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Arts Education

DEDICATED TO ARTS EDUCATION

The Arts Council of Northeast Louisiana believes that ALL children should have the opportunity to participate in the arts. We advocate for quality arts education in local schools. As part of the Louisiana Division of the Arts' Arts-in-Education Program, we provide resources and quality artistic experiences for regional students and their families. We encourage children to express their imagination and creativity through art.

The Arts Council's research shows that northeast Louisiana's rural children are under-served populations when it comes to access to arts education. Out of the 20,279 children in public schools in our rural parishes, nearly half of them have no opportunity to study art. That's why we are creating initiatives to put arts teachers in schools, provide in-service arts training to regular education teachers, and partner with area arts organizations for field trips and schools tours.

Review our detailed research in The State of Arts Education in Rural Northeast Louisiana report here.


Did you know that March is National Youth Art Month?! It is! Every day in March we want to spotlight the work of our amazing Region 8 students, grades 6th-12th! If your student is a visual or performing artist, fill out the form below along with any images or video of the student's work and we will spotlight them during the month of March. Let's show Region 8 what we've got!

Youth Art Month Spotlight Form
First Name *
Last Name *
First Name *
Last Name *
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By clicking "submit" you are acknowledging that you understand you are giving the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council permission to post the works submitted to it's social media accounts, website and to utilize those same works for any future marketing.


REGION 8 ARTS ART EDUCATION PROGRAMS

  • A pilot program delivering take-home art kits to economically disadvantaged children residing in Ouachita Parish and eventually in the 11 parishes of Region 8. 

  • A musical instrument drive for Monroe City and Ouachita Parish high schools. Donate your instrument today so a student has the opportunity to study music. Email abigail@nelaarts.org to set up a drop-off.

  • Various arts educators have submitted wish lists to the Arts Council. Help complete an arts classroom by purchasing items from their list today. Are you an arts educator in Region 8? Send your wish list to abigail@nelaarts.org.


ARTS EDUCATOR RESOURCES

  • Primary Academic Creative Experiences (PACE) is a program of the Acadiana Center for the Arts. PACE teaching artists develop lessons that integrate the visual and performing arts with academic curriculum for Kindergarten through 2nd grade students.

  • Google Arts & Culture is definitely one of the best art resources to use in your teaching. The site offers a wide variety of materials and services that include exhibits which are guided tours of the world museums curated by art experts, the ability to search for and locate nearby museums and exhibitions, Pocket Gallery (visit immersive art galleries to explore artwork up close), Art Projector (enables you to see how artwork looks in real size), 360° videos to help you explore cultural artifacts in 360 degrees, virtual reality tours of world class museums, Street View to help you tour famous sites and landmarks, games to learn cultural literacy, and many more. You can also use Google Arts & Culture to teach cultural literacy.

  • Getty offers a wide range of tools and materials to help with the study of art and cultural heritage. These include over 1000.000 artwork images, books, archives, and several other resources. There is also a section for K-12 teaching embedding resources tailored specifically for the education community including lesson plans, class activities, museum educators, professional development, online interactive experiences, museum programs for all ages, internships, grants, summer programs for teens, and many more.

  • The Art Story is an art website that helps you develop a better understanding (and eventually appreciation) of art through detailed guides and explanations of masterpieces and artwork. More specifically, you will be able to access information about artists, learn about the different art movements (e.g., impressionism, performance, The Baroque, etc), and explore art concepts (e.g., The Readymade, Renaissance, Humanism, Collage, etc). You can also use the site's timeline feature to track the chronological developments of different art movements and concepts.

  • WikiArt is an online repository of world's visual arts. The site features over 200.000 artworks by 3000 artists from all around the world. Art resources provided by WikiArt include art movements, art schools and groups, art institutions, artwork genres and styles, short films, and many more. WikiArt is also available as an iPad app.

  • Artble is another excellent art resource 'where you can find unique information about artists from many different art periods. Take your time to view and appreciate the art whilst navigating through the pages, reading about history's greatest art works and the fascinating lives of their creators.'

  • The National Gallery of Art provides access to numerous art resources to use in your classroom. These include lesson ideas, teaching resources, interactive activities, tools and apps, and many more. The site also features 'more than 150,000 paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photographs, prints, and drawings spans the history of Western art and showcases some of the triumphs of human creativity. Across 363 days a year, the National Gallery offers a full spectrum of special exhibitions and public programs free of charge.'

  • Colossal is a website that offers resources on contemporary art and visual culture. 'Colossal is designed to serve as an online gallery of visually spectacular artwork, while seeking to educate and inform rather than criticize or interpret. Through this effort, Colossal is used as inspiration and instruction in classrooms across the arts and sciences from grade school through graduate school.'

  • KinderArt is all about art resources tailored specifically for classroom use. There are art lesson plans, crafts, teaching ideas, art activities, and many more. Lesson plans are thematically organized by topics. There are lesson plans for painting, drawing, sculpture, art history, collage, printmaking, architecture, drama, multicultural art, and more. For instance, the Musical instruments section features lesson plans to help teachers integrate music into their art lessons. Likewise, the Sculpture section offers lessons that help students learn how to create beautiful artwork using wood, paper, tape, metal stones, foam, etc.

  • AHTR is a platform dedicated to art history teachers. The site embeds a wide variety of resources related to art history teaching including lesson plans, book review, introductions to museums, image clusters, classroom and museum activities, and many more. Also, AHTR 'promotes discussion and reflection around new ways of teaching and learning in the art history classroom through a peer-populated blog, and fosters a collaborative virtual community for art history instructors at all career stages.'

  • Doodle Academy offers visual art curricula that support teachers in their integration of art in teaching. The purpose of Doodle's resources is to help students develop creative thinking and be able to use multiple ways of thinking and representation. Doodle Academy's philosophy 'embraces unique and individual art projects rather than step-by-step tutorials. Too much art education revolves around projects that focus on product and not on process, erasing student individuality. Our content is designed to allow students to tell their own stories and to create highly individual art projects.'


ARTS IN EDUCATION STUDIES & RESOURCES


Recent Blog Posts

Now featuring BayouLife Magazine's Bayou Artist of the month, Steve Porter! The work of Shreveport artist Steve Porter can be found in private collections all over the world, including France, Spain, and from California to Connecticut. We are thrilled to showcase Steve in a solo exhibition from May 29th - July 7th.

Museum Selfie Day on January 18 is the perfect opportunity for people to get creative.