A new book in the child development field features Art Expression Inc. in its discussion of the therapeutic benefits of art on traumatized children.

Edited by Adrienne D. Hunter, MEd, Donalyn Heise, EdD, and Beverley H. Johns, MS, Art for Children Experiencing Psychological Trauma (Routledge), is a guide for art educators and school-based professionals that explores the benefits of art on this vulnerable population.

According to the publisher, the book “aims to increase understanding of art’s potential to enhance learning for children living in crisis. … Included are successful models of art education for diverse populations, with specific attention to youth who face emotional, mental, behavioral, and physical challenges, as well a framework for meaningful visual arts education for at-risk/in-crisis populations.”

A chapter titled “Community-Based Art Programs, Collaborative Partnerships, and Community Resources for At-Risk Students,” co-written by Laura Saulle and HCEF founder Joe Lagana, details the work done by some of the Homeless Children’s Education Fund’s programming partners, including several pages devoted to Art Expression. Illustrations of children’s work from a “body maps of stress” art project conducted by Art Expression at an area shelter agency are also included.

“We’re very grateful and excited to be included in this scholarly work,” said Angela Lowden, Art Expression executive director. “Because we use graduate-level and masters-degreed art therapists and board-certified music therapists, we have the experience and expertise to deliver positive outcomes for children through components of art and music therapy.”

About Art Expression Inc.

Art Expression Inc. is a non-profit foundation established in 2001 by James and Angela Lowden as an expression of their passion for alleviating the social inequalities that exist among children of different abilities and backgrounds. The organization’s mission is to provide social and emotional learning through the arts and provide academic enrichment in an inclusive setting. Art Expression’s programming fosters creativity and imagination and enhances self-esteem for children in schools, homeless shelters and community organizations. Art Expression is a two-time finalist (2017 and 2013) for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, distinguishing the organization as one of the top 50 arts- and humanities-based programs in the country and for which it received certificates of excellence from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

The Yale School of Music (YSM) recently released a Declaration on Equity in Music for City Students, a document that calls for every student in every city in America to have access to an active music life. Based on the concepts of dignity and inclusion, the declaration asserts an active music life is a social, cultural, and educational right.

The document proposes a framework through which “ecosystems” of students, educators, families, professional musicians, and community partners can collaborate to create and ensure equity in music. The declaration can be used to initiate, continue, or reinvigorate conversations about the role music plays in the lives of students, both in- and out-of-school, in cities around the United States.

The full text, along with pertinent resources, compelling stories, and specific action steps, can be explored and shared at music.yale.edu/declaration.

About Yale Music in Schools Initiative

The Music in Schools Initiative at the Yale School of Music is a longstanding partnership between New Haven Public Schools and the Yale School of Music. It expands music opportunities for New Haven students and music educators, while simultaneously preparing Yale’s international body of graduate musicians to be teaching artists and cultural leaders. Teaching artists complement the work of full-time certified music educators during school hours, while also offering opportunities for students to participate in supplementary programs. All activities are centered around the core principles of mentorship and active music-making, and include in-school mentorship, all-city ensembles, vacation festivals, and an intensive summer academy.

Chad Cooper, executive director of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (Brooklyn, NY) and a National Guild trustee, moved into his current role after a 16-year career as a highly-paid Wall Street banker. The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Cooper, exploring what this transition has looked like and how the move to a nonprofit has provided personal fulfillment–if not the shorter hours that Cooper envisioned.

After making the switch, Cooper was struck by the day-to-day worries of an arts school director—"you don’t have to worry, as a banker, whether the elevator is going to break down”—and also by the dedication and resolve of staff members, many of whom are working for little pay. Ultimately, the transition has changed Cooper’s relationship to his work and to the Brooklyn community that he lives in.

You can read the full article here.

About the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music

The Conservatory’s main campus, in the heart of historic Park Slope, Brooklyn, is a comprehensive educational centers for over 1,000 students. The Conservatory offers a full range of lessons, classes and ensembles to students of every age and ability, and provides more than 200 merit- and need-based scholarships annually. The Conservatory serves more than 800 individuals living with disabilities and other significant life issues through its music therapy program, both on-site and through more than 20 partner sites in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Manhattan. The Conservatory also provides music education to an additional 6,500 school-aged children each year through its Music Partners Program, offered in more than 40 public, private and parochial schools, youth centers and community-based organizations.

Aroha Philanthropies, Lifetime Arts, and the American Alliance of Museums announced on May 29 that they will collaborate to launch Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums. The project will enable a diverse cohort of 15-17 museums across America to develop and implement high quality, intensive arts learning opportunities for older adults. All types of museums will be eligible to apply, including art museums, science centers, history museums, arboretums, and zoos. Aroha Philanthropies will provide program funding to selected museums for up to two years as well as access to the training and technical assistance needed for them to be successful.

Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums will build on the success of Aroha’s two previous cohorts, Seeding Vitality Arts U.S. and Seeding Vitality Arts MN.

The goals of Seeding Vitality Arts are to:

• Demonstrate the power and impact of creative aging programs to a broad national audience
• Encourage arts and cultural organizations to develop participatory arts education programs for older adults
• Encourage organizations that serve older adults to develop arts education programming
• Disseminate effective program models

The National Guild, in partnership with Lifetime Arts, is also working to bolster creative aging in community arts education. You can learn more about the Catalyzing Creative Aging program here.

Read more about the Aroha, Lifetime Arts, AAM partnership here.

In a recent interview for Bird, Erika Floreska, executive director at Bloomingdale School of Music (New York, NY), shared her experience in the arts, as well as the leadership journey that brought her to an executive director position. In particular, she discussed what it takes for her to remain successful in her role, and how others might approach their own career development.

On the difference between being a director and an executive director:

Fundraising! [Laughs] An executive director is responsible for the whole institution. So you're managing budgets, getting money into the school, and getting people engaged. Executive directors are more focused on relationships. You have to tell the story of your institution, sell people on it and get them invested, and then ask for support. A director looks inward by focusing on faculty, teaching, and what’s happening in the school. An executive director looks outward.

On joining Bloomingdale at a time of transition:

It’s been an interesting journey. When I first arrived three years ago, the school was in a hard place. They’d just lost their executive director of 25 years, and they were operating in a very stunted way. It had been the same for many years. Everything had to change to keep up with the times. Enrollments were down, the systems were tired, and the school had been running financial deficits for five years.
It was overwhelming to walk into. But the faculty and the student inspired me to take on the challenge.  The school has such a strong financial aid and scholarship program, and it’s really ingrained in the history of this community. The core of Bloomingdale was so strong, I knew that I could get it back on track and really help the school grow.

On advice for other leaders:

Understand where you get your energy. What brings you joy? Build a career around that. For me, to see a kid learn how to persevere when things go bad is incredible. We had this adorable five-year-old who had won the at the previous year’s performance. He was playing the following year and, all of a sudden, he stopped and couldn’t remember his next line of music. Eventually he figured it out and kept playing, but he was distraught afterwards. His teacher was there, and explained that it happens to everybody, and that the important thing was that he finished the piece. Learn from this and move on. It’s a privilege to see that.

You can read the full interview here.

Robyne Walker Murphy, executive director of Groundswell (Brooklyn, NY), recently spoke to Digging Deep, a website that supports parents and caregivers of young people with serious medical conditions. Throughout the interview, Robyne spoke about the role of artmaking in helping young people to not only understand their identity and place in the world, but also to investigate how they can change it.

“Creating murals on themes that are important to youth artists ignites these young people’s radical imaginations for personal and societal change,” she says.

According to Digging Deep, “For 22 years, Groundswell has been working with youth to not just touch others through their art and words, but to actually provoke the change they want to see in themselves and in the world around them.  Over these years, more than 500 murals have inspired the residents of New York and covered the walls in all five boroughs of Manhattan, with over 200 murals still standing today.  The themes are guided by whatever teens think are their pressing issues at the time, ranging from identity and respect to immigrant rights.”

Robyne ultimately noted that, when speaking with young people, she reminds them: “It is not about what you produce, it’s about what you want to say.”

Read the full article here.

About Groundswell

Groundswell is a NYC-based organization that brings together youth, artists, and community organizations to use art as a tool for social change, for a more just and equitable world. In 1996, a group of New York City artists, educators, and activists founded Groundswell with the belief that collaborative art-making combines personal expression with the strength of community activism—and produces unique and powerful outcomes.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music recently received a $46.4 million gift from the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, one of the largest ever donations to an American music school. According to the NY Times, “The gift will help fund construction of a $185 million, 12-story building on a site just south of San Francisco City Hall. Designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates and scheduled to open in 2020, it will include two concert halls, rehearsal spaces, high-tech studios and classrooms, and will provide housing for the student body.”

“It will shape the future of the conservatory, in one of the most exciting pieces of real estate in the world,” said David H. Stull, the school’s president.

The oldest independent music school on the West Coast, SFCM has broadened its curriculum and explore new avenues for music education. In particular, it’s program in Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) has brought new cohorts into the world of composition.

“Our students learn how to write classical music and real-world production skills at the same time,” MaryCalre Brzytwa, director of the TAC program, said. “Stylistically, they come from many perspectives — jazz, classical or electronic music — and there is a lot of leeway to plan a path of their own. But all of them seem to want rigor.”

Read the full article here.

Cynthia Campoy Brophy will be stepping down from her role as executive director of artworxLA after 26 years. Founded as The HeArt Project in 1992, artworxLA creates pathways for young people in Los Angeles by tapping into the power of the arts.

In a letter to the artworxLA community announcing her decision, Cynthia noted that she is leaving behind a vibrant community of young people, teaching artists, and educators: “I also leave a powerful network of young people who have gone through our program, proudest when I see how they continue to support and encourage each other after they have graduated.  I am grateful to the legions of extraordinary teaching artists who have brought their significant talents into our students’ classrooms to nurture their unique creative voices.  Our partner classroom teachers and educators have long known of the effectiveness of the arts in a well-rounded education and I am forever grateful for their partnership.”

You can learn more about Cynthia’s departure here.

About artworxLA

artworxLA combats the epidemic high school dropout crisis by engaging students in a long-term, sequential arts program offering a pursuable life path that inspires them to stay in school, evolve as unique individuals and flourish as creative adults.