Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga

Allied Arts Announces Imagine! Arts Education Initiative
Posted on Dec 08 2009 Back
Imagine!, a new arts education initiative announced Tuesday by Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga, will provide every Hamilton County public elementary school student an unprecedented introduction and exposure to the arts through activities presented by local arts organizations.

The arts activities will include arts field studies by grade level and programs in Hamilton County schools. The arts experiences will also include educational support materials which enhance the curriculum as well as professional development for classroom teachers to deepen the curriculum connections and strengthen instructional strategies.

“Last year we engaged in a strategic planning process for Allied Arts’ arts education programs,” said Dan Bowers, President of Allied Arts. “Part of the strategic planning process was to survey arts experiences in local schools. We found that the amount of arts activities varied from school to school. One school could have a great deal of arts and the school just a mile down the road, not so much. It was clear that many children were being left behind as far as the arts are concerned.”

Bowers continued, “The question we asked during our arts education strategic planning process was whether a student’s exposure to the arts should be based on the luck of where they go to school or by design. With our new Imagine! initiative, Allied Arts is taking a strong stand that exposure should be by design and that it should be for every elementary school student in Hamilton County."

The inaugural Imagine! performance is Chattanooga Ballet’s The Nutcracker. More than 3,600 second grade students and teachers are attending The Nutcracker school-time performances as part of the initiative. The Nutcracker will be an annual event for second graders through Imagine!

“We have added an extra school performance to handle the additional students attending The Nutcracker through Imagine!,” said Chattanooga Ballet’s General Director, Bob Willie. “Chattanooga Ballet is very excited to participate. We are performing for students from many schools in Hamilton County that have never attended The Nutcracker.”

Allied Arts has paid for the tickets and transportation as well as the teacher preparation materials and a Nutcracker storybook for every second grade classroom. Special funding for the Imagine! initiative was provided by Chattem and SunTrust Bank.

The Imagine! initiative will be phased in over five years with grade levels and arts experiences added each year. Allied Arts estimates that each activity in Imagine! will cost $18,000 to $22,000. Allied Arts is in the process of raising long-term commitments from corporations and other donors to fund the initiative which will eventually cost $250,000 to $300,000 each year when fully implemented.

Currently, Allied Arts and local arts organizations invest $1.5 million each year to provide arts programs which benefit more than 30,000 students. Allied Arts has supported and funded arts education opportunities such as arts field trips and artist residencies in local public school for the past 20 years.
Last changed: Dec 08 2009 at 12:57 PM
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Allied Arts Announces Imagine! Arts Education Initiative