenge. "There was no model for this," says Debbie Shannon, arts education director for the Kentucky Center for the Arts and co-designer of the program. "We started with a request from the city of Louisville to do something arts-related in the community centers, along with a modest grant.

"Traditionally," she notes," a problem with community centers is they're so focused on sports. A lot of kids are left out, boys and girls. We needed to change the formula."

"We went to the centers and asked what arts program they'd like if time and money weren't an object," says Shannon, who designed the program with Ken Clay and Lynn Rippy. "They said, �Free tickets' [to area arts performances]. We realized we had to teach community center staff not only the value of arts programming, but the capacity to dream as well."

Within the ArtsReach network, community centers offer a varied menu of arts experiences. At the Louisville Central Community Center (LCCC), kids can sign up for choir, dance, Suzuki violin, creative writing, visual arts, and drama. Grants written by Center staff enabled kids and parents to escape to the symphony and performances by the local drama company. A summer field trip to the local Actors Theater gave kids a chance to explore the variety of theater careers available.

"I'm in an area of town where children aren't exposed to the arts," says Geraldine Woods, LCCC's coordinator of youth education and fine arts. "This gives them a place to come to be part of an arts experience." Some of the kids at LCCC have been attending for years. "We're invested in them and we want to help them stay on an arts track," says Woods. "We've been able to arrange auditions, scholarships, and placement in schools with strong performing arts programs."

"I think the expectation of what a community center is has changed," Shannon observes. "The question is no longer �if' the arts are a part of community centers, but how many art forms are involved, how often, and how can we reach more kids in more depth."

They weren't thinking 42 community centers when they started. "There was just a huge need for this, and it's exploded," Shannon says.

In 2000-2001, ArtsReach was able to give 25 individuals 28 hours of instruction at the ArtsReach Institute; 21 community centers had 63 artist workshops; 27 community centers received $500 grants; eight centers collaborated with artists to receive Artist Initiated Grants; four centers collaborated with each other to receive grants; and 168 students received ongoing weekly instruction in dance, drama, keyboard, and violin.

Can the success of ArtsReach, or programs like it, be duplicated in other communities? "Absolutely," Shannon states. "Start by finding out who your friends are. Who's already working with kids, or seniors, or whichever group you want to reach. That's your logical partner, whether their goal is art or not. Get these people together in the same room with someone who can articulate the vision. Describe other programs that have been successful. Things will start to happen."

To create a successful community arts program, Shannon offers these comments:

• Patience is essential. Some people will have to see it, or experience it, before they become supporters. Sometimes it's parents who have to be sold. Someone might say, "If my child is doing this, then he's not doing math." If math is important to them, show them how spatial thinking improves when you study the keyboard.
• Don't assume that people understand the value of being a participant in the arts. I tell groups it's about so much more than what appears on the surface. It's not just that this child can stand on a stage and twirl in a tutu. Learning to dance gives a child confidence, self-esteem, focus, and the ability to concentrate. In a theatrical performance, a child learns to get outside his or her head and into the head of a character. They're learning to see from another person's perspective. Through this, children improve their people skills. They become better problem-solvers.

Though all kids benefit from involvement in the arts, for some kids it can be the critical determinate of their success. "There's a quote I love," Shannon offers, "from Toni Morrison's Sula":

In a way, her strangeness, her naivet�, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of an idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings, had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like an artist with no art form, she became dangerous.

The image of the young soul lost to an idle imagination is familiar to Keith Cook, who teaches Suzuki violin to ArtsReach kids age two to eighteen. "I have seen kids who would regularly be called to the principal's office," says Cook, "and now they're model students. They've had to work hard, but being involved with the arts has made all the difference for them. The program shows kids how to stick with something. They have to be disciplined and focused."

"For the kids, a big reward comes when they get to perform on stage. They really look forward to it. This gets students sharing what they've been working on. The young kids especially like the opportunity to perform with the older kids, and they learn so much from them. When a young kid hears an older kid playing a song, they want to learn that song too."

"The kids do great in this program," says Cook. "If there's a problem it's usually with the parents." Cook continues,

It's hard being a parent these days, trying to get your kids here and there, especially if both parents work. It falls on us to convince them their time, and their kid's time, is well spent on this. I tell them, �Whatever struggle you go through now will eliminate problems later on.' What really works are parents talking to each other. I can talk until I'm blue in the face. What works is when parents share their stories of their child's success with other parents.

Tips for Fundraising
ArtsReach, like most arts programs, depends on ongoing fundraising to stay alive. Current funding comes from the city of Louisville, The Kentucky Center for the Arts Foundation, the Norton Foundation, and individual donors. ArtsReach also received a one-year grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to pilot a visual art program for middle and high school students in 2001-02.

"If you're launching a program and you go to a foundation for funding, don't fall for the common misconception that there's some mystique about them," says Shannon. "These are real people. Invite them to performances and other events that showcase your program. Every communication should not be a request for funds. Thank-you notes are important, but they'd also like to see your newsletter and news of other grants and forms of support. They'd also like to see news clips and hear special inside stories and successes."

Lucy Crawford loves hearing ArtsReach stories. As executive director of the Norton Foundation, an ArtsReach funder since 1993, Crawford has been a hands-on investor and savors all the program's success stories. "Debbie Shannon is like the good daughter," Crawford confides. "She keeps me informed and plugged in."

"When you put your project team together," says Crawford, "have the right combination of talent. Successful projects often have both a creative type and a business brain. If the creative person is busy with the vision thing, the businessperson can be busy making the plan practical. Foundations want to know their money will be spent wisely."

The people who read grant applications are usually business people, not artists. "You have to weave a tale that will interest them, Crawford says, "and you have to demonstrate you can implement it."

Crawford recommends learning the language of grants. "The language and focus of your grant application should depend on the foundation's focus. Describe how your project relates to and enhances the foundation's area of interest. Be prepared to talk about a business plan if the foundation is focused on economic development. They'll want to know how your project will impact the local economy."

Also, before you approach a granting institution, determine if your project is a good match with their mission. "Most institutions will provide a mission statement and list of grants they've issued from year to year," Crawford offers. "When you're ready to apply, don't be afraid to ask for advice. We're required by law to give money away. It shouldn't be a mystery how to get money from us."

In the past, in the granting field, everything was done by mail. Twelve years ago, the person who had Crawford's position before her never met with grant applicants. Now things have changed. "I can't imagine making a grant without knowing personally how a project works," says Crawford. "If we're interested, we'll come to the site and see you."

Her final advice: "Don't forget the final report. This part is often neglected. If you want a second grant, make sure you write up a good report that will satisfy the foundation. It's like a check from grandma. She needs a thank-you note. She wants to know how you spent the money, and she won't give any more money away unless she's satisfied you spent the first amount well."

Many local arts councils and community arts institutions have a strong interest in arts education and can be a vital resource for instituting arts education programs. Local arts agencies can be an agency of the local government but can also be independent nonprofit organizations. The Kentucky Center for the Arts, 501 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202. Tel.: 502.562.0100. For information on the ArtsReach Education Program, contact Portia White Muhammad at 502.562.0754. www.kentuckycenter.org

Getting the Arts into Kentucky Schools
ArtsReach is just one of Kentucky's arts success stories. The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, proved the powerful potential of a local arts council when it stepped into the recent school-reform fray and insisted that arts be included in the core curriculum.

"When our state education reform act first came out, we had no art component," says Sam Corbett, a Jefferson County school board member (and former chair) and current board member of the Kentucky Center for the Arts. "We had to advocate for it, but we were successful and now it's one of our assessments."

"As it turned out, that was just part of the battle," Corbett relates. "We found out there wasn't enough expertise among our teachers to integrate art effectively into the curriculum. We came up with a way to provide teachers with the training they needed. Now we have an interdisciplinary curriculum that brings art to all grade levels and throughout all subject areas."

These changes came about because people got involved. "If you're a parent and you think something's missing in your local school, like a meaningful art program, don't let the bureaucracy stand in your way," says Corbett.

Corbett, who is also a parent and business owner, knows how overwhelming bureaucracy can be when you're trying to get something done. "Don't take the first no as no. Be persistent," he urges. "There are people who will help you work through the system, you just have to find them. If you have a dream, pursue it."

Kentucky Arts Council, Old Capitol Annex, 300 West Broadway
Frankfort, KY 40601-1980. Phone: 502-564-3757 
Toll-free: 888-833-2787 www.kyarts.org
Send comments or questions to: [email protected]